Lena Horne Dead at 92

Lena Horne, the first black star signed to a contract by a major Hollywood studio, died Sunday at a Manhattan hospital. She was 92. Horne's best-known film role came in the 1943 musical Stormy Weather, while general industry discrimination kept her off the big screen for most of the next two or three decades; her final movie role came in Sidney Lumet's adaptation of The Wiz. Cinema trailblazer though she was, Horne is still perhaps best-known for her stage, TV and recording work; growing up, I'd take her on Sesame Street any day of the week. [NYT]