Vintage Video Of The Week

Most people think the late Lena Horne's first movie was Stormy Weather. Not true. In 1938, when Ms. Horne was 19 years old, she starred in a musical called The Duke Is Tops (re-released as The Bronze Venus in 1943). These "race movies" were prevalent in the 1930s and 40s, usually low-budget and made strictly for the African-American audience.

Above is a scene from The Duke Is Tops/The Bronze Venus with Ms. Horne singing "I Know You Remember".

SPECIAL NOTE: Tonight, the Turner Classic Movies channel will pay a special tribute to Ms. Horne with a collection of films from her movie career: The Duke Is Tops, Panama Hattie and Cabin In The Sky. The tribute will begin at 8pm EST. For more info, check out the TCM website.

Enjoy!

LEGENDARY: Lena Horne, Our Bronze Venus (1919-2010)

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne

Singer, Actress, Civil Rights Activist

(June 30, 1917 - May 9, 2010)

Stormy Weather was the first all-Black classic film that I had ever seen (and helped to establish my love for Black classic films). When I was a kid, the local television station would, once or twice a year, air this classic, and I would stop whatever I was doing to watch it. My favorite part was when Lena Horne's character, "Selena Rogers", sang Ms. Horne's signature song, "Stormy Weather" as the great Katherine Dunham danced in the background. Like everyone else, I was in awe of her beauty and the classy way she carried herself. Ms. Horne as a glamourous, sophisticated leading lady was a welcomed depature to the maid and "mammy" roles I was accustomed to seeing Black actors play when watching films from yesteryear.

It wasn't until I got older, and read more about Ms. Horne, that I learned that she was more than a pretty face. She was a pioneer who broke barriers for Black performers, becoming the first Black actor to sign a contract with a major Hollywood studio. Ms. Horne was also a fierce advocate for Civil Rights, working with Paul Robeson (which caused her to be blacklisted during McCarthy's Red Scare), refusing to perform for segregated audiences at USO performances, participating in the March on Washington in 1963 and, my personal favorite, throwing at lamp at a customer who made a racial slur at a Beverly Hills restaurant. In Brian Lanker's book, "I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America", Ms. Horne said, "I was always battling the system to try to get to be with my people. Finally, I wouldn't work for places that kept us out. ... It was a damn fight everywhere I was, every place I worked, in New York, in Hollywood, all over the world".

Thank you, Ms. Horne, our Bronze Venus, for showing the world that Black is beautiful, strong, elegant, classy and courageous.

"I don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I'd become. I'm me, and I'm like nobody else." - Lena Horne

Suggested Reading:

The Hornes: An American Family  by Gail Lumet Buckley

Vintage Photo of the Week

Check out this pic of the legendary Lena Horne christening the SS George Washington Carver on May 7, 1943, a WWII Liberty ship which she sponsored.

From Wikipedia:

SS George Washington Carver was a Liberty ship built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The ship was named in honor of George Washington Carver, and was the second Liberty ship named for an African American.

The ship was initially assigned by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) to the American South African Line, Inc. for merchant service. In November 1943 the ship was allocated to the United States Army by the WSA and was converted to hospital ship USAHS Dogwood. The ship made multiple trips to ports in England from its homeport of Charleston, South Carolina, before sailing for duty in the Philippines in 1945.

In January 1946, the ship was converted to carry a combination of troops and military dependents as USAT George Washington Carver. The ship was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in 1947 and was sold for scrapping in 1964.

Enjoy your weekend!

LEGENDARY: Josephine Premice - La Bombe!

It would only be proper for WSOIC to officially kick off with a posting on the inspiration for the title of this blog, the late Josephine Premice.

If you were to look up the word "glamour" in the dictionary, you'd most likely find a photo of Ms. Premice dressed in one of her many Givenchy gowns next to the entry.

Born in Haiti on July 21, 1926 and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Ms. Premice was a Tony nominated actress and one of the premiere calypso singers in the U.S. and Europe in the '40s and '50s. Some of you may remember her as Desiree Porter, the husky voiced landlord of Dwayne Wayne, Whitley Gilbert and Ron on A Different World, or as Louise Jefferson's sister, Maxine, on The Jeffersons, but Ms. Premice's career expanded way beyond special guest appearances on Black sitcoms.

Ms. Josephine's road to Divadom began as a dancer under the tutelage of Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham. From there, Ms. Premice ventured to Broadway with performances in various productions such as Blue Holiday in 1945 (which also starred Ethel Waters and Josh White), House of Flowers in 1954 (starring Pearl Bailey and her best friend, Diahann Carroll), Jamaica from 1957-58 (starring Lena Horne), A Hand Is on the Gate in 1966, and Bubbling Brown Sugar from 1976-77 just to name a few. Ms. Premice received Tony Award nominations for her performances in Jamaica and A Hand Is on the Gate.

Ms. Josephine was also an accomplished singer, recording her first calypso song in 1949. She went on to record two calypso albums: Josephine In Paris (Verve) and Calypso (GNP Albums). She garnered international fame performing in nightclubs in Europe and South America, affectionately known as "La Bombe" in Paris and "Madonna Negra" in Italy.

Now, Ms. Premice may not have fit the American standard of black beauty -- light skin, European features -- but she didn't let that stop her from being a fashionista. She turned the definition of beauty on its ear and became the muse to legendary fashion designers Jacques Fath and Hubert de Givenchy.

"I got over thinking I was ugly. A friend told me to stand in front of the bathroom mirror and repeat over and over, 'I am beautiful.' It worked. I began to feel beautiful, which is very important."

A connoisseur of luxury, Ms. Premice took great pride and pleasure in turning her family's humble Upper West Side apartment into lavish living. Josephine turned simple walls into works of art by simply using bed sheets as wallpaper! How's that for overcoming in couture!

It was during her stint in Jamaica that Ms. Premice met her husband, Timothy Fales. Ms. Premice's marriage to Mr. Fales caused quite a stir in 1958. You see, not only is Mr. Fales white, but he was a bona fide WASP coming from a long line of "blue-blood" stock which included wealth, prestige and Mayflower settlers. As you can imagine, this marital union didn't sit well with the Old Money Set and thus, Mr. Fales was removed from the infamous Social Register. Personally, I don't think he was too upset about it, seeing as though he shunned aristocracy, preferring to hang with the brothas and sistas.

Shortly after their marriage, Ms. Premice moved to Rome with her husband, where their children, Enrico and uber NYC socialite, Susan Fales-Hill were born. They returned to the States after a six year hiatus, where Josephine resumed her acting career.

Sadly, Ms. Premice passed away on April 13, 2001 after a long battle with emphysema. But ye though she walked through the valley in the shadow of death, Ms. Premice was not about to give up glamour! In her memoir about her mother, Always Wear Joy: My Mother Bold and Beautiful, Ms. Fales-Hill wrote that everyday Ms. Premice fought the disease like a true Diva Soldier: in "a silk blouse", "palazzo pants", wig and "full makeup".

Although Josephine Premice isn't a household name like other Black Divas of her generation, she still had a significant impact on the legacy of Black women in entertainment, and their roles as style icons. Thanks to her daughter's memoir, more people will learn about this extraordinary woman and how she overcame......in couture!