Nina Mae McKinney: Th e Black Garbo

Harlem’s Fabulous Nina Mae ‘The Black Garbo’ McKinney 1912 – 1967 (Video)

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Nina Mae McKinney

Stephen Bourne is a British writer, film and social historian specialising in black culture. There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Books by Stephen Bourne. Trivia About The Black Garbo: She certainly had the looks, enthusiasm, and acting talent to succeed. But as she and other black women of her time learned, there wasn't much work for a black woman other than as a maid, "mammy" figure, or prostitute. Hollywood was scared to take a chance on an attractive black woman, to make her into a glamorous sex symbol as they would with an attractive white actress.

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There would be no true glamorous black female sex symbol until Lena Horne 's arrival in Nina learned, as did other black actresses, that there was little success to be had after an initial big splash. McKinney was born in in the small town of Lancaster, South Carolina, eventually to become an international figure as an actress, singer and band leader.

Her given name was Nannie Mayme McKinney.

The Black Garbo: Nina Mae McKinney

Leroy Springs, father of businessman and flying ace Elliott White Springs. Aunt Carrie worked as a cook and housekeeper for the Springs family.

Song & Jazz Dance 1929 (Nina Mae McKinney)

As soon as Nannie Mayme was old enough she ran errands for Lena Jones Springs, who gave her a bicycle to ride to the post office to pick up the mail. Nannie Mayme's first public performances were riding stunts, or "cutting capers", as amazed bystanders called it. She appeared in plays at the black Lancaster Industrial School founded by Springs , where she quickly learned the lines of the entire cast.

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Thanks for telling us about the problem. But in fact, little progress was made. As soon as Nannie Mayme was old enough she ran errands for Lena Jones Springs, who gave her a bicycle to ride to the post office to pick up the mail. Critically acclaimed as Hallelujah was, it was a bit of an anomaly at the time. Even though she was acknowledged as a great actress, singer and dancer by audiences in the U.

Choosing Nina Mae as her stage name, she managed to get a job as a chorus girl in the Broadway play "Blackbirds". It was the first all-black sound musical features, even though many theaters billed the film as "a story of murder and redemption in the Deep South. Nina was signed by MGM to a five-year contract, but in that period she made only two films, Safe in Hell and Reckless in which she didn't even appear on screen; she dubbed Jean Harlow 's songs.

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Nina Mae McKinney: The Black Garbo [Stephen Bourne] on www.farmersmarketmusic.com *FREE * shipping on qualifying offers. Nina Mae McKinney has been described as. Nina Mae McKinney (June 12, – May 3, ) was an American actress who worked internationally during the s and in the postwar period in theatre, film and television, after getting her start on Broadway and in Hollywood. Dubbed "The Black Garbo" in Europe because of her striking beauty.

Hollywood could accept black character actresses like Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen having a close relationship with white characters in a film, but would not allow a beautiful black actress the same natural role. However, her first film gave her the opportunity to appear in a number of all-black cast or black-themed films, including Sanders of the River with Paul Robeson , Dark Waters and Pinky as Rozelia , which is considered her finest film.

She had much more success on stage.

Nina Mae McKinney - Biography - IMDb

She proved that she could well have become one of America's enduring performers--she had the talent, the beauty, and the star power, but she realized that the doors to real success were permanently barred to her in Hollywood. She soon left the U.

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When war broke out in Europe she returned to New York, where she married jazz musician Jimmy Monroe and put together a band and toured the country.