Biography
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...
Known For
Complete Filmography
How It Feels to Be Free
2021
as Self (archival footage)
Tells the inspiring story of how six iconic African American female entertainers – Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tys...
Sid & Judy
2019
as Self (archive footage)
Explore the dramatic career and personal struggles of the talented and tragically short-lived entertainer Judy Garland through rare concert footage, n...
The Green Book: Guide to Freedom
2019
as Self - Singer (archive footage)
In 1936, Victor H. Green (1892-1960) published The Negro Motorist Green Book, a book that was both a travel guide and a survival manual, to help Afric...
Storm in My Heart
2018
as Self (archive footage)
Despite the many curious similarities between Susan Hayward and Lena Horne-both were born in Brooklyn on exactly the same day, for example-one detail ...
Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days
2010
as Self (uncredited) (archive footage)
A look back at 40 years of Seasame Street.
Jazz Voice - The Ladies sing Jazz Vol.2
2006
as Self (archive footage)
Judy Garland Duets
2005
as Self (archive footage)
Judy performs beloved musical numbers with Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, and more in this series of classic duets from The Judy Garland Show.
Sarah Vaughan & Other Jazz Divas
2005
Here's a perfect chance to compare and contrast a clutch of the greatest jazz divas in the history of the genre. "Sassy" Sarah Vaughan appears along w...
An Evening With Lena Horne
2005
as self
Two nights after the September 16 & 17th Carnegie Hall Blue Note performances, Lena performed the same show at a more intimate venue -- New York's Sup...
The Incomparable Lena Horne
2004
The life and career of one of America's leading cultural figures, told through video clips and rare photos.
Sesame Street: A Celebration of Me, Grover
2004
He's furry, he's blue, and he's everyone's adorable, old pal, Grover, in his very own special! Come to the Flyers' Club Roost where everyone on Sesame...
The Harlem Renaissance
2004
as Self (archive footage)
Chronicling the Harlem Renaissance era, this retrospective documentary tracks the origins of the soulful music of the period, along with the challenge...
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
2004
as Self (archive footage)
Discover how television has reflected the African American experience in this retrospective of the medium's first half-century. Actors, writers and hi...
It's Black Entertainment
2002
as Self (archive footage)
A star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa Willi...
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
1999
as Self
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand presents the life and achievements of an extraordinary man. Athlete, singer, and scholar, Robeson was also a charismatic ch...
That's Entertainment! III
1994
as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to G...
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
1994
as Self (archive footage)
Sesame Street All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! was a 1994 TV special that aired on ABC to celebrate Sesame Street's 25th anniversary....
Aretha Franklin: Duets
1993
as Self
A chance to hear admirers including Elton John, Gloria Estefan, Smokey Robinson, PM Dawn, Bonnie Raitt and Rod Stewart sharing a stage with the Queen ...
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
1990
as Self (archive footage)
Biographical portrait of one of Broadway's most brilliant songwriters. Told through the use of archival material and interviews with the rich and famo...
Sesame Street: Learning About Letters
1986
as Self
With the help of his Sesame Street friends, Big Bird leads Snuffy on a fun-filled trip through the alphabet. Cookie Monster sings the praises of "C" (...
Night of 100 Stars II
1985
as Self
This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was t...
DTV: Golden Oldies
1984
as Self
Compilation of DTV music videos from on The Disney Channel, combining tunes from the 1940s through the 1960s with footage of Disney animation.
Night of 100 Stars
1982
as Self
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City ...
The Wiz
1978
as Glinda the Good
Dorothy Gale, a shy kindergarten teacher, is swept away to the magic land of Oz where she embarks on a quest to return home.
Sesame Street at Night?
1977
as Self (archive footage)
Shalit is to host an adult 'look' at Sesame Street in a Festival '77 special for PBS. The 30-minute special, Sesame Street at Night? takes its theme f...
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
as (archive footage)
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical num...
That's Entertainment!
1974
as (archive footage)
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
Death of a Gunfighter
1969
as Claire Quintana
In the turn-of-the century Texas town of Cottownwood Springs, marshal Frank Patch is an old-style lawman in a town determined to become modern. When h...
Now!
1965
as Self (voice)
Using morgue photos, newsreel footage, and a recording by Lena Horne, Cuban filmmaker Santiago Alvarez fired off 'Now!', one of the most powerful burs...
Now!
1965
Music
Using morgue photos, newsreel footage, and a recording by Lena Horne, Cuban filmmaker Santiago Alvarez fired off 'Now!', one of the most powerful burs...
Beyond the Riviera
1960
Travelogue exploring the coastline, towns and surrounding mountains of the French Riviera.
The Frank Sinatra Timex Show - To the Ladies
1960
as Self - Singer
Surrounded by a mix of talented ladies, host Frank Sinatra does his thing.
Meet Me in Las Vegas
1956
as Lena Horne
Chuck Rodwell is a gambling cowboy who discovers that he's lucky at the roulette wheel if he holds hands with dancer Marie. However, Marie doesn't lik...
A.N.T.A. Album of 1955
1955
as Self
A closed-circuit television special produced to raise funds for the relief agency CARE telecast live from the Adelphi Theatre in New York.
Duchess of Idaho
1950
as Lena Horne
Ellen Hallit is in love with her playboy boss, Douglas Morrison, but is too timid to do anything about it. To help her, her roommate Chris decides to ...
Words and Music
1948
as Lena Horne
Encomium to Larry Hart (1895-1943), seen through the fictive eyes of his song-writing partner, Richard Rodgers (1902-1979): from their first meeting, ...
Till the Clouds Roll By
1946
as Julie LaVerne / Lena Horne
Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists,...
Studio Visit
1946
as Herself
This humorous Pete Smith Specialty short looks around various studios on a film lot.
Mantan Messes Up
1946
as Lene
Mantan takes a job as office boy at a new TV station and gets to watch several pre-recorded musical numbers.
Swingtime Jamboree
1946
as Herself
Compilation film of various African-American performers and acts.
Ziegfeld Follies
1945
as Lena Horne (segment "Love")
The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.
Harlem Hotshots
1945
as (archive footage)
A musical short.
Two Girls and a Sailor
1944
as Specialty
A sailor helps two sisters start up a service canteen. The sailor soon becomes taken with gorgeous sister Jean, unaware that her sibling Patsy is also...
Broadway Rhythm
1944
as Fernway de la Fer
Broadway producer Johnny Demming is only interested in big-name talent and scoffs that his sister, father and other small-time talent could be used in...
Boogie-Woogie Dream
1944
After hours at a nightclub, the hired help have a jam session, which proves to be just what a couple of belated customers wanted to hear.
Swing Fever
1943
as Herself
Comedy about a bandleader with hypnotic powers.
Thousands Cheer
1943
as Lena Horne
Acrobat Eddie Marsh is in the army now. His first act is to become friendly with Kathryn Jones, the colonel's pretty daughter. Their romance hits a fe...
I Dood It
1943
as Herself
Constance Shaw, a Broadway dance star, and Joseph Rivington Reynolds, a keen fan of hers, marry after she breaks up with her fiancé. Connie thinks Jos...
Stormy Weather
1943
as Selina Rogers
The relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African-American entertainers of the early ...
Cabin in the Sky
1943
as Georgia Brown
When compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson dies in a drunken fight, he awakens in purgatory, where he learns that he will be sent back to Earth for si...
Panama Hattie
1942
as As self, Singer in Phil's Place (uncredited)
Sailors and spies mingle in between the acts at Hattie's nightclub in the Canal Zone.
The Duke Is Tops
1938
as Ethel Andrews
A theatrical producer puts aside his own success to boost the career of a talented singer.
Honor Coles, Le Danseur De Claquettes Distingue
N/A
as Self
Documentary about Charles "Honi" Coles, an American actor and tap dancer.