Lena Horne's talents were able to shine in their full glory when the barriers of race started to come down. Her greatest triumph came in 1981, when her Broadway one-woman show, "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music," won her two Tony Awards and was a smash hit.
Horne, who died earlier this week at age 92, was able to show her talents - and her honesty - to television audiences for decades.
She performed on countless variety shows. Here she is with another legend, Judy Garland, on Garland's CBS program in 1963:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlYxppElUM4
During the 1970s and 1980s, Horne graced the PBS program "Sesame Street." Here she is teaching my favorite character, Grover, to say "Hello":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Y0lJ8ELvI
She also guest-starred on a number of television series as herself. Here's a classic appearance from NBC's "The Cosby Show" during its first season, when the Huxtable clan was celebrating Cliff's birthday:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxp47BPI9FY
One of Ed Bradley's finest stories for CBS' "60 Minutes" was his 1981 interview with Horne. Here's a small snippet - too small:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWCdhmD6Z2I
And here she is, in golden voice, with her standard "Stormy Weather" and "If You Believe" from "The Wiz." Not sure of the source, but this is likely from PBS around 1982:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMf0Z7EPdLo
Her voice will ring forever.
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Get ready to say "so long" to Rabbit Ears. But don't worry: Just the name and the appearance of the blog are changing. Starting next week, it'll be YesterTube.
Each week, YesterTube will still be devoted to looking at classic television. You can find it at:
http://yestertube.blogspot.com/
It's not much to look at yet, but tune in next week. And Rabbit Ears' archives will still be available for a time.
Until next week on YesterTube, Happy Viewing!
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