Family, friends, young and old, prepare to be blown away.. Here is a photo of Ernie Whitman, Lena Horne and my father, Eddie Green! My publisher told me I would find more information on my father once I published the book and he was right. For whatever reason I decided today to search for new pictures of Eddie, so I went to Google Advanced Search and typed in Eddie’s and Lena’s names (I chose Lena because she and Eddie performed together and for once I was “thinking outside the box”) and Lo and Behold there they were. This photo was taken back in the 1940’s while they were waiting to perform on a Jubilee radio show for our troops in WWII.

For those who don’t know:

Ernie Whitman .(February 21, 1893 Fort Smith, Arkansas – August 5, 1954 Hollywood, California) was the wartime host of the Jubilee radio show aimed at African-American troops and he was a stage and screen actor appearing in such films as
The Green Pastures (1936), Jesse James (1939), Gone With the Wind (1939), Third Finger, Left Hand (1940), Among the Living (1941), Road to Zanzibar (1941), Cabin in the Sky (1943), Stormy Weather (1943), The Lost Weekend (1945).

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an Award–winning jazz and pop music singer, dancer, actress, and civil rights activist. Horne’s career spanned over 70 years appearing in film, television, and theater. Her film appearances were many including Cabin in the Sky (1943) and Stormy Weather (1943). There may be some younger folks out there reading this blog who have never heard of Lena Horne (what!!). She was beautiful and sexy and someone said she had a sultry voice.

Anyhow, finding this picture was a new thrill for me today and helps to keep me motivated to write these posts and also to get out and market my book. This month I will be visiting libraries in California performing readings for nostalgia buffs and spreading the word. I will probably “tweet” the dates and places.

In my book Eddie Green The Rise of an Early 1900s Black American Entertainment Pioneer I have included a portion of a Jubilee radio program these three did together in 1942.

If you haven’t read the book yet, you might want to check it out. I’m told that it is an enjoyable read. (Christmas is coming!)

Thanks for stopping by and KCB.

(photo provided by ebay on Google Advanced Image Search)