That feeling when they link to your Tumblr page (Thank you TIME magazine) even though you haven’t “tumbled” in quite a bit… Vintage Black Glamour (online) has moved on from Tumblr. For now, the best way to get Vintage Black Glamour (aside from buying the books at vintageblackglamourbook.com) will be through Instagram - and signing up for the email newsletter, coming in the Fall of 2018.
The great Trinidadian-born pianist Hazel Scott One of my favorite things about her? Her hands were once insured by Lloyds of London. My other thing is this quote: “Any woman who has a great deal to offer the world is in trouble. And if she’s a black woman, she’s in deep trouble.”
Join me (Nichelle Gainer) on Friday, January 13, 2017 at 8pm at the National Arts Club in Manhattan. I will be signing books and talking about the legends who fill the pages of Vintage Black Glamour!
Thank you! @HeroesInColor00 #SuperHeroesInColorVintage Black Glamour (2015) by Nichelle Gainer
“Using rarely accessed photographic archives and private collections, inspired by her family history, Nichelle Gainer has unearthed a revealing treasure trove of historic photographs of famous actors, dancers, writers and entertainers who worked in the 20th-century entertainment business, but who rarely appeared in the same publications as their white counterparts.Alongside the familiar images and stories of renowned performers such as Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne and Aretha Franklin are those of less well-remembered figures such as Bricktop, Pearl Primus, Diana Sands and many, many more. Vintage Black Glamour is a unique, sumptuous and revealing celebration of the lives and indomitable spirit of Black women of a previous era.
Although talented, successful and ground-breaking, many of the women in these pages were ignored by mainstream media, but their life’s work and attitude stand as inspiration for us still, today. With its stunning photographs and insightful biographies, this book is a hugely important addition to Black history archives.”
Get it now here
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(via superheroesincolor)
Sammy Davis Jr., introduced by Frank Sinatra, performs as “Sportin’ Life” from “Porgy and Bess” singing one of the rakish character’s signature songs “There’ A Boat That’s Leaving Soon For New York” on The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis in 1960. The show was a special featuring Elvis Presley in his first appearance on television after coming back home from military service in Germany. Mr. Davis is featured in the “Renaissance Men” chapter of my next book, Vintage Black Glamour: Gentlemen’s Quarters (May 2016).
Paul Robeson and Elisabeth Welch in the 1937 British-produced film, “Big Fella.” Paul Robeson (1898-1976) was, of course, a majestic singer and actor, brilliant scholar and athlete and a fierce political activist. Elisabeth Welch (1904-2003) was an American singer who became a superstar in England. She was the first singer to popularize the classic Porter tune, “Love for Sale” and, among other highlights in her 70-year career, was nominated for a Tony award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1986 at age 82, for her role in “Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood.” Mr. Robeson is in the “Renaissance Men” chapter on my next book, Vintage Black Glamour: Gentlemen’s Quarters and Ms. Welch is in the Prima Donnas Assolutas (Opera and Dance) chapter of my first book, Vintage Black Glamour. Both are available at vbgbook.com.
June Eckstine had a small speaking role - with Dorothy Dandridge no less - in “Carmen Jones” in 1954. At the time, she was best known as the ex-wife of singing legend Billy Eckstine and was doing her best to carve out her own niche in Hollywood. Ms. Eckstine, who appears in the “Wives & Socialites” chapter of my book, Vintage Black Glamour, was featured in the July 15, 1954 issue of JET magazine (an outlet that covered her extensively) in some well-orchestrated press shots with Pearl Bailey and Rita Moreno. It seems like “Carmen Jones” was her only film - but you never know since she went uncredited (just like Max Roach, Alvin Ailey, Carmen de Lavallade and other future stars who appeared in the film.). #vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #JuneEckstine #DorothyDandridge #1950s #hollywoodwives #oldhollywood #blackhollywood