I was deleting the nearly forty shows (mostly movies) from my Dish DVD drive for reasons which I may or may not explain later. When I came to "Academy Awards" I thought I might as well finish looking at it before I deleted it. I'm really glad I did.
Near the end of the show they had their annual "In Memoriam", consisting of brief pre-recorded shots of some of the more notable people in the movie business who had died since last year's program. As the last picture came on the screen, the camera pulled back and.....
...Halle Berry walked out on stage. For the next few minutes she paid homage to an entertainment legend. Whoever made the decision to ask Halle Berry to do this should win an Oscar. No other actress could have brought the ethos to this moment that she did.
The lady she payed tribute to was a true legend, someone who, as Miss Berry said, "paved the way for so many of us."
That would be....
...Lena Horne, a beautiful black woman with an absolutely fabulous voice. MGM signed her up in the early fifties and put her in two or three all-black -cast movies. (My favorite was "Cabin in the Sky.") She was a sensation. But when MGM put her into some of their major musicals they used her only in walk on roles. She would come on screen, sing her heart out, and then disappear from the picture. Sometimes, if we were lucky, she might even get to sing two numbers. These movies were edited in such a way that all of Lena Horne's scenes could be cut out of the picture before it was shown in the south.
The real injustice to this fine lady came in 1952 when MGM decided to re-make that great musical "Show Boat". If ever there was an actress born to play "Julie" in that show it was Lena Horne. "Julie" is a mulatto, passing for white. When the show boat arrives in one river town, the local sheriff learns the truth about her and, because she is married to a white member of the show boat cast, she is forced to leave the company. At the end of the show, "Julie" is a tragic character.
Lena Horne practically begged for the role. After all, she was already under contract to MGM. But she had absolutely no chance. With the infinite wisdom of the fifties, studio executives determined it would be bad box office. So they cast Ava Gardner and had to dub her singing voice. Some sources say the MGM make up artists even used the same make up on Ava Gardner as they had used for Lena Horne. How ironic can it get?
Understandably, Miss Horne was not happy at MGM. She left and never came back. But she didn't need MGM or the movies to become an outstanding entertainer. For more than sixty years, through club acts, recordings and TV specials, Lena Horne went on to win acclaim and the adoration of millions. (Yes, I was one of those millions.)
So, thank you, Halle Berry, for bringing probably the only real moment of genuine feeling to the Oscars.
And thank you, Lena Horne, for "Stormy Weather" and all those other great numbers you sang with your inimitable style and grace.
