vintageblackglamour

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That feeling when they link to your Tumblr page (Thank you TIME magazine) even though you haven't "tumbled" in quite a bit... Vintage Black Glamour (online) has moved on from Tumblr. For now, the best way to get Vintage Black Glamour (aside from buying the books at vintageblackglamourbook.com) will be through Instagram - and signing up for the email newsletter, coming in the Fall.

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The great Trinidadian-born pianist Hazel Scott One of my favorite things about her? Her hands were once insured by Lloyds of London. My other thing is this quote: “Any woman who has a great deal to offer the world is in trouble. And if she’s a black woman, she’s in deep trouble.”

#vintage black glamour #vbgbook #hazel scott #jazz #black women

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Join me (Nichelle Gainer) on Friday, January 13, 2017 at 8pm at the National Arts Club in Manhattan. I will be signing books and talking about the legends who fill the pages of Vintage Black Glamour!

#vintage black glamour #vbgbook #signed books #book events #author talk

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Thank you! @HeroesInColor00 #SuperHeroesInColor

Vintage Black Glamour (2015) by Nichelle Gainer

“Using rarely accessed photographic archives and private collections, inspired by her family history, Nichelle Gainer has unearthed a revealing treasure trove of historic photographs of famous actors, dancers, writers and entertainers who worked in the 20th-century entertainment business, but who rarely appeared in the same publications as their white counterparts. 

Alongside the familiar images and stories of renowned performers such as Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne and Aretha Franklin are those of less well-remembered figures such as Bricktop, Pearl Primus, Diana Sands and many, many more. Vintage Black Glamour is a unique, sumptuous and revealing celebration of the lives and indomitable spirit of Black women of a previous era.

 Although talented, successful and ground-breaking, many of the women in these pages were ignored by mainstream media, but their life’s work and attitude stand as inspiration for us still, today. With its stunning photographs and insightful biographies, this book is a hugely important addition to Black history archives.”

Get it  now here 

[ Follow SuperheroesInColor on facebook / instagram / twitter / tumblr ]

#vintageblackglamour #vintage black glamour #vbgbook

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Sammy Davis Jr., introduced by Frank Sinatra, performs as "Sportin' Life" from "Porgy and Bess" singing one of the rakish character's signature songs "There' A Boat That's Leaving Soon For New York" on The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis in 1960. The show was a special featuring Elvis Presley in his first appearance on television after coming back home from military service in Germany. Mr. Davis is featured in the “Renaissance Men” chapter of my next book, Vintage Black Glamour: Gentlemen’s Quarters (May 2016). 

#vintageblackglamour #Vintage Black Glamour #VBGmen #VBGbook #VBGent #Sammy Davis Jr. #1960s #Frank Sinatra

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Paul Robeson and Elisabeth Welch in the 1937 British-produced film, "Big Fella." Paul Robeson (1898-1976) was, of course, a majestic singer and actor, brilliant scholar and athlete and a fierce political activist. Elisabeth Welch (1904-2003) was an American singer who became a superstar in England. She was the first singer to popularize the classic Porter tune, “Love for Sale” and, among other highlights in her 70-year career, was nominated for a Tony award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1986 at age 82, for her role in “Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood.” Mr. Robeson is in the "Renaissance Men" chapter on my next book, Vintage Black Glamour: Gentlemen's Quarters and Ms. Welch is in the Prima Donnas Assolutas (Opera and Dance) chapter of my first book, Vintage Black Glamour. Both are available at vbgbook.com.

#vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #vbgmen #vbgent #paul robeson #elisabeth welch #1930s #1930s movies

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June Eckstine had a small speaking role - with Dorothy Dandridge no less - in "Carmen Jones" in 1954. At the time, she was best known as the ex-wife of singing legend Billy Eckstine and was doing her best to carve out her own niche in Hollywood. Ms. Eckstine, who appears in the "Wives & Socialites" chapter of my book, Vintage Black Glamour, was featured in the July 15, 1954 issue of JET magazine (an outlet that covered her extensively) in some well-orchestrated press shots with Pearl Bailey and Rita Moreno. It seems like "Carmen Jones" was her only film - but you never know since she went uncredited (just like Max Roach, Alvin Ailey, Carmen de Lavallade and other future stars who appeared in the film.). #vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #JuneEckstine #DorothyDandridge #1950s #hollywoodwives #oldhollywood #blackhollywood

#vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #june eckstine #1950's #hollywood wives #oldblackhollywood #blackhollywood

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You've got to laugh at the great Cab Calloway easing out of the way as The Nicholas Brothers come to the stage for "Jumpin' Jive" in the classic 1943 film, "Stormy Weather." Unrivaled athleticism and elegance were the hallmark of The Nicholas Brothers, Fayard (1914-2006) and Harold (1921-2000). They enthralled audiences with their unforgettable performances in films like this iconic, never to be duplicated number from Stormy Weather in 1943. The brothers danced, sang, and acted together all the way up to the early 1990s when they made a memorable appearance in Janet Jackson’s “Alright” video with other legends like the great dancer Cyd Charisse and Mr. Calloway.

#vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #vbgmen #1940s #1940s movies #1940s style #tap #black dancers #dance #nicholas brothers #harold nicholas #fayard nicholas

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The groundbreaking Minnesota-born actress Hilda Simms (1918-1994) in a scene with Van Heflin from the 1954 film, "The Black Widow." Ms. Simms was best known for her starring role in the first all-black, American Negro Theater production of "Anna Lucasta" on Broadway in 1944. Despite the tremendous momentum provided by the publicity behind the show, she only made two films ("The Joe Louis Story" in 1953 and this film) and just two more appearances on Broadway (including Langston Hughes's "Tambourines to Glory" in 1963). Ms. Simms is in the "Sepia Dreamgirls, Pin-ups, & Hollywood Starlets" chapter of my book, Vintage Black Glamour, available at vbgbook.com and Amazon.

#vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #Hilda Simms #1950s #old hollywood #black history month #black hollywood #vintage #black actresses

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Nina Mae McKinney and Emmett "Babe" Wallace in a scene from the short 1936 film, "The Black Network." McKinney (1912-1967) was the first Black performer to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio (A five year contract with MGM in 1929). Emmett "Babe" Wallace (1909-2006) was an actor, singer and composer who had a lot of juicy (and sometimes uncredited) parts in vintage Black movies, most notably as "Chick Bailey" in "Stormy Weather" in 1943. Ms. McKinney is featured in the women's edition of "Vintage Black Glamour" and Mr. Wallace is in the men's edition, "Vintage Black Glamour: Gentlemen's Quarters (May 2016).

#vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #vbgmen #nina mae mckinney #emmett babe wallace #babe wallace #1930s #black history month #blackhollywood

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Aretha Franklin and that magnificent voice on the "Hollywood Palace" in 1968. The picture above the clip was taken in her dressing room at Newark Symphony Hall in Newark, NJ in 1969.

#vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #aretha franklin #1960s #vintage #hollywood

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Hazel Scott plays "Foggy Day" with Charles Mingus on bass and Rudy Nichols on drums.

#vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #hazel scott #charles mingus #rudy nichols #drums #piano #pianist #vintage #1950s #jazz

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A radiant Lena Horne performing "The Lady Is a Tramp" in the 1948 film, "Words and Music," which was (very, very) loosely based on the professional partnership of the great composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist Lorenz Hart.

#vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #vbgmen #lena horne #1940s #1940s fashion #1940s style #1940s movies #old hollywood #black history month #black hollywood

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Percy Verwayne (right) in the 1939 film, “Paradise in Harlem.” Verwayne (1895-1968) was the original Sportin’ Life in the 1927 DuBose and Dorothy Heyward Broadway play, “Porgy,” the precursor to the iconic 1935 George Gershwin opera “Porgy and Bess.” Mr. Verwayne was born in British Guiana (now Guyana) and appeared on Broadway, on radio and in several films for at least thirty years. Mr. Verwayne is included in the Leading Man chapter of my next book, Vintage Black Glamour: Gentlemen’s Quarters (May 2016) which is available for pre-order now at vbgmen.com.

#vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #vbgmen #Percy Verwayne #1930's #harlem #mensfashion #vintage

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Calvin Lockhart (1934-2007) and Vonetta McGee (1945-2010) in a scene from their 1972 film, "Melinda." Ms. McGee played the mysterious "Melinda" and Mr. Lockhart played a popular DJ named "Frankie Parker" (that name no doubt inspired by the legendary DJ Frankie Crocker) who finds himself drawn into solving a murder mystery.

#vintageblackglamour #vbgbook #calvin lockhart #vonetta mcgee #1970s

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So, yes. The usual suspects - the legends you expect - are present and accounted for in my next book, Vintage Black Glamour: Gentlemen's Quarters. But! So are the legends you weren't expecting - like the one and the only Roy Ayers. Composer. Singer. Vibraphonist. Genius. Did you know that he lives in James Baldwin's old apartment in Harlem? Where else would a genius live?! I had a hard time deciding which chapter to place Mr. Ayers in - Virtuosos? Iconoclasts? Visionaries? I finally decided on Maestros. That's what I get for trying to categorize a genius. http://vintageblackglamourbook.com/

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Vintage Black Glamour - Special Edition and Hardcover and the forthcoming Vintage Black Glamour: Gentlemen's Quarters (May 2016). Available for order and pre-order now! http://vintageblackglamourbook.com/ #VBGbook #vintageblackglamour #VBGent #VBGmen #VBGfortheHolidays #VBGChristmas #coffeetablebooks #artbooks

#VBGbook #VintageBlackGlamour #Vintage Black Glamour #VBGent #VBGmen #VBGfortheHolidays #VBGChristmas #coffeetablebooks #artbooks