Biography
The name Nina Mae McKinney evokes a blend of Georgia and Glasgow. Grandparents who had endured enslavement preceded this pioneering artist, whose professional path stood as proof of the potential open to Black Americans once freed from compulsory servitude. Although recordings featuring her remain scarce, offering hidden rewards only to persistent collectors, her screen work grows steadily more available through waves of reissues. A landmark achievement placed her as the initial Black performer in a talking picture when she appeared in the 1929 production Hallelujah! Such milestones, along with additional contributions, earned McKinney induction into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1978.
Hallelujah! displays the vocal, dramatic, and terpsichorean skills that Nina Mae Kinney, as she was occasionally billed, deployed across her professional life. Residents of her birthplace, Lancaster, SC, still remember the young girl’s vivid imitations of ghosts and goblins. McKinney passed part of her early years in Philadelphia before relocating to New York City in pursuit of dance opportunities. The Blackbirds of 1928 revue supplied her decisive opening. Subsequent motion pictures encompass Safe in Hell, Reckless, The Lost Lady, In Old Kentucky, Dark Waters, and Night Train. Her ties to Hollywood nevertheless remained uneasy, as studios sought plump Black performers suited to kitchen scenes rather than a sultry siren. Consequently, from the early 1930s onward she traveled extensively as a headliner promoted as the “Black Garbo,” frequently supported by pianist Garland Wilson. After leading a touring ensemble during the 1940s, McKinney resided in Greece through much of the 1950s and 1960s, where she was known as the “Queen of Night Life.” She had returned to New York City only briefly before her death in 1967.
Hallelujah! displays the vocal, dramatic, and terpsichorean skills that Nina Mae Kinney, as she was occasionally billed, deployed across her professional life. Residents of her birthplace, Lancaster, SC, still remember the young girl’s vivid imitations of ghosts and goblins. McKinney passed part of her early years in Philadelphia before relocating to New York City in pursuit of dance opportunities. The Blackbirds of 1928 revue supplied her decisive opening. Subsequent motion pictures encompass Safe in Hell, Reckless, The Lost Lady, In Old Kentucky, Dark Waters, and Night Train. Her ties to Hollywood nevertheless remained uneasy, as studios sought plump Black performers suited to kitchen scenes rather than a sultry siren. Consequently, from the early 1930s onward she traveled extensively as a headliner promoted as the “Black Garbo,” frequently supported by pianist Garland Wilson. After leading a touring ensemble during the 1940s, McKinney resided in Greece through much of the 1950s and 1960s, where she was known as the “Queen of Night Life.” She had returned to New York City only briefly before her death in 1967.