Lena Horne | Hollywood Yesterday

Cabin in the Sky Lobby Card: Cannot Begin to Tell You How Much I Love This One…

July 8, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

I love when a Lobby Card or movie poster don’t just capture the actors and actresses involved but also capture the “energy” of the film. This lobby card for the wonderful Cabin in the Sky does just that. This is a very unique, colorful, and bold musical – one that very much marches to the beat of its own drum. This particular lobby card pretty much announces that to the world!

If you’ve never seen this one, I hope you get a chance to check it out soon. Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Eddie Anderson, Rex Ingram (outstanding!), and the rest of the cast are breathtakingly good and this film deserves so much more attention than it currently gets.

I’m kind of on a mission to make that happen!

Watch Cabin in the Sky on Amazon Prime or add the dvd to your collection. The dvd linked to, on Amazon, has some of the wonderful artwork above on the cover. Gotta have it for my collection, even though I already have the dvd!

Eddie Anderson, Lena Horne, and Rex Ingram: Great Behind the Scenes Picture

June 13, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Eddie Anderson, Lena Horne, and Rex Ingram – Behind the Scenes of Cabin in the Sky

I’ve professed my love countless times for “behind the scenes” pictures and this particular one is a perfect example of why I love them so much! You can get such a great look at the stars’ personalities with these photos. I love Eddie Anderson’s adorable face, Lena Horne’s beautiful and teasing smile, and Rex Ingram’s enjoyment of the whole thing!

If you’ve never seen Cabin in the Sky, I hope you’ll find it as soon as possible. It may sound corny… and I apologize if it does… but it is simply a delightful film. The talent is through the roof, the joy is palpable, and it’s simply a very, very, very “feel good” movie.

Eddie Anderson, Lena Horne, and Rex Ingram

Picture of the Day: Lena Horne and Judy Garland, The Judy Garland Show

June 2, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Lena Horne and Judy Garland, 1963

The Judy Garland Show was made up of episodes where the wonderful Judy Garland sang and visited with other wonderful performers. One such performer was one of my absolute favorite stars of all time – the legend, herself, Lena Horne. (Click HERE to see a video of the beautiful ladies singing a duet)

The Cabin in the Sky Lobby Card… LOVE IT!

May 25, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Cabin in the Sky Lobby Card: Rex Ingram, Kenneth Spencer, Eddie Anderson, and… of course, Lena Horne!

I’ve already declared my undying love for Lobby Cards – the design, the font, the colors… I am obsessed. I’ve begun collecting them and am having the time of my life.

The one above is one I’d like to get my mitts on. First of all, I collect anything and everything related to Lena Horne, so this is a must have for my collection. Also, I love the colors and the overall design of this lobby card. Bonus… the movie, itself, is outstanding!

You can find Cabin in the Sky (link to dvd on Amazon) on dvd or Watch on Prime. I haven’t been able to find any Cabin in the Sky lobby cards on Amazon yet, but there are a few gorgeous posters – including one very similar to the lobby card above as well as one (shown below) featuring the wonderful art on the front of the dvd.

As you’d imagine, the collector in me is beside herself.

Lena Horne: Someone to Watch Over Me

May 21, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

I have many things that are such a part of my daily routine that I do them without even thinking… feeding my cats, drinking coffee (cup after cup…), reading from an Agatha Christie book (even books I’ve read before), etc. Another of these “dailies” is listening to Lena Horne. There’s just something about her beautiful voice that I’m so drawn to, I make sure I don’t go a day without it.

While I normally pop in my cds, I do enjoy videos on YouTube (after all, like the one above, they come with such gorgeous pictures!). The song above, “Someone to Watch Over Me” is one of my favorites.

I know you’ll love it (and the pictures!) just as much.

The Gorgeous and Talented Lena Horne

Lena Horne and Richard Widmark: Death of a Gunfighter

May 9, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Lena Horne, Death of a Gunfighter

I love Lena Horne for a lot of reasons – she was beautiful, talented, strong, intelligent, stylish, classy, and had the voice of an angel… the star angel in God’s choir.

I also love her because she was one of the musicians and actresses my mom and I agreed on!

She loved Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly the way I loved Maureen O’Hara, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, and Ann-Margret.

She loved The Waltons… I loved Little House on the Prairie.

She loved Lawrence Welk… I preferred Hee Haw.

She loved Cary Grant best… I preferred John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.

(Continued Below…)

Lena Horne and Richard Widmark, Death of a Gunfighter

We even differed with books – She loved reading romance novels… I loved Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew and would need to be PAID to read a romance novel!

But when it came to Lena Horne, we were both in absolute awe of her. If she were on the television, we froze and hung on her every move. If she were on the radio or we were playing her music in the house… we knew every word of every song. We had one lovely entertainer we could agree on! Because of this, I think of my mom anytime I see a Lena Horne photo or film.

So, as you can see, the wonderful Lena Horne has a special place in my heart.

The photos shown here are from her 1969 film, Death of a Gunfighter. I am absolutely in love with the fact that she was cast as Richard Widmark’s wife… the gorgeous girlfriend of the protagonist who just happens to be a woman of color.

We may not think twice about that now, but back then? It was bold casting that paid off in a big way. She was wonderful in the film and had palpable chemistry with Richard Widmark.

If you’ve never seen it, I hope you’ll check it out.

Richard Widmark and Lena Horne

Stormy Weather Lobby Card (Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, and Cab Calloway… So Much Talent!)

March 1, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Bill Robinson, Lena Horne, and Cab Calloway, Stormy Weather

The three talented individuals above are three of my favorites… so you can imagine how much I love Stormy Weather (1943).

Each of the 15 times I’ve seen it.

NOT exaggerating.

If you’ve never seen this musical even once, I hope you’ll find it soon and watch every last glorious moment.

Picture of the Day: Lena Horne and Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson

February 20, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Lena Horne, Cabin in the Sky Behind the scenes photo with Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson

My love for Lena Horne is no secret – ADORE the woman! Whether it’s as an actress or singer… or human being, in general… she was one in a couple of billion. This photo of her with Eddie Anderson is one of my favorites. The fact that she’s smiling that megawatt smile and dressed to the nines is only part of the reason. I’m also obsessed with “behind the scenes” photos. I love that she and Rochester were hanging out and that she was so genuinely happy.

Sigh. Love her so.

If you’ve never seen the much underrated and underappreciated Cabin in the Sky (Amazon link), I hope you’ll do so asap. It is as remarkable as Lena, herself…. well… close.

Beautiful Lena Horne: Thousands Cheer Publicity Still

November 11, 2019 By Joi Leave a Comment

Beautiful Lena Horne, Thousands Cheer

I’ve had a rough week -what better star than the glamorous, mega-talented Lena Horne to get me back on track?! Nothing quite like one of your favorite stars to snap you out of a Funk… even when it’s with a capital F!

This publicity still is from the 1943 musical Thousands Cheer, with Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly, Lena Horne, Judy Garland, Mary Astor, Eleanor Powell, Mickey Rooney, Red Skelton, and (even!) more.

Lena Horne: “Believe In Yourself” from THE WIZ

November 7, 2019 By Joi Leave a Comment

The Wiz is a beautiful, spectacular film from 1978 with an all star cast to rival any: Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell (hilarious man!), Richard Pryor, and (of course) my much beloved Lena Horne. And, honestly, that’s just “some” of its star power.

If you’ve never seen this musical/fantasy, do yourself a favor and catch is asap. You can find The Wiz on Amazon – it makes an outrageously fun addition to any dvd collection.

In the video below, the wonderful Lena Horne sings Believe in Yourself. Mesmerizing!