Turner Classic Movies announced its primetime lineup on Friday, May 21, will pay tribute to Lena Horne, who died Sunday at age 92.
The lineup features three films with defining Horne performances, as well as one of the groundbreaking singer-actress’ personal favorites, 1943 John Garfield drama "The Fallen Sparrow."
At 8 p.m. ET, TCM will show "The Duke Is Tops" (1938), Horne’s film debut, featuring performances of the songs “I Know You Remember” and “Don’t Let Our Love Song Turn Into a Blues.”
That’s followed at 9:30 p.m. by Horne’s favorite among her films, the 1943 "Cabin in the Sky," co-starring Eddie “Rochester” Anderson and Ethel Waters.
"Panama Hattie" airs at 11:15 p.m. The 1942 film is an example of the type of role Horne frequently was forced to play. Her songs include “Just One of Those Things” and “The Sping.”
And finally, at 12:45 a.m. "The Fallen Sparrow" stars John Garfield and Maureen O’Hara in the story of a former Spanish Civil War prisoner searching for the truth about the death of a friend.
“There was never anyone quite like Lena Horne as an entertainer, a presence or a trail-blazer,” TCM host Robert Osborne said in a statement. “We’ve been shortchanged only by the limited number of worthwhile roles she was given to play in movies. But she certainly gave us 100 percent of her remarkable talent in those she did make. We’re also very proud at Turner Classic Movies that she was one of our loyal TCM viewers.”
