Classic Film Review, Minnelli's Cab... Sep 19, 2009
Musical Fable Dazzles with Jazz Greats Ethel Waters & Lena Horne ... In heaven s corner is Petunia Jackson (Ethel Waters), whose deep Christian faith and love of her husband, Little Joe, bring her the support of de Lawd s General (Kenneth Spencer) and a flight of angels ... The movie s stand-out cast includes Ethel Waters, Eddie Rochester Anderson, Lena Horne, and Rex Ingram. (Suite101.com)
Is Martha’s Vineyard one place where race isn’t an issue? Aug 15, 2009
Henrietta ran a laundry, and in 1912 the couple opened an inn, Shearer Cottage, that catered to well-to-do black visitors from Harlem and elsewhere, including the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Sr. and his son the future congressman, singer Ethel Waters, actor Paul Robeson, and beauty industry millionaire Madame C.J. Walker. Next week Shearer Cottage hosts an Elderhostel forum on Obama featuring former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young. (Boston Globe)
Capital culture: Obama adds to Vineyards history Jul 24, 2009
The cottage became a center of a black summer population that grew over the decades and included actor Paul Robeson, singer Ethel Waters and U.S. Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. of New York, who all stayed at Shearer Cottage. (MSNBC -- Travel)
'Stormy Weather,' by James Gavin Jul 9, 2009
"Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne" takes its title from her signature song, but in the beginning, it wasn't even her song: It was Ethel Waters', and the older star's resentment of Horne during the making of the groundbreaking film "Cabin in the Sky" would presage Horne's own iciness years later toward younger singer-actresses like Diahann Carroll. Although Horne was born and raised in a middle-class family, her early life was no walk in the park. (San Francisco Chronicle)
