Comments on: Friday Fierceness: Ms Lena Horne

By: Mrsbug

Mrsbug — Mon, 17 May 2010 17:31:02 +0000

Wow, those quotes. She really knew what was what. And who she was. Oh, that we could be so personally centered as she seemed to be.

By: Fat Heffalump

Fat Heffalump — Sat, 15 May 2010 05:38:45 +0000

Ahh Lena, she was such a magnificent woman. She will be missed.

By: Plumcake

Plumcake — Fri, 14 May 2010 21:05:52 +0000

@Emmme: When she would star across from darker costars, the studio actually darkened her skin. In fact, Ben Nye developed a foundation color just for that purpose called “Dark Egyptian” (it’s still sold today) which was used for decades in the film industry to paint white actors darker so they wouldn’t have to hire black actors.

By: emmme

emmme — Fri, 14 May 2010 20:50:30 +0000

I was never a true fan of Ms. Lena–as a kid, her teeth frightened me (so many!) and people on TV like Bill Cosby always talked about what a great beauty she was, but she only looked very white to me. But as I got older, I really liked her interviews. She was so sharp, intelligent, and irreverent, especially when people fawned over her. That fierceness, that swagger–not cocky, but a manner that said, of course I’m all that, aren’t you?–finally won me over.
That quote about “the worst sort of acceptance” is electric with hurt. It had to be incredibly difficult to keep faith in herself and not buy into that type of race casting, on both professional and personal levels.

By: Kate H

Kate H — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:38:15 +0000

Thank you so much for this post. When I was in college, I bought the book “Jazz Seen” only for this absolutely fierce photo of Lena Horne, which I tore out of the book and hung above my bed (who better to watch over you while you sleep?) She was in a white dress on a dark stage and she was standing with her arms thrown out wide, her head thrown back and her mouth wide open singing and smiling in that very Lena way. It was this incredible combo of beauty and strength and vivaciousness and joy and it just seemed like it capture the total essence of her. She’s such an inspiration and I’m just not sure what we’re going to do with out her.