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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Nat “King” Cole is looking as smooth as ever in this 1964 photo session. But the real reason I am sharing this particular picture are the flowers because they remind me that spring is finally (really!) here! Photo: Michael Ochs Archives.
Lena Horne speaking on a panel at Bethune-Cookman College (now University), the school founded by Mary McLeod Bethune in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1964. I don’t know what the topic of the panel was that day, but I do know that Mary McLeod Bethune was a family friend to Ms. Horne. These pictures were taken by Robert Sengstacke, of the Chicago publishing family that founded the Chicago Defender newspaper. Mr. Sengstacke was a student at Bethune-Cookman at the time. Photos: Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images.
Josephine Baker getting a little kiss from Geoffrey Holder in 1964. I’m guessing this is probably backstage at “Josephine Baker And Her Company,” her musical revue that appreared briefly on Broadway that year. Both Mr. Holder and his wife Carmen de Lavallade performed in the show with Ms. Baker and, in the video clip linked in the comment section, Mr. Holder discusses, with his signature verve, what a delight it was for he and Ms. de Lavallade to work with Ms. Baker. Photo: Michael Ochs Archives.
Happy 80th Birthday Quincy Jones! His middle name is Delight. Isn’t that appropriate? Mr. Jones has produced and arranged for everyone from Dinah Washington to Count Basie to Sarah Vaughan to Michael Jackson, of course. In this 1961 photo, he is in the studio looking over some sheet music. Today, Mr. Jones continues to innovate. He recently invested in a new startup called Playground Sessions, a new musical app that helps you play the piano! Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty.
Bill Cosby enjoying a cigar, circa 1960s. According to Cigar Aficianado magazine, his favorite cigar is an Ashton Maduro No. 60.
Actor Graham Brown, pictured on one of his actor composite photos from the 1960s. Born Robert Elwood Brown in Harlem on October 24, 1924, Mr. Brown was an actor whose career spanned more than five decades. A World War II veteran, he began acting in Army shows before enrolling in college at Howard University, where he was a member of the Howard University Players theater group and graduated in 1949. Over the last few months, I have had the honor of analyzing and organizing Mr. Brown’s personal collection of photographs, papers and other historically and culturally relevant ephemera, for donation to a major institution on behalf of his family. I could hardly believe my eyes at some of the things I held in my hands in the Harlem office where I spent hours examining Mr. Brown’s collection: a personal letter to Mr. Brown from Harold Jackman, a prominent Harlem Renaissance figure. Mr. Brown’s Howard Players member card, programs from their plays, and a photo of them in Norway at the home of the Norwegian ambassador, surrounding him at his piano in 1949. There are pages and pages of Mr. Brown’s writing: attempts at poems, short stories, English homework and drafts of articles he wrote for Howard’s school newspaper, “The Hilltop” and copies of the actual newspapers. There are Columbia University bursar’s receipts from 1952 (he briefly attended graduate school there) and show programs, posters, tickets, letters and photos from much of his life and career. Mr. Brown was a member of the Negro Ensemble Company, where he worked with actors such as Roxie Roker (his Howard classmate) in “The River Niger,” Laurence Fishburne and Esther Rolle. He was also in several productions of the Greenwich Mews Theater, a theater famous for it’s integrated productions in the 1950s and a member of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. In the 1960s and 1970s, made several appearances on Broadway (Gore Vidal’s “Weekend”) and with Joseph’s Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival, including “The Black Picture Show” in 1975. His film credits included “Malcolm X,” “Clockers,” “Sanford & Son,” and “Law & Order.” Mr. Brown died on December 13, 2011 at the age of 87.
