Lena Horne, G.O.A.T.

The greatest African-American actress, singer and entertainer of all time has left us.
Lena Horne died at the hospital. She was 92.
The Brooklyn native started as a dancer at age 16, immediately attracting the eye of talent promoters. It wouldn't take long for Hollywood to catch up.
In the infancy of television, Horne was a black woman that had never been seen in Hollywood before: She had a clause put into her contract that forbid her to act in movies as a maid. No, Horne wanted roles that weren't symbolically subservient or demeaning to African-Americans. She got them.
Why? Because she was tenacious in her demands and -- let's be honest -- drop-dead gorgeous.
During WWII, Horne's star really took off. She landed her first film role in 1942, which led to her ground-breaking performance in "Stormy Weather."
Since those days almost half a century ago, the black actress has stood on Horne's shoulders as more roles and entertainment avenues have opened up.
During the civil rights era, Horne was a leading force in entertainment, championing the leading black actresses of the day.
It's become a cliche' now, but in this case, Lena Horne was truly the Greatest. Of. All. Time.


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Diahann Carroll: Lioness of film, music, stage

Few people intimately know the historical treasure that is Diahann Carroll, singer, actress, activist, pioneer. Carroll, born in New York City, was the first African American to get their own show on national television. And she didn't play a maid, or subservient character either.
From 1968 to 1970, "Julia" was a groundbreaking comedy in its own right, although the social atmosphere of the time left it exposed to ridicule by the black community because of its lack of a father-figure (Carroll's heroin in the sitcom was widowed), and the show being too lighthearted during a time of social and civic change in America.
In 1974, she was the first African American actress to win a Tony for her part in "No Strings."
Her best role though -- again as a single mother (opposite James Earl Jones) -- was as "Claudine" a film which garnered her an Academy Award nomination for best actress. "Claudine" -- a powerful tale that resisted the blaxploitaton content of the era -- has the distinction of having had one of the baddest soundtracks in the history of black films, with soulful Curtis Mayfield writing the film's score and soundtrack with vocals from the venerable Gladys Knight.
In recent years Carroll has been lured back to the small screen for roles on "Grey's Anatomy" and other small parts.
She is what the entertainment cubs of today -- Rihanna, Kerry Washington, Janet Jackson, Beyonce -- should strive to be, a legend.

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