Welcome to another episode of You Must Remember This.

The podcast dedicated to exploring the secrets and or forgotten histories of Hollywood's

first century, part of the Paneple Network.

I'm your host, Karina Longworth.

And this is the seventh episode of our series about stars during times of war or Star Wars.

The subject of today's story, like many other women whose experiences during World War

2 we've previously discussed, volunteered at the Hollywood canteen, performed at USO

shows and on radio broadcasts designed to boost troop morale, and saw her photographs

become popular pin-ups, offering comfort to boys, grasping for a reminder of what they

were fighting for back home.

But otherwise, her experiences in Hollywood and during the war were completely different

than those of those other ladies.

Today we're going to talk about Lena Horn, the only black actress to be signed to a full

studio contract in the 1940s, and the first to be promoted as a glamour girl, ostensibly

equal to sex goddesses like Hetty Lamar and Rita Hayworth.

But Lena's experience in Hollywood, more often than not, made her feel separate rather

than equal.

For much of her life, Lena Horn felt burdened by a responsibility to perform the role of

model black person, which often made her the target of the resentment of other black

people.

Hired by MGM as a stop to the loud protests of the NAACP, Horn was largely kept out of

starring roles by her home studio's cowardice.

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