Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne

I just finished this book and I have to say thoroughly enjoyed it. In face, I couldn't put it down. I didn't want to stop reading it. The author actually gave a fairly balanced view of Ms. Horne. It was neither a hagiography or a hatchet job, but tried to look at Horne from all sides. In my experience there are at least three sides to every story: Yours, Mine, and the Truth. The last one often contains bits of the other two. To date, Ms. Horne's version of her past has gone uncontested. I think the author should be commended for trying to give us the rest of the story. On her MGM career, it seems true that MGM didn't know how to use her, and thus stuck her in musical numbers -- which southern censors sometimes cut. Horne, during her time at MGM, was given the job of being "the first," and "opening the door." But once it was opened she didn't anywhere to go. Hollywood had it's first black leading lady, but they didn't have a suitable black leading man. Nevermind Denzel Washington, Larry Fishburne, or Jamie Foxx. It would be decades before there was a Belafonte or Potier in Hollywood. It was Eddie Rochester or Bill Robinson for MGM's black glamor girl. And casting her in a role as another race was nearly impossible, due to anti-miscegenation policies, etc. At one point in the book, Horne acknowledges this as one reason she didn't get the part of Julie in the film version of "Showboat." Certainly Horne had some acting talent, and the biographer notes that she hired an acting coach to help her develop it. However, he also points out that MGM could have enrolled her in the studio's acting school as it did with other stars, but it didn't. That may have been because of Horne's race or because there wasn't much do with her once they trained her. As I read through the passages about Horne's post-MGM career, her difficulty being close to all but a few pictures, her discomfort with her sexy image, etc., I kept going back to the early chapters about her childhood. As the parent of two young children myself, I ached for a child who received very little affection, and never had a stable home life. She was abandoned by her father, and for much of her childhood abandoned by her mother. As a result he was vulnerable to being abused by the strangers her mother placed her with, and on some occasions she was abused, and was most likely sexually abused in at least one of the "foster homes." Her mother placed her in. Part of Horne's behavior throughout her life, then, must be seen at least partly as that of someone who has suffered physical and sexual abuse as a child. Her black middle class background and her grandmother's stern upbringing ("Never let them see you cry.") meant those incidents couldn't be discussed, let alone explored or resolved. Part of her behavior must also be seen as that of a women who was too beautiful and talented to be ignored, but who was not white enough for acceptance among white, and was often not black enough to find acceptance among her own people. The former was cause for anger. The latter was the source of a lot of hurt. Both made for a lifelong search for identity and acceptance. I think the author was careful here not to be worshipful of Horne, and not to trash her. He clearly showed her triumphs and failures, her strengths and weaknesses, moments of kindness and moments of cruelty, fearful moments and courageous moments. He shows her as a woman who over the years changed and grew in many ways, but not in others. A coworker of mine, in a former job, had once worked in Hollywood and had contact with a number of celebrities. I remember her telling me that, while I might enjoy their movies or music, I would probably find that many of them are better from a distance. So often, we see only one side of our icons and idols -- an idealized image with nearly all flaws carefully hidden. This author has given us a human portrait of Horne. A fully human icon, once distant, and now as close as the book on the nightstand.

When I think of Lena Horn I can clearly see a stunning, sleek, classy woman who has that sly, knowing smile and sharp focused eyes. The author, Mr. Gavin, lets you know what goes on behind that smile and why Lena Horn feels the need to be so observant. After reading STORMY WEATHER, I understood more about not only Ms. Horn but the early years of our society and how it related to African Americans. The story is explosive in that it details Lena's struggles not only with prejudice from society but from within her own selected circle. The author skillfully details the confused arena that Lena Horn was born into. Although not pleasant, the historical details validly state why the woman had to fight, struggle and feel the need to excel her entire life. Also, played out against the changing times, the reader sees Ms. Horn developing into her own being as opposed to the MGM fantasy. This is a very insightful,well written and fascinating look not only at one of our greatest performers but society at large.

Just finished this amazing book and truly enjoyed it. I had the great pleasure to have met her backstage at Lincoln Center after her performance as part of a JVC Jazz Festival tribute to Billy Strayhorn. She was most gracious to my ex-wife and I and even took the time to pose for several photos with us. A few days later, I sent her a card to sign for us to frame with the photos and she obliged and mailed the card back in record time. We later saw her in concert at Carnegie Hall when she brought the house down with a spectacular performance. James Gavin has done a great job with this book and I wish him and Ms. Horne all the best. Get the book !!!!!!

The book had plenty of biographical information. Sometimes too much to the point it dragged. It would have been a better read if it were shorter.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - although, I was in constant surprise about how little I knew about the circumstances surrounding Ms. Horne's career, someone I'd idolized for a very long time. It's clear that the author spent a lot of time interviewing people close to Ms. Horne, personally and professionally, so one doesn't have to worry much about reading a book made up entirely of speculations (which, let's be honest, some of these celebrity biographies are). Early on in the book, the author makes repeated assertions that Lena Horne hated Caucasians - which is puzzling at first, since he provides little evidence by way of anecdotes to support this. It isn't until later on in the book that he provides these examples, many of them direct quotes from Ms. Horne. He takes a look at her career and ascension to stardom, with lots of commentary from people she worked with (which is great because they often provide accounts contradicting Ms. Horne's version of things), but very little from her family members. Indeed, her first husband reportedly refused to talk about her, even though theirs was a tumultuous, and ultimately, destructive relationship that never improved. The author spends a lot of time detailing Lena's early years, providing a variety of reasons (mostly bad parenting) for Lena's later hang-ups about love, sex, and race. He spends a lot of time showing what a struggle it was for her to be this untouchable idol for Black America, at a time when Blacks needed desperately to have position images of the Black female - not just as a way of educating Caucasians, but as something to be proud of and to aspire to. In this portrayal, Ms. Horne consistently comes across as self-involved, lacking in empathy for anyone other than herself, a victim (a role she willingly embodied for her own reasons), and as someone who would not accept responsibility for her own failings and bad decisions. Ms. Horne also supposedly spent a lot of time vigorously hating "White people", even though, many in her social set were White, and her second husband was White. This is a story of a woman who, it appears, could never figure out who she was and suffered a lifelong identity crisis, thereby, always reinventing herself for her audience. A woman who appeared to think that she was the only one who got to experience common burdens of life - being held back in your profession, for example, because of the color of your skin. While thoroughly shocking (to me), I enjoyed learning about the history of that time in the entertainment business, and especially reading about all the celebrity connections (her friendship with Ava Gardner, and dislike of Frank Sinatra). Absolutely worth the read.

I grew up knowing that Lena Horne was one of the biggest brightest smartest star African Americans had ever seen. Reading this book transported me back to her early years in film and music. I was surprised to know that Horne was tormented as a child being called "high yeller" or emotionally abused. Her stardom was an act of love for her mom while her heart longed to be truly loved unconditionally. It was heartbreaking to know that Horne saw her job as a dancer at the Cotton Club "as an escape from a miserable home life". There were several interesting facts that I learned...her early marriage was doomed by the start. Louis Jones was abusive & shunned for marrying down. She left performing for a short time to be a good wife till she realized she didn't know how (now that's tragic). Lena Horne was inaccurately credited as having been the 1st to sign a long term contract with a major company (but her contract was more lucrative). She was considered to be a "interesting weapon against Hollywood racism". She lived in a state of depression and low self-esteem. She said this on several occasions, "Never hope too hard, it never pans out". I met Lena Horne at a Delta convention in the late `80's. She was beautiful and very pleasant. I was excited to read about how she joined our wonderful sorority. The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. president Jeanne Noble, persuaded Horne to become an honorary member of DST on Dec. 21, 1958. Noble would help her to change her image and serve as an advisor until the early `70's. There were several other items like relationships, movies, music and family that shocked me but you will have to read the book to find them out.

IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY EDITION, JOHN SIMON WROTE A REVIEW THAT LOOKED LIKE A COLLEGE BOOK REPORT, NOT A REVIEW. THIS BOOK BY JAMES GAVIN SURPASSES ALL MOST ALL OF BIOGRAPHIES THAT I HAVE READ, IT IS FULL OF PASSION, AND HISTORY AND INFORMATION ON THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. JAMES IS FAIR AND INFORMATIVE WITH OUT EDITING OUT THE DEEP FEELINGS THAT MAKES SOMEONE AN ARTIST AND THE STORIES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND I AM REREADING THIS BOOK FOR THE THIRD TIME AND WILL BE BUYING MULTIPLES TO GIVE AS GIFTS THIS CHRISTMAS, KWANZA, SEASON. YOU WILL CRY AND LAUGH AND COME AWAY INLOVE WITH LENA HORN ALL OVER AGAIN, YOU WILL PUT HER RECORDINGS ON AND FILMS, AND NOW YOU WILL KNOW THE BACK STORIES. ANN RUCKERT

James Gavin is a most excellent biographer, taking one into the life of a person so completely that one ends up feeling like a personal friend. He has written two other biographies - one of Peggy Lee, "Is That All There Is - The Strange Life of Peggy Lee", and one of Chet Baker, which I look forward to adding to my collection of Mr. Gavin's writing. His "Intimate Nights - The Golden Era of New York Cabaret", took me back to my time in New York in the late 50's-60's in the most pleasurable way - revisiting the remarkable singers of that era, some of whom actually were personal friends. I highly recommend anything Mr. Gavin puts pen to.

re:stormy weather:the life of lena horne. dear betterworldbooks thankyou for your e-mail, but i am afraid that your super duper super cool robot has been overheating a bit and has got its acknowledgements of receipt in a twist. the above book was promptly delivered on the 11th april, as described and well packaged. thankyou very much. the receipt was acknowledged immediately. yours sincerely mel ingham.

世界的な大スター、特にアメリカでは、神のような存在かも。ビジュアル的にも、カリスマです。

When I ordered this book I had reservations it was going to be another ordinary biography with information I already knew about the lady. How wrong I was! The book has been extremely well researched resulting in a fascinating read. The author, James Gavin, has been honest with his observations and I enjoyed this book very much. Highly recommended![[ASIN:0743271432 Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne

An excellent account of the turbulent life of Lena

This is an interesting autobiography charting Lena Horne's fight against unequality and how she overcame it to become accepted as an entertainer. The book is good value and was received promptly from the seller.