Lena Horne, Singer and Actress, Dies at 92

Lena Horne, who was the first black performer to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio and who went on to achieve international fame as a singer, died on Sunday night at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital in New York. She was 92 and lived in Manhattan.

Her death was announced by her son-in-law, Kevin Buckley.

Lena Horne was a singer and actress who first came to fame in the 1940s. She was best known for her roles in Stormy Weather (1943), Cabin in the Sky (1943), Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), and The Wiz (1978). Her role in the film Stormy Weather (1943) included her rendition of the title song, which became her trademark.

A remarkably charismatic entertainer, Horne was one of the most revered singers of her time.

One of her albums, Lena Horne at the Waldorf-Astoria (1957), was a long-time best seller, and her first featured performance on Broadway, in the musical Jamaica (1957), won her a New York Drama Critics’ Poll Award in 1958.

Though primarily known as an entertainer, Horne also was noted for her activism, working with civil rights and political organizations; as an actress, she refused to play roles that stereotyped African American women.

She was married to Lennie Hayton from 1947 until his death in 1971. Her one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music (1981), garnered many awards, including a Drama Critics’ Circle Award and a special achievement Tony Award. In 1984 Horne received a Kennedy Center honour for lifetime contribution to the arts, and in 1989 a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.

Source: Brittanic Encylopedia

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