Vintage Black Glamour

Dance icon Katherine Dunham smiles at the legendary shoe...

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:16:52 -0400

Dance icon Katherine Dunham smiles at the legendary shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo as she tries on a few pairs of his shoes in Florence in 1950. Photo: David Lees/Corbis.

Grace Jones turns 65 today! In this 1989 photo by Roxanne Lowit,...

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:55:49 -0400

Grace Jones turns 65 today! In this 1989 photo by Roxanne Lowit, she is with the late great fashion designer, Patrick Kelly and legendary models Iman and Naomi Campbell.

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska 88 years...

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:54:24 -0400

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska 88 years ago today in 1925. He would later change his name to El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. In this photo from March 1964, he is shown with Muhammad Ali outside of the Trans-Lux Newsreel Theater in New York City after a screening of a film about Mr. Ali’s title fight with Sonny Liston. Photo: AP/Corbis.

electronicsquid: Billy Eckstine and Frank Sinatra, who both had...

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:41:31 -0400

electronicsquid:

Billy Eckstine and Frank Sinatra, who both had shows coming up at the Paramount Theater, appear together on a call-in radio show

(Martha Holmes. 1949)

Billy Eckstine and Frank Sinatra, who both had shows coming up at the Paramount Theater, appear together on a call-in radio show in 1949. Photo: Martha Holmes, Time/Life Pictures

Sidney Poitier in a scene from “For Love of Ivy” in...

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:41:31 -0400

Sidney Poitier in a scene from “For Love of Ivy” in 1968. Mr. Poitier, the author three memoirs, released his first novel, “Montaro Caine,” early this month. Photo: Bob Adelman/Corbis.

Popular Chicago model Cordie King (center) is featured in this...

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:37:31 -0400

Popular Chicago model Cordie King (center) is featured in this December 10, 1955 Chicago Defender article on a benefit she presented (showcasing Parisian-influenced hairstyles) at the Morrison Hotel’s Terrace Casino “in her debut as a song stylist.” The models showing off looks from the show are (clockwise) Loretta Conley, Edwina Baltazar, Vivian Pryor and Francis Wilson.

Stevie Wonder (who turns 63 today!) shares a laugh with his...

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:26:06 -0400

Stevie Wonder (who turns 63 today!) shares a laugh with his friend, Minnie Riperton, at a party in 1975. Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty.

Happy Birthday to ya Stevie Wonder!!! My favorite musical genius...

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:27:13 -0400

Happy Birthday to ya Stevie Wonder!!! My favorite musical genius was born 63 years ago today as Steveland Hardaway Judkins (his last name was later changed to Morris) in Saginaw, Michigan. In this 1974 photo, he is performing his classic “Living For The City” on “Top Of The Pops” in London. Photo: David Warner Ellis/Redferns. In the comment section, let me know what your favorite Stevie song is (Is it possible to have just one?)

Diana Ross at the Palace Theatre in Manhattan in 1976 with her...

Sun, 12 May 2013 13:31:50 -0400

Diana Ross at the Palace Theatre in Manhattan in 1976 with her daughters, Rhonda Ross Kendrick, Tracee Ellis Ross and Chudney Ross, owner of Books and Cookies LA. Photo by Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images.

Happy Mother’s Day! Here is Coretta Scott King singing and...

Sun, 12 May 2013 11:52:49 -0400

Happy Mother’s Day! Here is Coretta Scott King singing and playing the piano with her children Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter (left corner) and Bernice at home after church in November 1964. Photo: Flip Schulke/Corbis.

Like mother, like daughter (gorgeous!) Diahann Carroll with her...

Sat, 11 May 2013 23:19:54 -0400

Like mother, like daughter (gorgeous!) Diahann Carroll with her daughter, Suzanne Kay, at the 1987 Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills. Photo: Ron Galella/Wireimage.

Eartha Kitt’s lovely daughter, Kitt Shapiro, runs an...

Sat, 11 May 2013 22:59:00 -0400

Eartha Kitt ’s lovely daughter, Kitt Shapiro, runs an awesome company called Simply Eartha in her honor. Kitt shared this beautiful photo of her with her mother a few days ago on the Eartha Kitt Facebook fan page.

Lena Horne hugging her brilliant daughter Gail Jones, backstage...

Sat, 11 May 2013 22:43:00 -0400

Lena Horne hugging her brilliant daughter Gail Jones, backstage at the York Playhouse on October 6, 1960 after Gail made her stage debut in the musical “Valmuouth.” Gail Jones is now Gail Buckley and the author of several books including The Hornes: An American Family.” Photo: Bettman/Corbis.

Iman in a 1976 Avon advertisement. She is wearing a dress...

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:19:00 -0400

Iman in a 1976 Avon advertisement. She is wearing a dress by Giorgio Sant’ Angelo.

When I first told my dad about Vintage Black Glamour, he had one...

Wed, 08 May 2013 01:46:00 -0400

When I first told my dad about Vintage Black Glamour, he had one question: “Is Freda Payne in the book?” Why yes, Dad. Yes she is. This photo by Terry O’Neill (via Getty) is from the early 1970s.

ICONS: Sammy Davis, Jr., Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier in...

Sun, 05 May 2013 01:58:14 -0400

ICONS: Sammy Davis, Jr., Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier in an outtake from their February 4, 1966 LIFE magazine cover. Thank you Reggie Hudlin! Photo: Philippe Halsman/Magnum Photos.

Jayne Kennedy in April 1977 in a shot from her short-lived NBC...

Fri, 03 May 2013 04:17:09 -0400

Jayne Kennedy in April 1977 in a shot from her short-lived NBC TV show, “Cover Girls.” She played Monique Lawrence who was, of course, a secret agent posing as a fashion model. Photo: Dave Friedman/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images.

Hilda Simms and Lena Horne in the late 1940s. It drives me crazy...

Thu, 02 May 2013 17:10:56 -0400

Hilda Simms and Lena Horne in the late 1940s. It drives me crazy that I have not been able to find a legitimate source/photographer behind this photo. It’s one thing to find it on a random website (like I did last year) but it’s another thing to share it and properly credit it for a wider audience. Sigh…

Hilda Simms, the pioneer Minnesota-born actress best known for...

Thu, 02 May 2013 16:41:17 -0400

Hilda Simms, the pioneer Minnesota-born actress best known for her starring role in the first all-black production of Anna Lucasta on Broadway, in a glam shot circa 1947. You are not going to believe the awesome pictures I have found of her for the book! Photo: Denis De Marney/Getty Images.

Congratulations to Cicely Tyson on her first ever Tony...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:36:00 -0400

Congratulations to Cicely Tyson on her first ever Tony nomination for The Trip to Bountiful! In this 1973 photo, she is trying on a dress in Paris. Ms. Tyson, a two-time Emmy winner and Oscar nominee, was nominated for her role in the current Broadway hit The Trip to Bountiful Broadway which also stars Vanessa Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Wopat and Condola Rashad - daughter of Phylicia Rashad and a two-time Tony nominee herself! Photo: Jean-Claude Deutsch/Paris Match/Getty.