LENA HORNE Inside Her HOLLYWOOD STRUGGLE

THE TALENTED BEAUTY MADE STRIDES IN SHOWBIZ, BUT FILM SUCCESS NEVER LIVED UP TO HER BIGGEST DREAMS

- Fortune Benatar, Louise A. Barile

Lena Horne knew how to make an entrance. For her debut on LA’s Sunset Strip in January 1942, she donned a simple white gown and, without an introduction, stepped from darkness into a single spotlight to sing the wistful standard, “The Man I Love.” Within days, a who’s who of Hollywood’s A-list, including Marlene Dietrich, Lana Turner and Cole Porter, came to bask in Lena’s magic spell.

Less than a month later, MGM announced that it had signed the New York-born African American beauty to a contract. “Before her arrival in Hollywood, Black actors and actresses generally played comic servants and supporting roles,” explains Donald Bogle, author of the new biography Lena Horne: Goddess Reclaimed. Lena’s power lay in her sophisticated beauty, which, Bogle notes, “appealed to Black and white audiences,” coupled with her concise diction and emotional connection with the songs she sang. “There was something about her that was untouchable and irresistible,” he says.