Portland observer., May 12, 2010, Page 9, Image 9

M ay 12. 2010
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Page 9
ENEEEEAINMENE
Entertainer Lena Home Dies at 92 !
Barrier-breaking
star triumphed
over bigotry
( A P) -- Lena H om e, the ench an t­
ing ja z z singer and actress know n
for her p lain tiv e sig n atu re song
"Storm y W eather" and for her tri­
um ph over the bigotry that allow ed
her to entertain w hite audiences but
not socialize w ith them , has died.
She w as 92.
H orne died Sunday at N ew Y ork-
Presbyterian H ospital, according to
hospital spokesw om an G loria Chin.
C hin w ould not release any other
details.
H om e, w hose striking beauty and
m agnetic sex appeal often overshad­
ow ed her talent and artistry, was
rem arkably candid about the under­
lying reason for her success: "1 was
unique in that 1 w as a kind o f black
that w hite people could accept,"
she once said. "I w as their d ay ­
dream . I had the w orst kind o f accep­
tance because it w as never for how
great I w as o r w hat I contributed. It
ofblack actors to have a contract with
a m ajor H ollyw ood studio.
In 1943, M GM Studios loaned her
to 20th Century-Fox to play the role o f
Selina Rogers in the all-black m ovie
m usical "Stormy W eather." Her ren­
dition o f the title song becam e a major
hit and her m ost fam ous tune.
O n screen, on recordings and in
nightclubs and concert halls, H om e
w as at hom e vocally w ith a w ide
m usical range, from blues andjazz to
Trail Blazing Jazz singer and
the sophistication o f R odgers and
actress Lena Horne in 1995.
H art in such songs as "The Lady Is
w as because o f the w ay I looked." a T ram p" and "B ew itched, B oth­
"I knew her from the tim e I w as ered and B ew ildered." In 1942’s
bom , and w henever I needed an y ­ "Panam a Hattie," her first movie with
thing she w as there. She w as funny, M G M , she sang C ole Porter's "Just
sophisticated and truly one o f a O ne ofT hose Things," w inning criti­
kind. W e lost an original. T hank you cal acclaim.
Lena," Liza M innelli said M onday.
H er father, her son and her hus­
H e r fa th e r, d ir e c to r V in c e n te band, H ayton, all died in 1970 and
M innelli, brought H om e to H olly­ 1971, and the grief-stricken singer
w ood to star in "C abin in the Sky." secluded herself. O ne o f them , c o ­
In the 1940s, H om e was one o f the m edian A lan K ing, took m onths per­
first black perform ers hired to sing suading her to return to the stage,
with a m ajor white band, the first to w ith results that surprised her.
play the C opacabana nightclub in
"I w ouldn't trade m y life for an y ­
N ew York City and w hen she signed thing," she said, "because being
with M GM , she was am ong a handful black m ade m e understand."
MM M M M f t
A>TnMMemafcers - ISSA * Diezd P
Seven Reasons 7 * Transcendental Brass Band
Kcb laytoa
FEATURING
Solar-powered stage
fireea and Organic
MMMMHMM
Black Family Lives Chronicled
I t ’s b e en 45 y e a r sin c e th e
M oynihan R eport, a docum ent that
sparked racial controversy and p e r­
m anently altered the course o f the
civil rights m ovem ent in this co u n ­
try, w as leaked to the public.
T h e re p o rt, o ffic ia lly title d T h e
N e g ro F am ily : T h e C a se fo r N a ­
tio n a l A c tio n , w as w ritte n b y
D an iel P a tric k M o y n ih an an d it
o u tlin e d the so c io e c o n o m ic p ro b ­
lem s th a t p re v e n te d m an y A fri­
c a n -A m e ric a n s fro m e n jo y in g the
sam e p riv ile g e s as w h ite s.
T he report advocated a large-
scale effort by the federal govern ­
m ent to provide the necessary aid to
F
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IS
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F M O IC H
M M C S T F A T T IBSOA
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get healthcare, housing and ed u ca­
tion. The m om entum o f Lyndon
Jo h n so n ’s civil rights program w as
slow ed due to the re p o rt’s m essage
being distorted and m isinterpreted.
Jam es T. P atterso n ’s new book,
F re e d o m is N o t E n o u g h : T h e
M oynihan R eport and A m erica’s
Struggleover Black Fam ily Life from
LB J to O bam a, offers the first co m ­
prehensive account o f the report in
its historical context and exam ines
M o y n ih an ’s long political career
trying to rectify the problem s iden­
tified by the report.
Patterson is a p rofessor o f his­
tory em eritus at B row n U niversity.
Original Opera at Firehouse
"Q ueen o f K nives", a
k n ife th ro w in g b u llse y e
opera, brought to the stage
by V agabond O pera and
W anderlust C ircus, is now
p lay in g at the Interstate
Firehouse C ultural C enter,
5340 N. Interstate A ve.,
through Saturday, M ay 15.
S tarrin g sin g ers f r o m ____________________
R om anian, ja zz , flam enco,
G re e k R e m b e tik o , a n d
klezm er m usical styles.
P o rtlan d ’s internation­
ally acc la im e d e n sem b le
V agabond O pera accom pa­
nies the show live on stage
as the p it orchestra, w ith
b a n d m e m b e r s A s h ia
G rzesik and Eric Stem play­
ing d ra m a tic ro le s; an d
ater' o S n ra'w ilk ^ te " Va£abond °P era is staging a modem opera.
w orld class circus perform -
C oncert O pera, and C irque du Soleil, the play is the
ers helping to set the stage.
only opera com posed incorporating B alkan, A rabic,
For tickets, call 503- 823-4322.
Friday August 6th, 2010: Place to be announced
Saturday August 7th, 2010: Embassy Suites Portland Airport Hotel
(rooms available for only $109 + tax)
Cost for reunion: Classmates $65 spouse or companion $35 ■
Please R.S.V.P. as soon as possible to
E-mail to: leilablakely@gmail.com (preferable)
Voice mail: Carol Erdmann 503-982-3051
Snail mail: JHS Class of 70 Z PO Box 19905 / Portland, Oregon 97280