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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Beyonce upstages Lady GaGa in 'Video Phone'

Well, Lady Gaga had her first real opportunity to shine next to a luminary, and she kinda fell back big time. In the "Video Phone" video, directed by Hype Williams, the woman known for the most outrageous outfits was upstaged by Beyonce in every clip. The homages to Hollywood were evident when the clip came on and you would have figured that it was just up Lady Gaga's alley right? Wrong.
She played it straight. This is a woman that had blood curdling out her chest at the VMAs and she's with a filmmaker who gets off on blatant color orgies, and she shoots her shot with a white dress on.

Other than that, the song is just okay, but the video really signals the return of Wiliams, who's been kinda low key lately. Check the video out in the right rail.

Haute Outfit