Nina McKinney

In 1913 the town of Lancaster was the birthplace of a black woman who became an international figure as an actress, singer and bandleader.

Her given name was Nannie Mayme McKinney. Her parents, Hal and Georgia McKinney, moved from Lancaster to New York and left the child with her great-aunt, Carrie Sanders.

"Aunt Carrie" lived in a small apartment in the backyard of Col. Leroy Springs, father of Elliott White Springs. Aunt Carrie worked as a cook and housekeeper for the Springs family.

As soon as Nannie Mayme was old enough, she ran errands for Lena Jones Spring who gave her a bicycle to ride to the post office to pick up the mail. Thus, Nannie Mayme's first public performance were riding stunts, or "cutting capers," as amazed bystanders called it.

She appeared in plays at the black Lancaster Industrial School (founded by Springs), where she quickly learned the lines of the entire cast. But at about age 13 she headed for New York to stay with her mother, Georgia Crawford McKinney.

Choosing Nina Mae as her stage name, she managed to get a job as a member of the chorus in 'Blackbirds,' a Broadway play. Her lively performance caught the attention of King Vidor, famed MGM producer, who starred her in 'Hallelujah,' released in 1929.

It was the first all-black sound feature. The movie houses billed the film as "a story of murder and redemption in the Deep South." The melodrama was not widely acclaimed at the time, but movie historians now see it as an interesting introduction to black theater. One critic described 'Hallelujah' as having "a crude power."

Although signed by MGM to a five year contract, Nina Mae was only in two films, "Safe in Hell" (1931) and "Reckless" (1935) in which she didn't even appear on the screen. Her voice was dubbed for Jean Harlow's songs. Hollywood could accept black character actresses like Hattie McDaniels and Butterfly McQueen appearing with white cast members but didn't know what to do with a Black "half-girl, half woman temptress."

However, her first film gave Nina Mae McKinney the opportunity to appear in a number of all-Black cast members, including "Sanders of the River," "Dark Waters" and "Pinky." In "Sanders of the River" her costar was Paul Robeson but "Pinky" is considered her best movie.

In spite of limited exposure to the general public, Nina Mae became a role model for other African-American actresses. Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandrige were two who patterned their work after that of Nina Mae.

Nina Mae McKinney was also on stage. At the Apollo Theater, Harlem's only all-black theater, Nina Mae played Jeane Eagel's role in "Rain."

Nina Mae McKinney could have become one of America's enduring performers. She had the talent and the beauty. Realizing that the doors to true stardom were barred in Hollywood, McKinney took her great talent abroad to Paris, London, Dublin and Budapest, where she became known as the "Black Garbo." She appeared in more films and plays; her career total, home and abroad, was 19.

When war broke out in Europe Nina Mae returned to New York, where she married a jazz musician, Jimmy Monroe, put together a band and toured the country.

In an Elliott Springs scrapbook, there is a newspaper clipping (dated Dec. 28, no year given but probably around 1940) about a scheduled performance at the Columbia Township Auditorium. The story was headed "Old Folks Home Benefit Dance this Evening." Nina Mae McKinney and "her famous orchestra" were to perform for Jaggers Old Folks Home, "a charitable institution for old Negro folks." An ad for the benefit described Nina Mae as "America's No. 1 Swingheart!" A section of the auditorium was reserved for white spectators.

In the 1950s and 1960s Nina Mae lived in Athens, Greece, where she was known as the "Queen of Night Life." In the late 1960s, she came back to New York, but did not perform. She died a few years later, but has not been forgotten in Lancaster, her hometown.

Nina Mae McKinney's portrait is painted on a Lancaster wall across from the Courthouse, known as the "Wall of Fame," along with other famous Lancastrians, Pres. Andrew Jackson, Dr. J. Marion Sims, Col. Elliott White Springs and Gen. Charles Duke.