Lena Horne

She returned to the screen three more times, playing Claire Quintana in the 1969 film Death of a Gunfighter, Glinda the Good Witch in The Wiz (1978), with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, and co-hosting the 1994 MGM retrospective That's Entertainment! III. Kendall's life is explored in "The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall," written by Eve Golden, Kim Kendall, and Kim Elizabeth Kendall (University Press of Kentucky, 2002). Disenchanted with Hollywood by the mid-1950s, and increasingly focused on her nightclub career, she only made two major appearences in MGM films during the decade, 1950's Duchess of Idaho (which was also Eleanor Powell's film swan song), and the 1956 musical Meet Me in Las Vegas. Before her marriage to Harrison, Kendall had a romantic relationship with Sydney Chaplin, a son of Charlie Chaplin. (As a result, most of Horne's film appearances were standalone sequences that had no bearing on the rest of the film, so editing caused no disruption to the storyline.) She was originally considered for the lead role in the 1951 version of Show Boat but Ava Gardner was given the role instead. She succumbed to her illness on September 6 the following year, soon after completing the movie "Once More with Feeling", starring opposite Yul Brynner. She later appeared in a number of MGM musicals, most notably Cabin in the Sky, but was never featured in a leading role due to her race and the fact that films featuring her had to be reedited for showing in southern states where theatres could not show films with African-American performers. In 1958, Kendall won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Les Girls, probably the best-known film of her career.

She was the first African American performer to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio, and became famous in 1943 for her rendition of Stormy Weather in the movie of the same name. Harrison was married to actress Lilli Palmer at the time, but when he learned Kendall had been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia from her doctor, he divorced Palmer and married Kendall, never revealing to her the reason for her failing health. While she has recorded and performed extensively with jazz musicians (notably Artie Shaw and Teddy Wilson), she is usually not considered a jazz singer because she does not improvise. Later she starred opposite Rex Harrison in the comedy The Constant Husband (1955), and an affair soon followed. Lena Calhoun Horne (born June 30, 1917) is an American popular singer. She co-starred with Clark again in Dance Hall (1950), and was featured in a quick succession of forgettable films before gaining fame in "Genevieve" (1953). Being Myself (1998; Blue Note). Her first major screen role was in the Sid Field-Petula Clark musical London Town (1946), notable for being one of the costliest flops in British film history.

An Evening with Lena Horne (1995; Blue Note) - Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Her father was Terry Kendall, a vaudevillian. We'll Be Together Again (1994; Blue Note). Her maternal grandmother was Marie Kendall, a musical-comedy star for her vivacious personality and diction while singing. The Men in My Life (1988; Three Cherries). She was born Kay Justine Kendall McCarthy on May 26, 1927 in Withernsea, a coastal resort in eastern England. The Lady and Her Music (1981; Qwest) - Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Kay Kendall (1927-1959) was a British actress.

Lena: A New Album (1976; RCA). Lena and Michel (1975; RCA). Nature's Baby (1971; Buddah). Lena & Gabor (1970; Skye).

Soul (1966; UA). Merry from Lena (1966; UA). Lena in Hollywood (1966; UA). Feelin' Good (1965; UA).

Here's Lena Now! (1964; 20th Century). Sings Your Requests (1963; Charter). Lena Goes Latin (1963; Charter). Lovely & Alive (1963; RCA).

Lena on the Blue Side (1962; RCA). At the Sands (1961; RCA). Songs by Burke and Van Heusen (1960; RCA). Porgy & Bess (1959; RCA) - with Harry Belafonte.

Give the Lady What She Wants (1958; RCA). Jamaica [Original Cast Recording] (1957; RCA). At the Waldorf Astoria (1957; RCA). Stormy Weather (1956; RCA).

It's Love (1955; RCA). That's Entertainment! III (1994; MGM). The Wiz (1978; Universal Studios). Death of a Gunfighter (1969; Universal Studios).

Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956; MGM). Duchess of Idaho (1950; MGM). Words and Music (1948; MGM). Studio Visit (1946; MGM short subject).

Ziegfeld Follies (1946; MGM). Mantan Messes Up (1946; Toddy Pictures). Till the Clouds Roll By (1946; MGM). Boogie-Woogie Dream (1944; Official Films short subject).

Broadway Rhythm (1944; MGM). Swing Fever (1944; MGM). Two Girls and a Sailor (1944; MGM). Cabin in the Sky (1943; MGM).

I Dood It (1943; MGM). Stormy Weather (1942; 20th Century Fox). Thousands Cheer (1943; MGM). Panama Hattie (1942; MGM)*.

The Duke is Tops (1938; Million Dollar Pictures).