LENA HORNE

Lena Horne passed away Sunday at the age of 92, leaving behind legacies in civil rights activism, television, film, theatre but, in all of it, song, beauty, and dignity. Born in Brooklyn, 1917, Horne already starred in a ...b>The Black American Jazz singer, Actress and Dancer who became famous after she replaced Dinah Shore from NBC’s popular jazz series The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street passed away yesterday at the age of 92 at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York, NY.

Coming from a family with a mixture of African, European, and Native American descent she joined the Cotton Club at the age of 16 and later toured with Noble Sissle’s Orchestra and Bandleader Charlie Barnet. Later she went on to replace Dinah Shore as the featured vocalist on NBC’s popular jazz series The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street.

After that she went on to work in Hollywood in films like Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather but her political views got her into trouble and she found herself in the blacklist of Hollywood. After this she went back to work in nightclubs but came back well in the main stream show business after she participated in March on Washington.

After that there was no looking back as she kept on working well in the main stream business as she performed in the night clubs and also released her albums that received favorable reviews. In 1980 she announced her retirement but came back next year to feature in Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music that won her numerous awards and also made her a household name. She even kept working in the 1990’s.

On her personal frontier she married twice, firstly to Louis Jordan Jones and then to Lennie Hayton who was a well-known musical conductor. Years later she revealed in her biography that she married Hayton to boost her showbiz career.

She also had two children’s from her first marriage daughter Gail Lumet Buckley and Son Edwin Jones who died in 1970 of a Kidney disease. Gail who became a well-known author was married to Director Sidney Lumet. Lena Horne also has a granddaughter from Gail and Lumet’s marriage Jenny Lumet who wrote the screenplay of Jonathan Demme’s Rachael Getting Married.

Lena Horne was also known as a Civil Rights activist who fought tooth and nail against racial discrimination in American Soil.