Lena Horne Dies At Age 92

By Mark Lorenz on May 10th, 2010

One of Hollywood’s original pioneers is dead at the age of 92. And most people have no idea who she is. RIP, Lena Horne.

When we think of black actors and actresses who broke down barriers, most people thinking of the contemporary ones, Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, and of course, Queen Latifah. But Lena Horne was the first black performer to be signed to a long-term contract to a major Hollywood studio, MGM. She was too light-skinned for her school playmates who taunted her for having a “white daddy”. But she was too dark for mainstream Hollywood, who, despite her beautiful voice and captivating screen presence, kept stuffing her in all star musicals for a song or two – that could be easily cut out to satiate southern audiences.

She was outspoken related to the way black servicemen were treated during the war, and as a result, was blacklisted in the 1950’s. She took to singing in nightclubs, and her recordings went consistently platinum. One of which, Lena Horne at the Waldorf Astoria, became the best-selling album by a female singer in RCA Victor’s history. She kept performing well into her 70’s.

One on Lena Horne’s crowning achievements is a starring turn in Stormy Weather, a movie-musical that was the first to feature a mostly all African-American cast, and was later preserved in the Library of Congress.