Saturday, May 15, 2010

Lena Horne - Actress And Singer Has Died At Age 92

Actress and singer Lena Horne died May 9 at a hospital in New York. She was 92. Born in Brooklyn in 1917, Lena joined the chorus at the Cotton Club in Harlem when she was just 16, soon graduating to singing at the club, then on to Broadway and Hollywood musicals. Appearing in dozens of musicals on the screen, her performance of "Stormy Weather" in the 1943 musical of that name became her signature song. It also was her first hit record, making it to #21 that year. All told, Lena charted six times, including "One For My Baby" (#21-1945), "Deed I Do" (#26-1848) and "Love Me Or Leave Me" (#19-1955). Her last movie was as Glinda the Good Witch in "The Wiz" in 1978. But her 1981 one-woman show, "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music" earned her a Tony award. Lena was a Kennedy Center honoree in 1984, and received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1998.