Very sad news to pass along today … legendary jazz singer, actress and activist Lena Horne has passed away at the age of 92. Altho her cause of death has not been released, her son Kevin Buckley announced that his mother passed away yesterday at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center … very tragically on Mother’s Day:

Lena Horne, the ground-breaking singer, actress and civil rights activist who, in 1942, became the first African-American performer to be put under contract by a major studio, died on Sunday, May 9, at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She was 92. According to the New York Times, Horne’s death was announced by her son-in-law, Kevin Buckley. Though her movie career spanned nearly six decades and included a smattering of well-regarded films, like Stormy Weather (1943), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), and Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), Horne was best known for her singing. Her music highpoints include blockbuster collaborations with Tony Bennett, Grammy-winning recordings of her Vegas nightclub act (1981′s The Lady and Her Music, Live on Broadway, and 1995′s An Evening With Lena Horne), and her Tony-nominated performance in the Broadway musical, Calypso. Horne grew up in an upper-middle-class African American enclave of Brooklyn, raised primarily by her grandparents after age 3, when both her parents left the family. By the time she was 16, Horne had scored a regular singing gig at Manhattan’s Cotton Club. Her knack for dramatic flourish and romantic renditions of jazz standards led to appearances on TV variety shows including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Dean Martin Show, as well as a role in the big-screen musical, The Duke Is Tops (1938). Though she never found the substantial, satisfying work she sought on film, Horne did make an impact, later in life, on TV in recurring roles on The Muppet Show and The Cosby Show. Throughout her career, Horne was equally dedicated to her advocacy for civil rights. She was an early pioneer in the movement for equality, fighting for desegregation alongside such legends of the movement as Paul Robeson and Medgar Evers. She also fought with first lady Eleanor Roosevelt to pass anti-lynching laws. The combination of Horne’s disarming talent and fierce individuality created a powerful force in breaking down racial barriers in Hollywood and beyond. Horne is survived by her daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley. Horne’s husband and her son both died in 1971, the latter of kidney failure.

My experience with Lena was thru her various appearances on Sesame Street in the late 70′s and on The Cosby Show in the 80′s. She always struck me as a beautifully talented woman. Her grace and elegance was not lost on me, even at such a young age. I did not learn of her important activist work until adulthood but I was never surprised to learn of hard work and strong dedication for equality and the breaking down of racial barriers in Hollywood. She was a very special lady and will be sorely missed. After the jump, check out a video of Lena Horne on Sesame Street teaching kids how to say the Alphabet — I was among the many, many children who learned my A-B-C’s from her …

What a fabulous woman. At least we fans can take heart that she lived a very long life and it is my hope that she passed away peacefully. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family. Rest well, Lena! We love and thank you for everything!!

[Source]