The riveting career of Lena Horne
Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne by James Gavin chronicles not only the life of an entertainment legend (she inspired, among others, Barbra Streisand and Aretha Franklin; her career-capping Broadway show The Lady and Her Music, which ran from ’81-’82, earned a Tony and two Grammys), but also offers a window into the history of race in Twentieth Century America. Earlier this week, I heard Gavin read at the Hue-Man Bookstore in Harlem, then caught up with him for a Q&A:
Q. What was so compelling in Horne's story that you devoted five years of your life to researching and writing this book?
A. Lena had a lot to be angry and sad about, as do many of us, myself included. Her struggle with her rage - the way she turned it into a force for progress - riveted me. Her father had deserted her; a jealous stage mother kept trying to take her down. The racism of the day was more than enough to make her feel alienated and less-than. "She's good-lookin' but she can't do nothin'," is how she summed up the longtime attitude toward her. She set out to prove people wrong, and she triumphed. Her personal struggles resonated with millions of people, and she influenced a lot of change.
Q. You've said that in some ways Horne's story was a social history of our country--can you elaborate?
A. Lena was born of Brooklyn's black bourgeoisie, and social consciousness was drummed into her from birth. As she grew up and made her way as an entertainer, she became enmeshed in a series of historic times and places: the brutally racist Deep South, the Cotton Club, golden-age Hollywood, the blacklist, New York's white café society, the civil rights movement in all its phases. To me Lena's story encompasses almost everything that made the last presidential election possible.
Q. What might her career have been if she'd been born in, say, 1980?
A. Lena's career was built upon splashy Hollywood musicals, glamorous supper clubs, and TV variety shows, all of which have vanished. She was extremely frustrated that Hollywood didn't afford her many chances to act, but I doubt she'd be happier today; black actresses still don't have much to do. The diva singing styles of today don't interest her; when I interviewed her in 1994 [for The New York Times], she told me she couldn't be "commercially emotional." So I don't think a Lena Horne would be possible in the 21st century.
Q. Horne was known not only for her voice but also for her shocking beauty. How did she deal with aging?
A.
