lena horne
Lena Horne (1917-2010) was an American singer, actor, and activist. She began her career in the chorus line at New York’s famous Cotton Club. In 1942, she was the first African American actor to sign a long-term contract with a major studio. By the mid-1940s, she was the highest paid African American performer in the United States.
Lena Horne refused to perform for segregated audiences while touring with the USO during WWII. In 1963, she participated in the March on Washington for civil rights.
The character Geneva Lee Browne is modeled on Lena Horne!
Lena Horne refused to perform for segregated audiences while touring with the USO during WWII. In 1963, she participated in the March on Washington for civil rights.
The character Geneva Lee Browne is modeled on Lena Horne!
Watch her perform the title song of the 1943 film Stormy Weather here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPgnj5upihQ
CArmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda (1909-1955), who was known for her “Brazilian bombshell” persona, was the highest paid female performer during the 1940s. She was the first South American with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The 1943 Busby Berkeley musical film The Gang’s All Here starred Carmen Miranda as Dorita, a nightclub singer caricaturized as a “sexy Latina” stereotype. She sang “The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” in a number that included a barefoot and scantily-clad chorus dancing with large bananas. The movie was banned in Brazil for its sexual innuendo. Watch the number here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLsTUN1wVrc
Frank Sinatra
Radio superstar Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) was often swarmed by swooning bobby soxers in the 1940s.
The character Johnny Cantone is modeled after 1950s Frank Sinatra.
Listen to Frank Sinatra croon the Gershwin song “Someone to Watch Over Me” from his 1946 album The Voice of Frank Sinatra here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E07b0SbWWFc
The character Johnny Cantone is modeled after 1950s Frank Sinatra.
Listen to Frank Sinatra croon the Gershwin song “Someone to Watch Over Me” from his 1946 album The Voice of Frank Sinatra here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E07b0SbWWFc
Milton Berle
Milton Berle (1908-2002) was a stage, radio, and television star. He began his showbiz career as a child actor in silent films, then became a Vaudeville comedian in the 1920s. He transferred his stand-up comedy skills to radio in the 1930s and hosted radio variety shows in the 1940s. His success at hosting NBC’s Texaco Star Theatre (radio: 1938-1949; TV: 1948-1956) earned him an unprecedented 30-year television contract with NBC in 1951.
The character Neal Tilden is modeled after Milton Berle.
The character Neal Tilden is modeled after Milton Berle.
Like other Jewish American performers of the time, Berle took advantage of his perceived ethnic ambiguity to both use and critique ethnic and dialect-based humor. Watch a 1949 episode of the Texaco Star Theatre variety show where Milton Berle and Chinese American film star Keye Luke play with 1940s Chinese stereotypes (at the 11:30 mark) here: https://archive.org/details/TexacoStarTheater22March1949