LENA HORNE - PICTURE POST CARD SIGNED - HFSID 156390

LENA HORNE
Signed vintage color picture post card by RCA Victor of Tony and Grammy-winning singer Lena Horne in a white gown. Horne was the first black American woman to sign a long-term contract with a major movie studio.
Picture post card signed "Lena Horne" in blue ink. Color, 3¼x5½ overall, 3¼x4¾ image, one surface. Addressed by Horne on verso to: "H. Lloyd, 515 III, Cresson, Pa." Captioned at lower margin: "Lena Horne/Victor's Sophisticated and Sultry Songster". Postcard by Radio Corporation of America's RCA Victor Division. Sultry American jazz singer and actress Horne (1917-2010) began performing at age six and left school at 16 to support her sick mother. She began singing at Harlem's Cotton Club in 1933, where Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington took her under their wings. She later performed with Noble Sissle's Orchestra and Teddy Wilson's big band. Horne won critical acclaim for her performance in Stormy Weather (1943) and for singing the movie's title song. Although she was the first black American woman to sign a long-term movie contract with a major studio (MGM), her films were shot so that her scenes could be cut out before being shown in the South. Horne placed a single, Love Me or Leave Me, in the Billboard Top 20 in 1955 and won two Grammy Awards (1981 for her album Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music and 1995 for her album An Evening with Lena Horne) and was nominated for a Tony in 1958 for her performance in Jamaica (1957-1959). Horne also won a special Tony in 1981 for her one-woman show Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music. Creased at lower margin. Pen skipped in places while writing signature, which is legible. Stained at postage area on verso. Overall, fine condition.