Glamorous Lena in 1948 (in Paris & NYC). I cracked up listening to various versions of I Feel Smoochie (LH reportedly singing it in close-up club shot). I could not pull off saying it, much less singing it, & be glamorous. (Yes, I know I am not glamorous no matter what. Don't rub it in! Snarl.) Julie the Cat seemed to enjoy a few versions of the song but then, being a modern sophisticat, she barfed onto the modem, nearly shorting it out. This sums up the last few weeks.Update: 9 May 2010 - RIP, Lena. She did a lot more than look fabulous; she fought for civil rights - her own & others (notably, African-American GIs in WWII). Obituary, here. It's more than annoying that everyone seems to have chosen "sultry" for their headlines. Ah well.
[photographs by Yale Joel & W. Eugene Smith for LIFE archives/Lena arriving in Grand Central Station via myvintagevogue]