(Smithfield, NC) – On Sunday, May 9th, star of the screen and stage Lena Horne passed. She was 92 years old.

Lena joins other stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood that have passed in recent months, including Kathryn Grayson, Jennifer Jones and Jean Simmons. Lena made her film debut in The Duke is Tops in 1938, but her experience in Hollywood would be a disappointment. MGM struggled as to how to best utilize an African-American actress beyond small, supporting roles. In 1943 MGM loaned her to Twentieth Century Fox for the all-black musical Stormy Weather, a box-office success. Her rendition of the title song became a major hit on the musical charts.

Lena appeared in 16 feature films but after years of frustration with Hollywood, Lena returned to her roots as a nightclub performer. In conjunction with her club work, she also maintained a recording career that stretched from 1936 to 2000 and brought her three Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989. Lena also became heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement and took part in the March on Washington in August 1963. Lena performed occasionally on Broadway, including in her own Tony-winning one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music in 1981-1982 and she sang and acted on radio and television.

Lena Horne and Ava Gardner were close friends who considered themselves spiritually akin. When the role of Showboat’s Julie LaVerne became available, Lena wanted the part, but it went instead to Ava. Ava knew Lena was better for the role and was angered over the reasons why the part wasn’t given to Lena, but there was no friction between the two friends. In Ava: My Story, Lena said of Ava, “She felt that life was crappy and that a lot of people got mistreated for weird reasons, and she liked to see people like each other. She was a real good dame.”

In the past, the Museum has honored the passing of Ava’s colleagues and co-stars. The Museum will display a memorial tribute to Lena Horne honoring her life and career beginning May 20th, 2010.

The Ava Gardner Museum is located in downtown Smithfield, at 325 E. Market Street and more information may be found on the museum website, www.avagardner.org or by calling 919-934-5830. The museum is open Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm and Sunday 2pm-5pm with admission of $6.00 adults, $5.00 seniors and groups and $4.00 children.