The life and times of musical legend Lena Horne
Over a career spanning decades of social change and
turbulence, Lena Horne, who died Sunday at 92,
helped break down barriers for generations of performers, even as she weathered her own storms. USA TODAY's Elysa Gardner and Robyn Abzug trace Horne's life.
APPRECIATION: And more photos of Lena Horne
June 30, 1917: Lena Mary Calhoun Horne is born in Brooklyn, N.Y.
1933: At 16, Horne is hired as a dancer by Harlem's famous Cotton Club. While singing with Charlie Barnet's white orchestra, she's spotted by an MGM talent scout and becomes the first black actress signed to a long-term contract.
1938: The singer makes her Hollywood debut in The Duke Is Tops. She refuses to pass as white, despite her light coloring. Her roles are often shot so that they can be easily cut from copies distributed to the South.
1943: Shoots Cabin in the Sky, an all-black musical, and signature film Stormy Weather. She's the USA's highest-paid black actor — and a champion of civil rights for refusing to play to segregated audiences while entertaining the troops.
1947: Weds Lennie Hayton, a white musical arranger. Their marriage triggers hate mail and threats.
1950s: Lands on the anti-Communist blacklist because of her friendship with Paul Robeson.
1957: Records her classic album Lena Horne at the Waldorf Astoria. Joins the cast of the controversial Broadway musical Jamaica as Calypso, for which she's nominated for a Tony Award.
1959: Horne and Harry Belafonte release their album Porgy and Bess.
1963: Participates in the famous March on Washington. She performs at rallies all over the country for the National Council for Negro Women and speaks on behalf of the NAACP.
1978: Returns to film for final time as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wiz with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
1980: Receives an honorary doctorate from Howard University.
1981: Launches her one-woman Broadway show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music. She earns a special Tony Award, a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and a Drama Desk Award. The live soundtrack also wins Horne a 1982 Grammy for female pop vocal.
1986: Publishes autobiography, Lena.
1989: Wins a lifetime achievement Grammy.
1994: Makes her final appearances at The Supper Club in New York and Carnegie Hall. A live Supper Club recording released in 1995 wins a Grammy for best jazz vocal album.
1998: Releases her album Being Myself and all but retires.
2006: Blue Note releases Seasons of a Life, a Horne album of previously unreleased or rare tracks.
2009: Author James Gavin wins acclaim for Stormy Weather: A Life of Lena Horne, a biography charting Horne's complicated paths.
May 9, 2010: Horne dies in New York.
May 18, 2010: Verve Records and Hip-O Select will release Lena Horne Sings: The MGM Singles Collection, featuring recordings from the late '40s, co-produced and with liner notes by Gavin.
turbulence, Lena Horne, who died Sunday at 92,
helped break down barriers for generations of performers, even as she weathered her own storms. USA TODAY's Elysa Gardner and Robyn Abzug trace Horne's life.
APPRECIATION: And more photos of Lena Horne
June 30, 1917: Lena Mary Calhoun Horne is born in Brooklyn, N.Y.
1933: At 16, Horne is hired as a dancer by Harlem's famous Cotton Club. While singing with Charlie Barnet's white orchestra, she's spotted by an MGM talent scout and becomes the first black actress signed to a long-term contract.
1938: The singer makes her Hollywood debut in The Duke Is Tops. She refuses to pass as white, despite her light coloring. Her roles are often shot so that they can be easily cut from copies distributed to the South.
1943: Shoots Cabin in the Sky, an all-black musical, and signature film Stormy Weather. She's the USA's highest-paid black actor — and a champion of civil rights for refusing to play to segregated audiences while entertaining the troops.
1947: Weds Lennie Hayton, a white musical arranger. Their marriage triggers hate mail and threats.
1950s: Lands on the anti-Communist blacklist because of her friendship with Paul Robeson.
1957: Records her classic album Lena Horne at the Waldorf Astoria. Joins the cast of the controversial Broadway musical Jamaica as Calypso, for which she's nominated for a Tony Award.
1959: Horne and Harry Belafonte release their album Porgy and Bess.
1963: Participates in the famous March on Washington. She performs at rallies all over the country for the National Council for Negro Women and speaks on behalf of the NAACP.
1978: Returns to film for final time as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wiz with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
1980: Receives an honorary doctorate from Howard University.
1981: Launches her one-woman Broadway show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music. She earns a special Tony Award, a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and a Drama Desk Award. The live soundtrack also wins Horne a 1982 Grammy for female pop vocal.
1986: Publishes autobiography, Lena.
1989: Wins a lifetime achievement Grammy.
1994: Makes her final appearances at The Supper Club in New York and Carnegie Hall. A live Supper Club recording released in 1995 wins a Grammy for best jazz vocal album.
1998: Releases her album Being Myself and all but retires.
2006: Blue Note releases Seasons of a Life, a Horne album of previously unreleased or rare tracks.
2009: Author James Gavin wins acclaim for Stormy Weather: A Life of Lena Horne, a biography charting Horne's complicated paths.
May 9, 2010: Horne dies in New York.
May 18, 2010: Verve Records and Hip-O Select will release Lena Horne Sings: The MGM Singles Collection, featuring recordings from the late '40s, co-produced and with liner notes by Gavin.
hoejikpne - 11. Mai, 08:47
