Juliette Ball, Lillian Lomax, Mabel Scott and Gertrude Gibson, Los Angeles, 1940s

Item Overview

Title

Juliette Ball, Lillian Lomax, Mabel Scott and Gertrude Gibson, Los Angeles, 1940s

Date Created

[1940s?]

Date

1940/1949

Language

No linguistic content

Collection

Walter L. Gordon, Jr./William C. Beverly, Jr. Collection

Notes

Summary

Mae Johnson was a showgirl, dancer, singer and actress who was well known in the black entertainment world in the 1930s and 1940s. Her career began with nightclub performances in New York. She had the staring role in the film "Keep Punching." On the west coast she appeared in a few Hollywood films that had black musical numbers, giving a memorable performance in Lena Horne's "Stormy Weather." She recorded some songs with Austin McCoy and co-starred in the hit play "Two in a bed" with Louise Beavers.
Mabel Scott was particularly well known for her dramatic hats.
Juliette Ball was a showgirl and actress.
Hazel Moreland was the wife of actor Mantan Moreland.
Lena Torance was a socialite and actress.
Lillian Lomax was the sister of Gertrude Gipson. Lomax later married oral surgeon Dr. Delo Overstreet Gray.
Gertrude Gipson Penland was a syndicated columnist, editor, nightclub owner, publicist, and civil rights activist. She was a columnist and entertainment editor for the California Eagle and, then, for the Los Angeles Sentinel.

Description

All information concerning the content and description of the image was provided by Walter Gordon.
The woman at the far left (seated on the floor in from of man with glasses) is Juliette Ball. To the right and behind her, wearing a dark v-neck top, is Mae Johnson (different from the dancer Mae Johnson). Seated to the far right on the couch are three woman wearing hats: on the left is Lillian Lomax; next to her is Mabel Scott, and at the far right of the couch is Gertrude Gipson. Seated on the floor in the first row is Hazel Moreland (2nd from left) and Lena Torrance (4th from left, wearing a corsage on her dress). The other people in the photograph are unidentified.

Physical Description

Extent

1 photograph : b&w

Keywords

Genre

Black-and-white photographs

Names

Ball, Juliette, 1923-2010
Gray, Lillian Lomax, 1924-1984
Moreland, Hazel Henry, 1913-1999
Torrance, Lena
Johnson, Mae, 1916-1999
Gibson-Penland, Gertrude, 1923-1999
Scott, Mabel

Location

California--Los Angeles

Resource type

still image

Subjects

People

African American dancers--California--Los Angeles
African American women journalists--California--Los Angeles