Lena Horne

[Bob Riebe]

Lena Horne has died at age 92, and as she was neither Caucasian, Negro or Oriental as both sides of her family were a mixture of all three races yet she was stigmatized her entire life for being too good looking and "black" but not really black.
So she was never given credit for simply being extremely talented but rather shoe-horned by whom ever or what ever concerns' hole, said same concerns wanted to jam her in.

The fact she was never accepted for talent but was near always used by others for what they wanted her to be (she was born upper middle class and knew the best of society, money wise, her entire life) shows probably why this country can talk about race relations till hell freezes, but high society, not red-necks or brothers in he hood, will never let it be anything but what it is now.

[dunes]

Those who know and enjoy both musica nd cinema know she paved the way for actresses of color to be more than just a maid. She has accomplished so many things on so many levels. The point about not being reckonized is best answered in her words-"If the only people who notice my talents are the ones scwabbling over my money, then I'm glad I'm not that famous yet."
A true beauty,professional, and pioneer of both industries.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I hope things are changing Bob, but I know there are a lot of people who don't forget color. Lena was a class act, and a real talent for the ages. Sad to see her go but at 92, she had a good run for sure.

I look at Halle Berry, and think if she could sing, she would be a Lena Horne for the new century....

[dunes]

I hope things are changing Bob, but I know there are a lot of people who don't forget color. Lena was a class act, and a real talent for the ages. Sad to see her go but at 92, she had a good run for sure.

I look at Halle Berry, and think if she could sing, she would be a Lena Horne for the new century....
I never see color always treated people as they treated me.
As for the Halle thing shes got her place on the inside cover of my log book. I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on Queen Latifa. LOL

[Rudy Tamasz]

When I was a waiter at a restaurant, we normally played jazz records. Our owner had a huge collection. For some reson I liked Lena's records best and would always put those on during my shift.

RIP Lena.

[Jag_Warrior]

Mainly from watching Sanford & Son as a kid, and later the Cosby Show, I knew who Lena Horne was. But to be honest, I never knew that much about her. When I saw her on the Cosby Show I guess she was in her late 60's, maybe early 70's... and she was still a beautiful woman. Much like Sophia Loren, she had a timeless, classical sort of beauty that very, VERY few women these days have.

I don't know how accurate it is, but here's the Wikipedia page about her. I had no idea she was so politically involved.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Horne

R.I.P.



P.S. Oprah's idea to have Alicia Keys play her in a movie was a good one. Janet Jackson wouldn't have been as a good a choice as Keys, since Alicia Keys has some of the same features and a similar exotic look as Horne.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Mainly from watching Sanford & Son as a kid, and later the Cosby Show, I knew who Lena Horne was. But to be honest, I never knew that much about her. When I saw her on the Cosby Show I guess she was in her late 60's, maybe early 70's... and she was still a beautiful woman. Much like Sophia Loren, she had a timeless, classical sort of beauty that very, VERY few women these days have.

I don't know how accurate it is, but here's the Wikipedia page about her. I had no idea she was so politically involved.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Horne

R.I.P.



P.S. Oprah's idea to have Alicia Keys play her in a movie was a good one. Janet Jackson wouldn't have been as a good a choice as Keys, since Alicia Keys has some of the same features and a similar exotic look as Horne.

Alicia is a sweetheart too...but to me, Halle reminds me more of Lena...

[Jag_Warrior]

Alicia is a sweetheart too...but to me, Halle reminds me more of Lena...

Yeah, I can see that too, especially since Halle Berry tends to wear her hair very short, as Horne tended to. But I'm not sure that Halle Berry can sing. So if they cast her in a movie about Lena Horne, someone else might have to do the singing. Keys has quite a broad vocal range, and I've heard her do jazz-like numbers before.

What struck me as I just looked through some sites when I read this: in her day, Lena Horne was prettier than Halle Berry, Alicia Keys and Janet Jackson. And just so people don't think I would only compare her to other Black women, she was also much prettier than a lot of White women back then and today (especially since tramps and diseased skanks like Pamela Anderson pass for "beautiful" these days).

[Mark in Oshawa]

Yeah, I can see that too, especially since Halle Berry tends to wear her hair very short, as Horne tended to. But I'm not sure that Halle Berry can sing. So if they cast her in a movie about Lena Horne, someone else might have to do the singing. Keys has quite a broad vocal range, and I've heard her do jazz-like numbers before.

What struck me as I just looked through some sites when I read this: in her day, Lena Horne was prettier than Halle Berry, Alicia Keys and Janet Jackson. And just so people don't think I would only compare her to other Black women, she was also much prettier than a lot of White women back then and today (especially since tramps and diseased skanks like Pamela Anderson pass for "beautiful" these days).
Hey..I like Pammy...lol

I saw lots of pictures of Lena, and to me, Halle looks like she could be her daughter. Yes, she cant likely sing, but she can sure act. Alicia can sing, but I don't know if she has the acting chops. Beautiful lady also.

I think Lena's beauty is timeless, but I don't put one woman over another really...I just have a number of women I would put up there as all world beauties, and Lena was one of them...

AS for her political support of the NAACP and Democratic party pols, well, that is pretty typical I would suspect considering her upbringing and experience. Heck, everyone in both parties was pretty much on board with the civil rights movement out side out the southern bastions...

[Bob Riebe]

And just so people don't think I would only compare her to other Black women, she was also much prettier than a lot of White women back then and today
No but you just (unintentionally I am sure) pigeon holed her the way society did her whole life.

WHY, as she is not caucasian, negro or oriental, but part all, does she have to be categorized, rather than be accepted as simply having been a beautiful person.

[Mark in Oshawa]

No but you just (unintentionally I am sure) pigeon holed her the way society did her whole life.

WHY, as she is not caucasian, negro or oriental, but part all, does she have to be categorized, rather than be accepted as simply having been a beautiful person.

I just think Jag did what a lot of people did....qualify how they see the difference. Well, if a 20 year old Lena Horne walked into any room I was in, I wouldn't remember her racial background before I remembered how beautiful and striking she was...

[Jag_Warrior]

No but you just (unintentionally I am sure) pigeon holed her the way society did her whole life.

WHY, as she is not caucasian, negro or oriental, but part all, does she have to be categorized, rather than be accepted as simply having been a beautiful person.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make, since neither Alicia Keys nor Halle Berry is (purely) of one race or another either. ;)

I'll go out on a limb here (since I don't know it for a fact), but going by the varied skin tones seen in the U.S., I doubt that MOST Blacks in America are purely of one race or another. I'm hardly an expert on race, but it's not exactly a secret (anymore) that bloodlines were mixed quite often from the 17th to the 19th centuries in the southern U.S. - as well as now, of course. But back then, it was obvious, but not spoken about (especially not Black male and White female). It's only VERY recently that people have begun using terms like bi-racial and multi-racial. I've read that Ava Gardner admitted that she had African blood in her family, while Dinah Shore denied it. But since both women could (easily) pass for White, it wasn't as much of an issue for either one as it was for Lena Horne.

As for whether "Negro" or "Black" is the correct term, negro is just the English adoption of the Spanish word meaning black. So as words and terms go out of fashion, I usually let them go once it's obvious that their due date has expired. If your given name is actually Robert, but you prefer to be called Bob, I'll call you Bob. Unless I'm trying to be cute, I'd have no reason to insist on calling you Robert. I'm just sayin'...

[Bob Riebe]

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make, since neither Alicia Keys nor Halle Berry is (purely) of one race or another either. ;)

I'll go out on a limb here (since I don't know it for a fact), but going by the varied skin tones seen in the U.S., I doubt that MOST Blacks in America are purely of one race or another. I'm hardly an expert on race, but it's not exactly a secret (anymore) that bloodlines were mixed quite often from the 17th to the 19th centuries in the southern U.S. - as well as now, of course. But back then, it was obvious, but not spoken about (especially not Black male and White female). It's only VERY recently that people have begun using terms like bi-racial and multi-racial. I've read that Ava Gardner admitted that she had African blood in her family, while Dinah Shore denied it. But since both women could (easily) pass for White, it wasn't as much of an issue for either one as it was for Lena Horne.

As for whether "Negro" or "Black" is the correct term, negro is just the English adoption of the Spanish word meaning black. So as words and terms go out of fashion, I usually let them go once it's obvious that their due date has expired. If your given name is actually Robert, but you prefer to be called Bob, I'll call you Bob. Unless I'm trying to be cute, I'd have no reason to insist on calling you Robert. I'm just sayin'...
The point is rather than concentrate on her talent, your rhetoric concentrates on her ethnic make-up and what class she fits in.

The basic tool of divide and separate Lena fought her whole life.

The terms caucasian, negro and oriental are scientific names for the three races, they are not black, white and yellow.

I look at Halle Berry, and think if she could sing, she would be a Lena Horne for the new century....

That's not what I think when I look at Halle Berry.

[Jag_Warrior]

The point is rather than concentrate on her talent, your rhetoric concentrates on her ethnic make-up and what class she fits in.

The basic tool of divide and separate Lena fought her whole life.

Perhaps you believe that because you're just focusing on one portion of a post.

Rather than looking at:

Mainly from watching Sanford & Son as a kid, and later the Cosby Show, I knew who Lena Horne was. But to be honest, I never knew that much about her. When I saw her on the Cosby Show I guess she was in her late 60's, maybe early 70's... and she was still a beautiful woman. Much like Sophia Loren, she had a timeless, classical sort of beauty that very, VERY few women these days have.

I don't know how accurate it is, but here's the Wikipedia page about her. I had no idea she was so politically involved.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Horne

R.I.P.

You seem to have an issue with:

And just so people don't think I would only compare her to other Black women, she was also much prettier than a lot of White women back then and today (especially since tramps and diseased skanks like Pamela Anderson pass for "beautiful" these days).



The terms caucasian, negro and oriental are scientific names for the three races, they are not black, white and yellow.


Not where I went to school. And as I pointed out, the word "negro" most definitely IS nothing more than the adoption of the Romance word for black. You think that's a coincidence? Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Negroid were the three (primary) races of man, as I was taught. I'm not sure what the Oriental race would even be. There's been more indepth scientific work done on racial categories in the past couple of decades. So I'm sure more has been written that I don't know about. And as I said, there were (are?) a great many people who were (legally) considered Negroes or Caucasians in the U.S., based on NOTHING more than appearance. And that really hasn't changed. All that's changed is the legal prohibitions and limitations attached to being one race or another have largely disappeared... and Lena Horne did contribute to that. Good on her.

But in any case, I'm not aware that Lena Horne was opposed to someone simply MENTIONING her racial make up. I'm not aware that the mere mention of race sends people into pigeon holes... unless that's all one wants to discuss in relation to them. People are overly sensitive on the topic of race (as I'm seeing here). I saw her on the Cosby show and Sanford & Son. I've heard her sing Stormy Monday. She was multi or bi-racial, as a LOT of Americans are. She was a beautiful woman. That's all I really know about her.

Again, R.I.P.

Zstar Electronic Co.Ltd, Sell fire cards for DS/NDSL/NDSi, also have Wii, DSiLL, NDSi, NDSL, PSP2000, PSP3000, PS2, PS3, PSP go, PSP, Xbox360 accessories, all kinds of phones are available
http://www.zstar.hk
http://www.tigersupermall.com