Lena Horne
Known for: Acting
Lena Horne (June 30, 1917 - May 9, 2010) was a singer, dancer, actress, and civil rights activist. Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the films Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather. Due to the Red Scare and her left-leaning political views, Horne found herself blacklisted and unable to get work in Hollywood. Returning to her roots as a nightclub performer, Horne took part in the March on Washington in August 1963, and continued to work as a performer, both in nightclubs and on television, while releasing well-received record albums. She announced her retirement in March 1980, but the next year starred in a one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, which ran for more than three hundred performances on Broadway and earned her numerous awards and accolades. She continued recording and performing sporadically into the 1990s, disappearing from the public eye in 2000. Horne died on May 9, 2010 in New York City. During her lifetime, Horne was awarded four Grammys, a Tony, and a NAACP Image Award . She also received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1984.
Filmography
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
Series
Great Performances
Self
1971
Series
The Cosby Show
Lena Horne
1984
Series
Tony Awards
Self - Host
1956
Series
Tony Awards
Self - Recipient / Performer
1956
Series
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter
1956
Series
Tony Awards
Self - Co-Hostess
1956
Series
American Masters
Self
1986
Series
What's My Line?
Self
1950
Series
A Different World
Self
1987
Series
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self
1950
Series
The Oscars
Self
1953
Series
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948
Series
Sanford and Son
1972
Series
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Singer
1956
Series
The Dean Martin Show
1965
Series
The Muppet Show
Self - Special Guest Star / Lola Bramswell
1976
Series
Kraft Music Hall
1958
Series
Reading Rainbow
Self - Narrator (voice)
1983
Series
Your Show of Shows
1950
Series
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self (uncredited)
1968
Series
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self
1978
Series
The Flip Wilson Show
Self
1970
Series
The Bell Telephone Hour
Self - Host
1959
Series
The Bell Telephone Hour
Self
1959
Series
MGM Parade
1955
Series
MGM Parade
Self
1955
Series
The Hollywood Palace
Self
1964
Series
Hollywood Black
Self (archive footage)
2024
Series
The Twentieth Century
1957
Series
Password
1961
Film
The Wiz
Glinda the Good
1978
Series
The Judy Garland Show
Self
1963
Series
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self
1996
Series
The DuPont Show of the Week
Self
1961
Film
Now!
Self (voice)
1965
Film
Till the Clouds Roll By
Julie LaVerne / Lena Horne
1946
Film
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage) (uncredited)
1974
Series
The Perry Como Show
1956
Film
Death of a Gunfighter
Claire Quintana
1969
Film
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
1976
Film
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
1985
Film
That's Entertainment! III
Self - Co-Host / Narrator
1994
Film
Night of 100 Stars
Self
1982
Film
Words and Music
Lena Horne
1948
Film
Swing Fever
Herself
1943
Film
Ziegfeld Follies
Lena Horne (segment "Love")
1945
Film
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Self (archive footage)
1994
Series
Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium
1955
Film
Meet Me in Las Vegas
Lena Horne
1956
Film
Stormy Weather
Selina Rogers
1943
Film
Thousands Cheer
Lena Horne
1943
Film
Cabin in the Sky
Georgia Brown
1943
Film
Two Girls and a Sailor
Specialty
1944
Film
I Dood It
Herself
1943
Film
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
Self (archive footage)
1990
Film
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
Self (archive footage)
1995
Film
Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days
Self (uncredited) (archive footage)
2010
Music 55
1955
Film
Sesame Street: Learning About Letters
Self
1986
Film
Aretha Franklin: Duets
Self
1993
Film
Sid & Judy
Self (archive footage)
2019
Film
It's Black Entertainment
Self (archive footage)
2002
Film
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Self (archive footage)
2004
Film
Panama Hattie
As self, Singer in Phil's Place (uncredited)
1942
Film
Judy Garland Duets
Self (archive footage)
2005
Film
Sesame Street: A Celebration of Me, Grover
2004
Film
The All-Star Christmas Show
Self
1958
Keep U.S. Beautiful
Self
1973
Film
Studio Visit
Herself
1946
Film
The Green Book: Guide to Freedom
Self - Singer (archive footage)
2019
Film
Broadway Rhythm
Fernway de la Fer
1944
Film
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
Self (archive footage)
2001
Film
Duchess of Idaho
Lena Horne
1950
Keep US Beautiful
1973
Film
Swingtime Jamboree
Herself
1946
Film
The Harlem Renaissance
Self (archive footage)
2004
Film
DTV: Golden Oldies
Self
1984
Film
Benny Carter: Symphony in Riffs
Self (archive footage)
1990
Film
How It Feels to Be Free
Self (archival footage)
2021
Film
The Frank Sinatra Timex Show - To the Ladies
Self - Singer
1960
Film
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
Self
1999
Film
Boogie-Woogie Dream
1944
Film
Mantan Messes Up
Lene
1946
Film
The Duke Is Tops
Ethel Andrews
1938
Film
Sarah Vaughan & Other Jazz Divas
2005
Film
Jazz Voice - The Ladies sing Jazz Vol.2
Self (archive footage)
2006
Film
A.N.T.A. Album of 1955
Self
1955
Film
Beyond the Riviera
1960
Harlem Hotshots
(archive footage)
1945
Storm in My Heart
Self (archive footage)
2018
Honor Coles, Le Danseur De Claquettes Distingue
Self
Film
The Incomparable Lena Horne
2004
Film
An Evening With Lena Horne
self
2005