Lena Horne biography tells of a star shaped by rejection, racism

'Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne' by James Gavin reveals a woman whose life reflects the civil rights struggles of the times.

By Susan King

July 6, 2009




And the breathtakingly beautiful Horne, who broke down barriers for African Americans in the 20th century, "had to be all things to all people. She had to constantly think about her image."





A reclusive figure

As for the 92-year-old Horne, Gavin says, "she has long been reclusive and completely closed the doors on interviews and public appearances. Sad is not a word that people want to associate with Lena Horne, but unfortunately, she paid an enormous price for her victories."





In fact, Gavin says, "her story is reflective of almost every stage of the civil rights movement of the 20th century. There is something about her life that is so emblematic of the unfolding of the civil rights struggle."

And Horne's struggle against racism was Herculean. Despite her name and popularity, she endured the racism of clubs in Las Vegas and big cities where she would be segregated from her white audience. Still, though she had a deep mistrust of most white people, she married the white Lennie Hayton, one of MGM's best musical directors.



And yet, Horne has never been described as a warm and fuzzy person. Her coldness toward people, Gavin says, was a defense mechanism. "When you grow up and you feel rejected at every turn. . . . your father disappears and your mother is obsessed with her own career and you feel like you are a piece of heavy, unwanted baggage at that tender and impressionable age, Lena never got over it."

Issues with mother


So was the fact that MGM wouldn't let her play the role of the mulatto performer Julie in the 1951 film version of "Show Boat."

That movie, Gavin says, "has become emblematic of the racism that Lena Horne suffered." But the real story, Gavin insists, is much more complicated.

"The part of Julie would never have been played by Lena Horne because you really can't have a black woman . . . playing the part of a woman light enough to pass for white because it would spoil the dramatic turning point."

In addition, he suggests, Horne was not a great actress. "But the biggest factor was the miscegenation laws. On-screen you could depict an interracial relationship, but you could not do it with a black actor and a white actor together."

Gavin believes MGM has been unfairly vilified as racist because except for the 1943 all-black musical, "Cabin in the Sky," Horne was relegated to musical numbers in films, which made it easy for censors in the South to excise her scenes.

Rather, he explains, "I think MGM was progressive in what it did -- deifying a black woman on-screen for the first time."

He continues: "She was presented in film after film as a goddess. She didn't bow to anybody. This was revolutionary at the time to see a black woman, albeit a black woman who was being presented in very Caucasian terms, glorified in that manner. Before MGM, Lena Horne had made a couple of poverty row race movies. . . . But she left MGM an international star."