Lena Horne
Biography
Lena Horne (June 30, 1917 - May 9, 2010) was a singer, dancer, actress, and civil rights activist. Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the films Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather. Due to the Red Scare and her left-leaning political views, Horne found herself blacklisted and unable to get work in Hollywood. Returning to her roots as a nightclub performer, Horne took part in the March on Washington in August 1963, and continued to work as a performer, both in nightclubs and on television, while releasing well-received record albums. She announced her retirement in March 1980, but the next year starred in a one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, which ran for more than three hundred performances on Broadway and earned her numerous awards and accolades. She continued recording and performing sporadically into the 1990s, disappearing from the public eye in 2000. Horne died on May 9, 2010 in New York City. During her lifetime, Horne was awarded four Grammys, a Tony, and a NAACP Image Award . She also received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1984.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (31)
How It Feels to Be Free
as Self (archival footage)
2021
Sid & Judy
as Self (archive footage)
2019
The Green Book: Guide to Freedom
as Self - Singer (archive footage)
2019
Storm in My Heart
as Self (archive footage)
2018
Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days
as Self (uncredited) (archive footage)
2010
Jazz Voice - The Ladies sing Jazz Vol.2
as Self (archive footage)
2006
Judy Garland Duets
as Self (archive footage)
2005
Sarah Vaughan & Other Jazz Divas
2005
An Evening With Lena Horne
as self
2005
The Incomparable Lena Horne
2004
Sesame Street: A Celebration of Me, Grover
2004
The Harlem Renaissance
as Self (archive footage)
2004
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
as Self (archive footage)
2004
It's Black Entertainment
as Self (archive footage)
2002
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
as Self
1999
That's Entertainment! III
as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
1994
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
as Self (archive footage)
1994
Aretha Franklin: Duets
as Self
1993
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
as Self (archive footage)
1990
Sesame Street: Learning About Letters
as Self
1986
Night of 100 Stars II
as Self
1985
DTV: Golden Oldies
as Self
1984
Night of 100 Stars
as Self
1982
The Wiz
as Glinda the Good
1978
Sesame Street at Night?
as Self (archive footage)
1977
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)
1976
That's Entertainment!
as (archive footage)
1974
Death of a Gunfighter
as Claire Quintana
1969
Now!
as Self (voice)
1965
Beyond the Riviera
1960
The Frank Sinatra Timex Show - To the Ladies
as Self - Singer
1960
TV Shows (19)
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
as Self
1996
A Different World
as Self
1987
American Masters
as Self
1986
The Cosby Show
as Lena Horne
1984
Reading Rainbow
as Self - Narrator (voice)
1983
The Kennedy Center Honors
as Self
1978
The Muppet Show
as Self - Special Guest Star / Lola Bramswell
1976
Keep US Beautiful
1973
Sanford and Son
1972
Great Performances
as Self
1971
The Flip Wilson Show
as Self
1970
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
as Self (uncredited)
1968
The Dean Martin Show
1965
The Hollywood Palace
as Self
1964
The Judy Garland Show
as Self
1963
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self
1961
Password
1961
The DuPont Show of the Week
as Self
1961