Lena Horne
Lena HorneBy: Heather Donahue
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Lena Horne Heather Donahue March 23, 2000 Humanities 15 Tues. & Thurs. 9:30 - 11 a.m. Page 1 Lena Horne Lena Horne was born on June 30, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were Teddy and Edna Scottron Horne. After her father left her at the age of two in order to pursue his gambling career; her mother leaving soon after that to pursue her acting career; she went to live with her grandparents. Through her grandparents influence she became involved with organizations like the NAACP, at an early age. In 1924 she went back to live with her mother, traveling and being schooled all over the state until she was fourteen. At the age of fourteen she decided to drop out of school and go to work. Because she was talented and light skinned it was not hard for her to find a job. She became a chorus girl in Harlem�s Cotton Club where blacks entertained a strictly all white crowd. At that time she was making about $25 a week. It was here that Lena got to meet and observe now famous artists such as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Ethal Waters, and Billie Holiday. At the age of nineteen she met and married Louis Jones. Together they had two children Gail and Teddy (who later died in 1970 from kidney failure). While trying to get used to raising a family and having a career, she received a call from an agent, who had seen her at the Cotton Club, about a part in a movie. Her controlling husband allowed her to be in �The Duke is Tops� and also the musical revue �Blackbirds of 1939." When she finally got up the courage to leave Louis, he deiced to take her son away from her. Page 2 She lost custody of Teddy when the divorce was final and has always regretted not fighting harder for her son. After her divorce she began singing with Noble Sissie�s Society Orchestra. Through out their tour she had to endure harsh racism having to sleep in tenement boarding houses, the bus and even once in circus grounds. Soon after that, she toured with Charlie Barnet�s Outfit and became the first African American to tour with an all white band. She was their feature singer and considers this to be the beginning of her success. Lena decided to head out to Hollywood and see what she could do out there. She began singing in the Trocadero Club where she met one of the most influential people in her life: Billy Strayhom. Billy Strayhom was the chief music-writer for Duke Ellington. Lena has always felt that she and he were soul mates, despite the fact that he was gay. At 76 she sang a forty minute set at his funeral. While singing in the Trocadero Club she was discovered by MGM. Being a strong believer in equal rights she demanded a contract. Right then Lena...
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