Courtsey of Maurice Seymour 1978
Courtsey of Lena Horne Biography
2. Lena Horne. Biography. MSN Entertainment. <http://entertainment.msn.com/Artist/Default.aspx?artist=101205>
3. The Color Complex. p, 148.
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| Lena Horne | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Lean Horne was born in Brooklyn, New York during the year of 1917. She started out as a dancer in a chorus line at the Cotton Club.(1) Once she moved to Hollywood, her career finally took off and she was offered several movie parts such as Cabin in the Sky (1943) and Stormy Weather (1943) which later became her signiture song.(2) Lena's career was briefly threatened when she was associated with individuals that were considered communist such as great actor Paul Robeson.(1) As a result she was blacklisted for several years. Lena was able to recover and perform at nightclubs due to her other talent as a gifted singer. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Lena Horne 1917- Courtsey of Maurice Seymour 1978 |
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| "My life has been about surviving. Along the way, I also became an artiste". | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| During 1942, Lena Horne was given a contract with MGM studios.(3) She became the first African-American to secure a long-term contract with a major studio. Lena's previous status enabled her the ability to request that she would not play any domestic or jungle native roles.(3) She also refused to change her name as a marketing approach. Even though she had popularity from her singing career, the studio was confused about what to do with her. It was agreed that she looked "too white" in comparison to her co-actors. Make-up artist Max Factor was hired to create a clay to darken her skin.(3) The clay successfully turned white actors black as they were assigned the roles Lena longed for. She ended up playing herself for several films. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I never felt like I really belonged to Hollywood. At that time, they didn't know what to do with me, a black performer. So, I usually just came on, sang a song, and made a quick exit" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Lena Horne Courtsey of Lena Horne Biography |
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| 1. Lena Horne. Biography <http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Delta/6424/lenacoverf.html> 2. Lena Horne. Biography. MSN Entertainment. <http://entertainment.msn.com/Artist/Default.aspx?artist=101205> 3. The Color Complex. p, 148. |
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