Louis Gossett Jr., the esteemed actor known for his remarkable performances in films such as An Officer and a Gentleman and the groundbreaking miniseries Roots, has died at the age of 87, according to a statement released by his family.
Gossett made history in 1983 when he became the first black man to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a tough drill instructor in An Officer and a Gentleman, opposite Richard Gere.
In a statement, Gere remembered, “Lou was a sweetheart. He took his job very seriously. He did his research. He stayed in character the whole time…He was the drill sergeant 24 hours a day, and it showed clearly in his performance. He drove every scene he was in. A tough guy with a heart of gold.”
Prior to his Oscar-winning performance, Gossett captivated audiences in the miniseries adaptation of Alex Haley’s Roots, where he portrayed Fiddler,...
Gossett made history in 1983 when he became the first black man to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a tough drill instructor in An Officer and a Gentleman, opposite Richard Gere.
In a statement, Gere remembered, “Lou was a sweetheart. He took his job very seriously. He did his research. He stayed in character the whole time…He was the drill sergeant 24 hours a day, and it showed clearly in his performance. He drove every scene he was in. A tough guy with a heart of gold.”
Prior to his Oscar-winning performance, Gossett captivated audiences in the miniseries adaptation of Alex Haley’s Roots, where he portrayed Fiddler,...
- 3/29/2024
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
Few actors could hold your attention like Louis Gossett Jr. He exploded to fame in the landmark 1977 miniseries “Roots” as Fiddler, a slave who helps teach Kunta Kinte. Gossett’s pinnacle came just five years later, when he became the first Black actor to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “An Officer and a Gentleman.” More recently, he played a pivotal role in the 2019 HBO “Watchmen” series.
If you’d like to relive the greatest roles of this outstanding actor, we’ve compiled some of his best works and where to stream them.
The Best of Louis Gossett Jr. Roots January 23, 1977
The epic tale of celebrated Pulitzer-prize winning author Alex Haley’s ancestors as portrayed in the acclaimed twelve hour mini-series Roots, was first told in his 1976 bestseller Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The docu-drama covers a period of history that begins in mid-1700s Gambia,...
If you’d like to relive the greatest roles of this outstanding actor, we’ve compiled some of his best works and where to stream them.
The Best of Louis Gossett Jr. Roots January 23, 1977
The epic tale of celebrated Pulitzer-prize winning author Alex Haley’s ancestors as portrayed in the acclaimed twelve hour mini-series Roots, was first told in his 1976 bestseller Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The docu-drama covers a period of history that begins in mid-1700s Gambia,...
- 3/29/2024
- by Ben Bowman
- The Streamable
"All in the Family" might've been Norman Lear's finest half-hour as a sitcom producer, but I'm not sure he ever put a funnier show on the airwaves than "The Jeffersons." For 11 seasons, Sherman Hemsley's dry-cleaning magnate George Jefferson and Isabel Sanford's good-hearted Louise "Weezy" Jefferson led a stellar cast that delivered edgy-for-network-television laughs revolving around race, class, gender, and whatever happened to be grinding the hot-headed George's gears that particular week. It was the African-American answer to "All in the Family" (on which the characters of George and Weezy originated), and might actually be more shocking today for its fearless deployment of the n-word (particularly early in the series' run).
And if you're making a list of the most memorable theme songs in television history, "The Jeffersons" better be in the top five. Anyone who grew up watching the show in prime time or via syndication should...
And if you're making a list of the most memorable theme songs in television history, "The Jeffersons" better be in the top five. Anyone who grew up watching the show in prime time or via syndication should...
- 3/18/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Samuel L. Jackson, Jeffrey Wright, and David Oyelowo have all portrayed civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., whose Atlanta sit-ins, Montgomery bus boycotts, and peaceful protests desegregated the nation. When Kelvin Harrison Jr. was first offered the role, he was overwhelmed by the weight of the historical figure and turned it down.
“I still was a little bit scared and unsure if that was something that I needed to be participating in,” Harrison tells Rolling Stone. “I didn’t really see what I could offer in this moment, and...
“I still was a little bit scared and unsure if that was something that I needed to be participating in,” Harrison tells Rolling Stone. “I didn’t really see what I could offer in this moment, and...
- 2/1/2024
- by Kalia Richardson
- Rollingstone.com
One of the ghostwriter’s most valuable skills is getting their subjects to talk. So, when I gathered L.A.’s most successful ghostwriters at the Formosa Cafe to gossip, they knew all my tricks. In desperation, I went with the most transparent of all reporting techniques — buying them all fruity cocktails.
A reputation for discretion is not only how they get work, but how they avoid getting sued; they sign nondisclosure agreements for every memoir they write. But even if they revealed nothing scandalous about their famous clients — or at least nothing that couldn’t be discovered with a Google search — I learned a lot about the curious craft of ghostwriting and the types of personalities drawn to help famous people tell their life stories. Also, I learned why I am far too egotistical to do their job.
Sitting around the table were Neil Strauss (who has written memoirs for Rick Rubin,...
A reputation for discretion is not only how they get work, but how they avoid getting sued; they sign nondisclosure agreements for every memoir they write. But even if they revealed nothing scandalous about their famous clients — or at least nothing that couldn’t be discovered with a Google search — I learned a lot about the curious craft of ghostwriting and the types of personalities drawn to help famous people tell their life stories. Also, I learned why I am far too egotistical to do their job.
Sitting around the table were Neil Strauss (who has written memoirs for Rick Rubin,...
- 1/19/2024
- by Joel Stein
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Two of TV’s most genial educators team up this week as Finding Your Roots marks its 10th anniversary. When Henry Louis Gates Jr. sits down with LeVar Burton on January 16, he pays homage to his former fellow PBS host, who followed up his lead role in the groundbreaking miniseries adaptation of Alex Haley’s Roots with one of the all-time great children’s programs, Reading Rainbow. The Star Trek alum, Gates says, has educated the public in virtually every role he’s ever had:
"LeVar Burton has changed the way America sees itself … He has embodied the journey of Black people in our country from slavery to outer space, giving us a glimpse of our nation's tragic past while pointing us to a more hopeful future."...
"LeVar Burton has changed the way America sees itself … He has embodied the journey of Black people in our country from slavery to outer space, giving us a glimpse of our nation's tragic past while pointing us to a more hopeful future."...
- 1/16/2024
- by Danette Chavez
- Primetimer
Exclusive: Hulu is not proceeding with its planned limited series about Sammy Davis Jr., starring Elijah Kelley as the Candy Man, from Lee Daniels and 20th Television.
I hear 20th Television will be shopping the project to other buyers and plans to attach additional high-level talent before taking it out as part of an aggressive effort to find a new home.
The studio recently was able to set another streaming series, The Spiderwick Chronicles (co-production with lead studio Paramount TV Studios), at Roku, following Disney+’s decision not to move forward with it.
The pickup reversals for both shows come amid a content spend cut across all divisions of Hulu and Disney+ parent Disney, which the company announced earlier this year. Additionally, all media companies have been reevaluating their streaming strategies by cutting programming costs with a renewed focus on profitability.
Hulu ordered the long-gestating Sammy Davis Jr. limited series in April 2022. In February,...
I hear 20th Television will be shopping the project to other buyers and plans to attach additional high-level talent before taking it out as part of an aggressive effort to find a new home.
The studio recently was able to set another streaming series, The Spiderwick Chronicles (co-production with lead studio Paramount TV Studios), at Roku, following Disney+’s decision not to move forward with it.
The pickup reversals for both shows come amid a content spend cut across all divisions of Hulu and Disney+ parent Disney, which the company announced earlier this year. Additionally, all media companies have been reevaluating their streaming strategies by cutting programming costs with a renewed focus on profitability.
Hulu ordered the long-gestating Sammy Davis Jr. limited series in April 2022. In February,...
- 12/2/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Richard Roundtree, who starred as the memorable detective in 1971’s Shaft, died Tuesday. He was 81.
“Richard’s work and career served as a turning point for African American leading men in film,” Patrick McMinn, who was his manager since 1987, said in a statement. He told the Hollywood Reporter that the actor died at his Los Angeles home of pancreatic cancer.
Samuel L. Jackson, who portrayed John Shaft’s (Roundtree) nephew in the 2000 sequel to Gordon Park’s 1971 action film, shared a tribute to Instagram following the news of his death.
“Richard’s work and career served as a turning point for African American leading men in film,” Patrick McMinn, who was his manager since 1987, said in a statement. He told the Hollywood Reporter that the actor died at his Los Angeles home of pancreatic cancer.
Samuel L. Jackson, who portrayed John Shaft’s (Roundtree) nephew in the 2000 sequel to Gordon Park’s 1971 action film, shared a tribute to Instagram following the news of his death.
- 10/25/2023
- by Charisma Madarang
- Rollingstone.com
Looking for sources of inspiration in the life of any artist, especially one working in as collaborative a medium as film, can be risky. There’s almost never a one-to-one correlation between life and art. However, in taking a more holistic view of an artist’s interests by assembling the things that have meaning to them, certain themes emerge.
A thematic relationship between art and artist is exactly what the Brooklyn Museum’s recently launched “Spike Lee: Creative Sources” is all about, featuring over 450 objects (and of course a Brooklyn stoop) from Lee’s collection. It includes the expected but also objects from Lee’s interests in art, historical artifacts, first editions, Gordon Parks and James Van Der Zee photographs, and, according to curator Kimberli Gant, “a whole Knicks area.”
Gant told IndieWire that the scope and breadth of “Creative Sources” arose out of finding thematic, organizational patterns and structures...
A thematic relationship between art and artist is exactly what the Brooklyn Museum’s recently launched “Spike Lee: Creative Sources” is all about, featuring over 450 objects (and of course a Brooklyn stoop) from Lee’s collection. It includes the expected but also objects from Lee’s interests in art, historical artifacts, first editions, Gordon Parks and James Van Der Zee photographs, and, according to curator Kimberli Gant, “a whole Knicks area.”
Gant told IndieWire that the scope and breadth of “Creative Sources” arose out of finding thematic, organizational patterns and structures...
- 10/8/2023
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Martin Luther King Jr.’s harsh criticism of Malcolm X — published in a 1965 Playboy interview and long believed to signal a rift between the civil rights leaders — has been exposed as a “real fraud” after unedited transcripts of the interview were unearthed.
In the Playboy interview conducted by Roots author Alex Haley, King was published as saying at the conclusion of a long comment about Malcolm X, “And in his litany of articulating the despair of the Negro without offering any positive, creative alternative,I feel that Malcolm has done...
In the Playboy interview conducted by Roots author Alex Haley, King was published as saying at the conclusion of a long comment about Malcolm X, “And in his litany of articulating the despair of the Negro without offering any positive, creative alternative,I feel that Malcolm has done...
- 5/10/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
“Music was my therapy for the many traumas I suffered as a child,” Lucinda Williams writes in her new memoir, Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You. Those traumas include her mother’s mental illness, which created a volatile and often unpredictable environment for Williams and her two siblings, the eventual divorce of her parents, and her own battles with obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and self-esteem issues. Peppered with flirtatious encounters, doomed relationships with “poets on motorcycles” (including Ryan Adams), and a same-sex kiss on a dance floor, the...
- 4/24/2023
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Peter Werner, the Oscar-winning director known for his television work that spanned five decades and included helming episodes of such popular series as Moonlighting, A Different World, Justified and Law & Order: Svu, has died. He was 76.
Werner died Tuesday morning in Wilmington, North Carolina, his younger brother, Tom Werner (producer on The Cosby Show, Roseanne, That ’70s Show, The Conners), told The Hollywood Reporter. “He had a torn aorta that the doctors weren’t able to repair. So sudden,” he wrote in an email.
As a student project while attending the American Film Institute, Peter Werner directed the 1976 short film In the Region of Ice, which was based on Joyce Carol Oates’ short story and starred Fionnula Flanagan. The project won the Oscar for live-action short film.
His career kicked off from there, with Werner helming a 1977 episode of Family. The ABC drama counted Mike Nichols and Aaron Spelling as executive producers.
Werner died Tuesday morning in Wilmington, North Carolina, his younger brother, Tom Werner (producer on The Cosby Show, Roseanne, That ’70s Show, The Conners), told The Hollywood Reporter. “He had a torn aorta that the doctors weren’t able to repair. So sudden,” he wrote in an email.
As a student project while attending the American Film Institute, Peter Werner directed the 1976 short film In the Region of Ice, which was based on Joyce Carol Oates’ short story and starred Fionnula Flanagan. The project won the Oscar for live-action short film.
His career kicked off from there, with Werner helming a 1977 episode of Family. The ABC drama counted Mike Nichols and Aaron Spelling as executive producers.
- 3/22/2023
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Kimberly Harrison (The Crossover) has been tapped as showrunner for Hulu’s limited series about Sammy Davis Jr. from Lee Daniels and 20th Television, which stars Elijah Kelley as the Candy Man.
Written by Daniels and Thomas Westfall based on Will Haygood’s biography, In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr., and inspired by Alex Haley’s interview of Davis, the yet untitled eight-episode series explores the entertainer’s life through the lens of his racial identity and his complex relationship with the Black community.
Related: 2023 Hulu Pilots & Series Orders
It centers on Davis (Kelley), who rose from childhood stardom on the vaudeville stage to become one of the most famous African American entertainers of the 1950s and ’60s (and the only Black member of Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack). At the same time, he spent most of his career surrounded by controversy and ridicule – over...
Written by Daniels and Thomas Westfall based on Will Haygood’s biography, In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr., and inspired by Alex Haley’s interview of Davis, the yet untitled eight-episode series explores the entertainer’s life through the lens of his racial identity and his complex relationship with the Black community.
Related: 2023 Hulu Pilots & Series Orders
It centers on Davis (Kelley), who rose from childhood stardom on the vaudeville stage to become one of the most famous African American entertainers of the 1950s and ’60s (and the only Black member of Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack). At the same time, he spent most of his career surrounded by controversy and ridicule – over...
- 2/13/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
If it’s Tuesday, this must be Election Day in a year when democracy itself is on the ballot. It’s a moment that Jefferson Smith – the naive but idealistic young senator played by Jimmy Stewart – could have appreciated in the Oscar-winning 1939 classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” from director Frank Capra. It tops the list of 25 movies that this Gold Derby editor singles out as exemplary staples of the political genre over the past 80-plus years. Most originated on the big screen, but a few were made-for-tv.
Why bring this to you today? Think of it as a distraction tactic at a time when so many of us are overloaded with anxiety over an especially consequential election that will determine control of Congress. The list features biopics, satires, historical dramas and journalism hybrid thrillers as well as fictitious allegories.
SEE15 Best American Political Films
Watch any of these tonight...
Why bring this to you today? Think of it as a distraction tactic at a time when so many of us are overloaded with anxiety over an especially consequential election that will determine control of Congress. The list features biopics, satires, historical dramas and journalism hybrid thrillers as well as fictitious allegories.
SEE15 Best American Political Films
Watch any of these tonight...
- 11/8/2022
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
It’s been quite a few years since the heyday of TV miniseries in the ’70s and ’80s, but their legacies continue even now. Whether it’s the harrowing dramatization of Alex Haley’s family line in Roots, starting with Kunta Kinte’s (LeVar Burton) enslavement and reaching into the future with his descendants’ liberation, or the gripping and forbidden love story unfolding between Richard Chamberlain‘s Father Ralph and Rachel Ward’s Meggie Cleary in The Thorn Birds, there’s something for everyone. But with all the years gone by, how well do you really remember these titles and the details about them? Well, we’re giving you the chance to test your knowledge! Below, scroll through the ultimate trivia quiz that will determine your level of expertise when it comes to knowing classic TV miniseries of the ’70s and ’80s. Plus, sound off in the comment section to...
- 10/15/2022
- TV Insider
Writer, producer, and director Spike Lee came into the 1990s hot. After the critical and commercial triumph of his 1989 masterpiece “Do the Right Thing,” he started the decade with the exquisite jazz film “Mo’ Better Blues” (1990) and kept up the pace with 1991’s provocative, furious, and hilarious “Jungle Fever.” Those three films had all been made for Universal with modest budgets and were all successes relative to those budgets, but for his next movie Lee was ready to go to the mattresses. He took a break from Universal to make a movie at Warner Bros., the studio that held the rights to a project Lee had dreamed of directing since he was a film student: Alex Haley’s “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.”
Lee might not have been ready to take on a film of that scope and ambition when he was at NYU, but in the fall of 1991 he...
Lee might not have been ready to take on a film of that scope and ambition when he was at NYU, but in the fall of 1991 he...
- 8/18/2022
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Marvin J. Chomsky, the Emmy-winning director and producer who helmed episodes of beloved TV shows like “Roots” and “Star Trek,” died Monday, his son Peter Chomsky confirmed to Variety. He was 92.
A prolific director of the small-screen with a career spanning four decades, Chomsky won four Emmys over the course of his career, all for his work on various miniseries or television films: “Holocaust” in 1978, “Attica” in 1980,” “Inside the Third Reich” in 1982 and “Peter the Great” in 1986. He was additionally nominated for four other Emmys, and won two Director’s Guild of America awards out of four nominations.
Born in 1929 in New York City, Chomsky got his start in television as an art director and set director, before scoring his first directing credits in 1964, helming three episodes of medical drama “The Doctors and the Nurses.” Over the course of the 60s and early 70s, he directed episodes of numerous well-known and popular television series,...
A prolific director of the small-screen with a career spanning four decades, Chomsky won four Emmys over the course of his career, all for his work on various miniseries or television films: “Holocaust” in 1978, “Attica” in 1980,” “Inside the Third Reich” in 1982 and “Peter the Great” in 1986. He was additionally nominated for four other Emmys, and won two Director’s Guild of America awards out of four nominations.
Born in 1929 in New York City, Chomsky got his start in television as an art director and set director, before scoring his first directing credits in 1964, helming three episodes of medical drama “The Doctors and the Nurses.” Over the course of the 60s and early 70s, he directed episodes of numerous well-known and popular television series,...
- 3/30/2022
- by Wilson Chapman
- Variety Film + TV
Marvin J. Chomsky, a four-time Emmy-winning director whose credits include the seminal 1977 miniseries Roots, Holocaust and dozens of TV series including the original Star Trek and Hawaii Five-o, died Monday. He was 92.
His son, producer Peter Chomsky, told Deadline that his father died in his sleep but gave no other details.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
The elder Chomsky already was a veteran TV director when he scored an Emmy nomination for helming two episodes of the groundbreaking slavery saga Roots. He went on to win Emmys for directing the harrowing 1978 miniseries Holocaust, telefilms Attica (1980) and Inside the Third Reich (1982) and the Maximilian Schell-led miniseries Peter the Great (1986). He earned nominations for helming Evita Peron (1981), Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986) and Billionaire Boys Club (1987), also scoring an Outstanding Miniseries nom as the latter’s supervising producer.
When he accepted his Emmy for Inside the Third Reich, Chomsky...
His son, producer Peter Chomsky, told Deadline that his father died in his sleep but gave no other details.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
The elder Chomsky already was a veteran TV director when he scored an Emmy nomination for helming two episodes of the groundbreaking slavery saga Roots. He went on to win Emmys for directing the harrowing 1978 miniseries Holocaust, telefilms Attica (1980) and Inside the Third Reich (1982) and the Maximilian Schell-led miniseries Peter the Great (1986). He earned nominations for helming Evita Peron (1981), Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986) and Billionaire Boys Club (1987), also scoring an Outstanding Miniseries nom as the latter’s supervising producer.
When he accepted his Emmy for Inside the Third Reich, Chomsky...
- 3/29/2022
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Roots actors Louis Gossett Jr. and John Amos have looked back on the groundbreaking series on its 45th anniversary and commented that many cast members did not see a career boost despite the show’s success. Adapted from Alex Haley’s bestselling novel, Roots debuted on ABC in January 1977 and followed Kunta Kinte (Amos), an African man who is taken from his home and shipped to North America as a slave. The series was a hit, amassing huge ratings and taking home nine Emmy awards, as well as a Golden Globe and Peabody Award. While Gossett Jr went on to win a Best Supporting Oscar for his role in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman, Amos says that many of the other Black actors did not see the same profile raise as Gossett or fellow co-star LeVar Burton, who played the young Kinte. Burton would go on to find...
- 2/28/2022
- TV Insider
“Roots” made TV history when it premiered on ABC 45 years ago, with more than half the country tuning in for the adaptation of Alex Haley’s bestselling novel about his enslaved ancestors.
To celebrate the film’s anniversary and to mark Black History Month, TheWrap recently spoke with John Amos, who was Emmy-nominated for his portrayal of main character Kunta Kinte, and Louis Gossett Jr, who won a Best Supporting Emmy for his role as Kunta’s often contentious mentor Fiddler.
Neither actor dreamed the epic tale of Kunta (who was played as a young man in the miniseries by LeVar Burton) would be such an enormous hit, and Gossett couldn’t believe it got made in the first place.
“The story about [slavery] was we knew it, we heard it from our parents and our aunts and uncles and stuff, but we knew it would never be on primetime television,...
To celebrate the film’s anniversary and to mark Black History Month, TheWrap recently spoke with John Amos, who was Emmy-nominated for his portrayal of main character Kunta Kinte, and Louis Gossett Jr, who won a Best Supporting Emmy for his role as Kunta’s often contentious mentor Fiddler.
Neither actor dreamed the epic tale of Kunta (who was played as a young man in the miniseries by LeVar Burton) would be such an enormous hit, and Gossett couldn’t believe it got made in the first place.
“The story about [slavery] was we knew it, we heard it from our parents and our aunts and uncles and stuff, but we knew it would never be on primetime television,...
- 2/27/2022
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
Getting fired from Good Times is one of the best things that could have ever happened to John Amos.
After three seasons of fighting with executive producer Norman Lear and the CBS sitcom’s white writers about the stereotypical Black portrayals and dialogue the show perpetuated, particularly when it came to star Jimmie Walker, Amos’ contract to play patriarch James Evans wasn’t renewed at the end of Season 3 in 1976 and his character was killed off.
More from TVLineShades of Funny: A Celebration of TV Comedy's Trailblazers & Rising StarsFresh Off Ted Lasso, Emmy Winner Ashley Nicole Black Is On a...
After three seasons of fighting with executive producer Norman Lear and the CBS sitcom’s white writers about the stereotypical Black portrayals and dialogue the show perpetuated, particularly when it came to star Jimmie Walker, Amos’ contract to play patriarch James Evans wasn’t renewed at the end of Season 3 in 1976 and his character was killed off.
More from TVLineShades of Funny: A Celebration of TV Comedy's Trailblazers & Rising StarsFresh Off Ted Lasso, Emmy Winner Ashley Nicole Black Is On a...
- 2/26/2022
- by Mekeisha Madden Toby
- TVLine.com
Debbie Allen was honored with the 2021 Governors Award on Sunday at the 73rd annual Emmy Awards for her contributions to television as an actress, writer, producer, director, dancer and choreographer. She’s also being lauded by the Television Academy for inspiring and mentoring youth from marginalized communities in the arts.
“Let this moment resonate with women across the world and across this country, from Texas to Afghanistan,” said Allen during her acceptance speech. “For young people, who have no vote, who can’t even get a vaccine—they’re inheriting the world that we live in and where we lead them. It’s time for you to claim your power. Play your voice, sing your song, tell your stories. It will make us a better place. Your turn.”
The multihyphenate has a total of 20 Emmy nominations under her belt, including five wins and tonight’s special honor. Last weekend she...
“Let this moment resonate with women across the world and across this country, from Texas to Afghanistan,” said Allen during her acceptance speech. “For young people, who have no vote, who can’t even get a vaccine—they’re inheriting the world that we live in and where we lead them. It’s time for you to claim your power. Play your voice, sing your song, tell your stories. It will make us a better place. Your turn.”
The multihyphenate has a total of 20 Emmy nominations under her belt, including five wins and tonight’s special honor. Last weekend she...
- 9/20/2021
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Social JUSTICEOver the past two years, Mathur has done 15 videos for Neelam Social on various issues concerning social justice.Nirupa SampathWhen 29-year-old Mathur Sathya, an Nit Trichy graduate, gravitated towards public policy and began studying and understanding social inequalities, he was keen to spread awareness about what he was learning. However, a few of his acquaintances and friends warned him about his chosen path, saying, "You are going down the wrong route." But Mathur, who quit his high paying corporate job in 2019, was determined to learn and contribute to the society in whatever way possible with strong support from his family and girlfriend. Over the past two years, Salem-based Mathur has done several YouTube videos for Neelam Social, a web channel initiated by director Pa Ranjith, on social justice. He also uses social media to keep the public informed about various social issues, and is currently focusing on the ideologies of Periyar,...
- 8/31/2021
- by NirupaS
- The News Minute
John Erman, the TV director best known for the Ann-Margret-led “Who Will Love My Children?” and an episode of the original “Roots” miniseries, has died at the age of 85.
The director died on June 25 “after a brief illness,” according to Deadline, which first reported the news of Erman’s passing.
Erman won a Directors Guild of America award in 1978 for his work on the second installment of “Roots.” He later went on to direct multiple episodes of the sequel series “Roots: The Next Generation” at ABC, as well as the CBS miniseries adaptation of the Alex Haley novel “Queen.”
Throughout his career, Erman received a total of 10 Emmy nominations, winning once in 1983 for “Who Will Love My Children?”
He picked up a second DGA award in 1986 for “An Early Frost,” which is billed as the first TV movie about the AIDS crisis. The film stars Aidan Quinn as a...
The director died on June 25 “after a brief illness,” according to Deadline, which first reported the news of Erman’s passing.
Erman won a Directors Guild of America award in 1978 for his work on the second installment of “Roots.” He later went on to direct multiple episodes of the sequel series “Roots: The Next Generation” at ABC, as well as the CBS miniseries adaptation of the Alex Haley novel “Queen.”
Throughout his career, Erman received a total of 10 Emmy nominations, winning once in 1983 for “Who Will Love My Children?”
He picked up a second DGA award in 1986 for “An Early Frost,” which is billed as the first TV movie about the AIDS crisis. The film stars Aidan Quinn as a...
- 7/6/2021
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
John Erman, an Emmy-winning director-producer who helmed multiple episodes of such classic TV series as Star Trek, M*A*S*H and Peyton Place along with Part 2 of Roots and much of its sequel miniseries Roots: The Next Generations, has died. He was 85.
His friend, Charles Silver of SMS Talent, told Deadline that Erman died June 25 in New York City after a brief illness.
Born on August 3, 1935, in Chicago, Erman began his show business career as an actor, including an unbilled role in 1955’s Blackboard Jungle before working extensively as a casting director. His first job in that role was with Jim Lister at Republic Studios in New York, and Erman would go on to work with numerous Hollywood legends in this capacity, from Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland to Woody Allen, Angela Lansbury and Ann-Margret — with whom he’d have a long-running working relationship.
He got his first shot...
His friend, Charles Silver of SMS Talent, told Deadline that Erman died June 25 in New York City after a brief illness.
Born on August 3, 1935, in Chicago, Erman began his show business career as an actor, including an unbilled role in 1955’s Blackboard Jungle before working extensively as a casting director. His first job in that role was with Jim Lister at Republic Studios in New York, and Erman would go on to work with numerous Hollywood legends in this capacity, from Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland to Woody Allen, Angela Lansbury and Ann-Margret — with whom he’d have a long-running working relationship.
He got his first shot...
- 6/29/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: A slew of stars including Rosanna Arquette, Taye Diggs, Gael Garcia Bernal and Maya Hawke, are to portray famous figures across history in a new podcast series from Playboy and Audio Up.
The two companies are launching Playboy Interview, an audio series that features teleplay-style re-enactments of the most iconic Playboy interview conversations.
Other stars also include Shea Whigham, Michael Shannon, Kevin Corrigan and Gina Gershon.
The series, which is set to debut in September, will see Arquette voice feminist pioneer Betty Friedan, Diggs will portray Muhammad Ali, Garcia Bernal plays Salvador Dali, Shannon is Tennessee Williams, Shea Whigham is John Wayne, Maya Hawke is Helen Gurley Brown, Kevin Corrigan is Frank Sinatra and Gina Gershon is Oriana Fallaci.
The first two episodes will feature “conversations” with Friedan and Ali.
The series is based on the classic Playboy Interview, which started in 1962 with Alex Haley’s conversation with Miles Davis...
The two companies are launching Playboy Interview, an audio series that features teleplay-style re-enactments of the most iconic Playboy interview conversations.
Other stars also include Shea Whigham, Michael Shannon, Kevin Corrigan and Gina Gershon.
The series, which is set to debut in September, will see Arquette voice feminist pioneer Betty Friedan, Diggs will portray Muhammad Ali, Garcia Bernal plays Salvador Dali, Shannon is Tennessee Williams, Shea Whigham is John Wayne, Maya Hawke is Helen Gurley Brown, Kevin Corrigan is Frank Sinatra and Gina Gershon is Oriana Fallaci.
The first two episodes will feature “conversations” with Friedan and Ali.
The series is based on the classic Playboy Interview, which started in 1962 with Alex Haley’s conversation with Miles Davis...
- 6/24/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
After losing out to the Flag-Smashers in their initial meeting during episode two of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam and Bucky realize the group doesn't just have one supersoldier, it has eight. The source of their power happens to be the same serum that gave both Steve and Bucky their superstrength. To track down leads as to how the Flag-Smashers got their hands on the serum, Bucky takes Sam to Isaiah Bradley, who, according to Bucky, "was a hero. One of the ones Hydra feared the most. Like Steve."
In the comics, Isaiah Bradley is known as the first Black Captain America. As part of Project Rebirth's attempt to re-create the supersoldier serum, Isaiah is the only survivor from an initial pool of 300 Black soldiers used as test subjects. Isaiah's supersoldier origin story, including the experiment and the treatment of its subjects, is an allusion to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study,...
In the comics, Isaiah Bradley is known as the first Black Captain America. As part of Project Rebirth's attempt to re-create the supersoldier serum, Isaiah is the only survivor from an initial pool of 300 Black soldiers used as test subjects. Isaiah's supersoldier origin story, including the experiment and the treatment of its subjects, is an allusion to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study,...
- 3/26/2021
- by Grayson Gilcrease
- Popsugar.com
Actress Cicely Tyson, star of “Sounder” and ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder,” has died at the age of 96. The news was broken by the Associated Press with no mention of cause of death.
Tyson’s career spanned seven decades starting in 1951. She gained widespread acclaim in 1972 when she played the role of Rebecca Morgan in the adaptation of “Sounder,” the story of Black sharecroppers, and a young boy’s relationship with his beloved dog. She would not only get an Oscar nomination for her performance, but a Golden Globe nod as well. She would later win two Emmys for playing the title role in 1974’s “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.” The role saw her play the title character, who goes from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement. In her career, Tyson would rack up a whopping 14 Emmy nominations.
Despite her age, Tyson refused to give up acting.
Tyson’s career spanned seven decades starting in 1951. She gained widespread acclaim in 1972 when she played the role of Rebecca Morgan in the adaptation of “Sounder,” the story of Black sharecroppers, and a young boy’s relationship with his beloved dog. She would not only get an Oscar nomination for her performance, but a Golden Globe nod as well. She would later win two Emmys for playing the title role in 1974’s “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.” The role saw her play the title character, who goes from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement. In her career, Tyson would rack up a whopping 14 Emmy nominations.
Despite her age, Tyson refused to give up acting.
- 1/29/2021
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
LeVar Burton on Saturday celebrated the 44th anniversary of Roots by pulling back the curtain on the production.
Based on the late Alex Haley’s 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, the renowned television miniseries premiered on ABC on Jan. 23, 1977.
Burton, who played young Kunta Kinte, began to reminisce via Twitter by saying he was only 19 years old and a theater major at the University of Southern California when cast in the role.
“My first day on the set the legendary @IAmCicelyTyson played my mother, Bings Kinte. @DrMayaAngelou played my grandmother, Nyo Boto. I was in the ...
Based on the late Alex Haley’s 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, the renowned television miniseries premiered on ABC on Jan. 23, 1977.
Burton, who played young Kunta Kinte, began to reminisce via Twitter by saying he was only 19 years old and a theater major at the University of Southern California when cast in the role.
“My first day on the set the legendary @IAmCicelyTyson played my mother, Bings Kinte. @DrMayaAngelou played my grandmother, Nyo Boto. I was in the ...
- 1/23/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
LeVar Burton on Saturday celebrated the 44th anniversary of Roots by pulling back the curtain on the production.
Based on the late Alex Haley’s 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, the renowned television miniseries premiered on ABC on Jan. 23, 1977.
Burton, who played young Kunta Kinte, began to reminisce via Twitter by saying he was only 19 years old and a theater major at the University of Southern California when cast in the role.
“My first day on the set the legendary @IAmCicelyTyson played my mother, Bings Kinte. @DrMayaAngelou played my grandmother, Nyo Boto. I was in the ...
Based on the late Alex Haley’s 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, the renowned television miniseries premiered on ABC on Jan. 23, 1977.
Burton, who played young Kunta Kinte, began to reminisce via Twitter by saying he was only 19 years old and a theater major at the University of Southern California when cast in the role.
“My first day on the set the legendary @IAmCicelyTyson played my mother, Bings Kinte. @DrMayaAngelou played my grandmother, Nyo Boto. I was in the ...
- 1/23/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One only needs to look at the fan reaction (some positive, much not) to last week’s news of a Sex and the City sequel series to know that bringing back an old TV property is dangerous territory. But when it works — either as a continuation of the original series, or a fresh take on a familiar title — it can be thrilling. Here are 10 of our favorites: five revivals with some or all of the original actors, and five reboots that started from scratch.
10. DuckTales (2017-2021, Disney Xd/Disney)
The...
10. DuckTales (2017-2021, Disney Xd/Disney)
The...
- 1/15/2021
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
It’s supposed to be a celebration. On a balmy night in Miami, in February 1964, four friends — Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke — get together in a humble room at a black-friendly hotel, bypassing the environs of the nicer, whiter Fountainbleau nearby. The occasion: the 22-year-old Clay’s surprise title win over Sonny Liston. Their vice: a tub of ice cream. At the door, men from the Nation of Islam stand guard over this powerhouse gathering of mid-century black celebrity. Across the street, a pair of unknown white men are also,...
- 1/14/2021
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
Ruth E. Carter made history in 2019 by becoming the first Black person to win an Oscar for costume design for her work on “Black Panther.”
It was her third nomination in a career that began when Spike Lee hired her for his second feature, 1988’s “School Daze.” To date, Carter has 66 credits spanning television and film.
Is it any wonder that her life and career are now the focus of a museum exhibit? “Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design” opens on Dec. 17 at Scad Fash Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta.
Variety caught up with Carter, 60, to talk about her childhood sewing machine, studying costume design and the first time she was nominated for an Oscar.
In your wildest dreams, did you ever think you’d get your own museum exhibition?
No. It’s another dream. I’m checking the box on the bucket list. [Laughs] When they came...
It was her third nomination in a career that began when Spike Lee hired her for his second feature, 1988’s “School Daze.” To date, Carter has 66 credits spanning television and film.
Is it any wonder that her life and career are now the focus of a museum exhibit? “Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design” opens on Dec. 17 at Scad Fash Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta.
Variety caught up with Carter, 60, to talk about her childhood sewing machine, studying costume design and the first time she was nominated for an Oscar.
In your wildest dreams, did you ever think you’d get your own museum exhibition?
No. It’s another dream. I’m checking the box on the bucket list. [Laughs] When they came...
- 12/16/2020
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
“Finding Your Roots” utilizes every tool in its toolbox — from pioneering DNA technology to genealogical sleuthing — in order to reveal the previously unknown history of its guests. Spanning the world, the PBS series divulges family ancestry that runs the gamut, and navigating it all is host and executive producer Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, Jr., who also serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.
The show started airing its sixth season this month, and it is among the top three performing shows on PBS, according to analysts using Nielsen data. The participants in the series is an impressive roll call a mile long, including Anjelica Huston, Mia Farrow, Ava DuVernay, Jimmy Kimmel, Sterling K. Brown, RuPaul, and many others.
“When people sit down, they don’t know what we’re about to hit them with, because...
The show started airing its sixth season this month, and it is among the top three performing shows on PBS, according to analysts using Nielsen data. The participants in the series is an impressive roll call a mile long, including Anjelica Huston, Mia Farrow, Ava DuVernay, Jimmy Kimmel, Sterling K. Brown, RuPaul, and many others.
“When people sit down, they don’t know what we’re about to hit them with, because...
- 10/26/2020
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
History matters. Facts matter. Especially in this moment of racial and political reckoning.
With “Birth of a Nation” as its powerful and wicked origin story, the Hollywood film industry has been shaping the narrative about Black people in America for more than a century. Now as we re-examine many of the false assumptions about American history, Hollywood could play a pivotal role in dismantling tropes it helped create. Some of that work already is being done by filmmakers including Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler, Jordan Peele, Lena Waithe, Barry Jenkins and Spike Lee. But we need more.
Studios could seek projects that present a more authentic narrative and reconsider some of the formulas that drive creative decisions. But first the facts need to be right and the history needs to be accurate.
During the last five years I’ve thought about this a lot as I watched “On Her Own Ground:...
With “Birth of a Nation” as its powerful and wicked origin story, the Hollywood film industry has been shaping the narrative about Black people in America for more than a century. Now as we re-examine many of the false assumptions about American history, Hollywood could play a pivotal role in dismantling tropes it helped create. Some of that work already is being done by filmmakers including Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler, Jordan Peele, Lena Waithe, Barry Jenkins and Spike Lee. But we need more.
Studios could seek projects that present a more authentic narrative and reconsider some of the formulas that drive creative decisions. But first the facts need to be right and the history needs to be accurate.
During the last five years I’ve thought about this a lot as I watched “On Her Own Ground:...
- 7/24/2020
- by A'Lelia Bundles
- Variety Film + TV
Film CommentaryFilms on caste oppression have usually depicted Dalits as a homogeneous oppressed community, but Palasa is a much more nuanced and historically authentic depiction.Charan Teja(Spoilers ahead) Telugu films are usually in the news for the buzz generated by their cast, crew and massive pre-release events. However, once in a while, films like Palasa 1978 garner attention due to their content and understanding of social history. The film, directed by Karuna Kumar, begins with bloodshed. After the title song, we hear the drum beats of a jatara (carnival), and the protagonist Mohan Rao (Rakshit), a Dalit man, beheads Ganapavasu, another Dalit man. The latter is a henchman of the Shavukarus, dominant caste Hindu landlords. While films on caste oppression have usually depicted Dalits as a homogeneous oppressed community, Palasa is a much more nuanced and historically authentic depiction of the violence that’s meted out in the name of caste.
- 3/11/2020
- by Nitin
- The News Minute
Most Oscarologists are aware that half of the Best Picture winners so far this decade have been biopics or truth-based tales featuring real-life people. The titles? “The King’s Speech,” “Argo,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Spotlight” and “Green Book.”
But did you realize that Emmy’s limited series contest also has a long-held fondness for truth-based tales. Looking at the Gold Derby combined odds list, I realized that five out of the top six contenders are either biopics or accounts of an impactful real-life event. Showtime’s “Escape at Dannemora,” the front-runner for now before the Emmy nominations are announced on Tuesday, is based on a 2015 prison escape in Upstate New York (see photo above). HBO’s historical drama “Chernobyl” zeroes in on the 1986 nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union.
SEEWhat is the secret behind Patricia Arquette’s riveting ‘Escape at Dannemora’ performance
Netflix’s “When They See Us” is...
But did you realize that Emmy’s limited series contest also has a long-held fondness for truth-based tales. Looking at the Gold Derby combined odds list, I realized that five out of the top six contenders are either biopics or accounts of an impactful real-life event. Showtime’s “Escape at Dannemora,” the front-runner for now before the Emmy nominations are announced on Tuesday, is based on a 2015 prison escape in Upstate New York (see photo above). HBO’s historical drama “Chernobyl” zeroes in on the 1986 nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union.
SEEWhat is the secret behind Patricia Arquette’s riveting ‘Escape at Dannemora’ performance
Netflix’s “When They See Us” is...
- 7/15/2019
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
Well, they broke Isaac. It's very clear from The Orville Season 2 Episode 9 that his prolonged exposure to biological lifeforms has irrevocably contaminated his programming.
I mean, it's all good considering the Earth and all biological life would've been wiped out if Isaac hadn't made his Hugh of Borg transition.
However, my first thought is that his sympathy/affection for the Finn family is now a vulnerability to be exploited by those looking to control his strength, knowledge, and/or skills.
Related: Enjoy Unlimited access to thousands of Movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video. Watch Anywhere. Cancel Anytime!
For allegedly being purely logical in nature, the Kaylons are still victim to some pretty basic fallacies. For instance, based on their treatment at the hands of their Builders, they've painted all biological life forms with the same brush.
Furthermore, their unwillingness to entertain any of Isaac's arguments that present-day humans...
I mean, it's all good considering the Earth and all biological life would've been wiped out if Isaac hadn't made his Hugh of Borg transition.
However, my first thought is that his sympathy/affection for the Finn family is now a vulnerability to be exploited by those looking to control his strength, knowledge, and/or skills.
Related: Enjoy Unlimited access to thousands of Movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video. Watch Anywhere. Cancel Anytime!
For allegedly being purely logical in nature, the Kaylons are still victim to some pretty basic fallacies. For instance, based on their treatment at the hands of their Builders, they've painted all biological life forms with the same brush.
Furthermore, their unwillingness to entertain any of Isaac's arguments that present-day humans...
- 3/1/2019
- by Diana Keng
- TVfanatic
Exclusive: CAA has signed actress Saniyya Sidney for representation.
Sidney began her career at eight-years-old as “Young Kizzy” in the History Channel remake of the Alex Haley classic, Roots.
She went on to star alongside Oscar winners Viola Davis and Denzel Washington in Fences as their characters’ daughter, Raynell, and starred with Taraji P. Henson in the Oscar-nominated film, Hidden Figures which took the 2017 SAG Award for Best Ensemble.
Currently, she stars opposite Mark-Paul Gosselaar in the Fox series The Passage as Amy Bellafonte, executive produced by Matt Reeves.
Up next for Sidney is Julia Hart’s feature Fast Color opposite Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Sidney will continue to be managed by Constance Tillotson at La Management. Her attorney is Ziffren Brittenham.
Sidney began her career at eight-years-old as “Young Kizzy” in the History Channel remake of the Alex Haley classic, Roots.
She went on to star alongside Oscar winners Viola Davis and Denzel Washington in Fences as their characters’ daughter, Raynell, and starred with Taraji P. Henson in the Oscar-nominated film, Hidden Figures which took the 2017 SAG Award for Best Ensemble.
Currently, she stars opposite Mark-Paul Gosselaar in the Fox series The Passage as Amy Bellafonte, executive produced by Matt Reeves.
Up next for Sidney is Julia Hart’s feature Fast Color opposite Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Sidney will continue to be managed by Constance Tillotson at La Management. Her attorney is Ziffren Brittenham.
- 2/11/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Virginia’s problematic governor, Ralph Northam, who admitted to wearing blackface as part of a Michael Jackson costume in 1984 after first admitting, then denying he was pictured in blackface or a Kkk robe in his medical school yearbook, sat down with Gregory S. Schneider of the Washington Post for the first interview since his press conference last week.
In the interview, Northam addressed the controversy and reiterated that he would not step down over the scandal, adding that he will focus the remainder of his term on fixing “racial inequity.
In the interview, Northam addressed the controversy and reiterated that he would not step down over the scandal, adding that he will focus the remainder of his term on fixing “racial inequity.
- 2/9/2019
- by Peter Wade
- Rollingstone.com
Kristoff St. John, best known for his role as Neil Winters on CBS’ long-running soap The Young and the Restless, has died. He was 52. The cause of death is not immediately known.
The Daytime Emmy Awards shared news of his passing on its Twitter account.
“It is with unbelievable sadness that we say goodbye to our friend, #DaytimeEmmys winner @kristoffstjohn1. @YandR_CBS Rip.”
St. John won two Daytime Emmy awards out of nine nominations, along with ten NAACP Image Awards.
His attorney, Mark Geragos, paid tribute to St. John on Twitter. “Few men had the unique strength, courage & sensitivity that @kristoffstjohn1 lived every single minute of every day,” Geragos wrote. “He impacted everyone he met and millions who he inspired and in turn admired him. On behalf of @MiaStJohnBoxer & @TheStJohnFamily thank you for all of your love.”
St. John began his career as a child actor, portraying a young Alex Haley...
The Daytime Emmy Awards shared news of his passing on its Twitter account.
“It is with unbelievable sadness that we say goodbye to our friend, #DaytimeEmmys winner @kristoffstjohn1. @YandR_CBS Rip.”
St. John won two Daytime Emmy awards out of nine nominations, along with ten NAACP Image Awards.
His attorney, Mark Geragos, paid tribute to St. John on Twitter. “Few men had the unique strength, courage & sensitivity that @kristoffstjohn1 lived every single minute of every day,” Geragos wrote. “He impacted everyone he met and millions who he inspired and in turn admired him. On behalf of @MiaStJohnBoxer & @TheStJohnFamily thank you for all of your love.”
St. John began his career as a child actor, portraying a young Alex Haley...
- 2/4/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Kristoff St. John, the actor best-known for portraying Neil Winters on CBS’ long-running daytime soap “The Young and the Restless,” has died. He was 52.
His attorney Mark Geragos confirmed the news to Variety. Geragos also posted on Twitter, saying, “Few men had the unique strength, courage & sensitivity that @kristoffstjohn1 lived every single minute of every day. He impacted everyone he met and millions who he inspired and in turn admired him. On behalf of @MiaStJohnBoxer & @TheStJohnFamily thank you for all of your love.”
The Daytime Emmy Awards also noted St. John’s death via Twitter. “It is with unbelievable sadness that we say goodbye to our friend, #DaytimeEmmys winner @kristoffstjohn1. @YandR_CBS Rip.”
St. John received numerous awards, including nine Daytime Emmys, over the 25 years he worked on “The Young and the Restless.” His first major role on a soap opera was on NBC’s “Generations.” The show was canceled...
His attorney Mark Geragos confirmed the news to Variety. Geragos also posted on Twitter, saying, “Few men had the unique strength, courage & sensitivity that @kristoffstjohn1 lived every single minute of every day. He impacted everyone he met and millions who he inspired and in turn admired him. On behalf of @MiaStJohnBoxer & @TheStJohnFamily thank you for all of your love.”
The Daytime Emmy Awards also noted St. John’s death via Twitter. “It is with unbelievable sadness that we say goodbye to our friend, #DaytimeEmmys winner @kristoffstjohn1. @YandR_CBS Rip.”
St. John received numerous awards, including nine Daytime Emmys, over the 25 years he worked on “The Young and the Restless.” His first major role on a soap opera was on NBC’s “Generations.” The show was canceled...
- 2/4/2019
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
The Young and the Restless vet Kristoff St. John was pronounced dead on Sunday after his body was found in his San Fernando Valley home by a concerned friend. No foul play was involved, TMZ reports, though alcohol may have been involved. He was 52.
St. John’s son Julian died in November 2014 at age 24, in what was ruled a suicide and following a history of mentally illness. The actor and ex-wife Mia St. John sued the psychiatric facility for negligence, claiming they skimped on check-ins and observation; the case was ultimately settled in August 2017. Months later, Kristoff St. John himself...
St. John’s son Julian died in November 2014 at age 24, in what was ruled a suicide and following a history of mentally illness. The actor and ex-wife Mia St. John sued the psychiatric facility for negligence, claiming they skimped on check-ins and observation; the case was ultimately settled in August 2017. Months later, Kristoff St. John himself...
- 2/4/2019
- TVLine.com
Rounding up the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood, as voted on by hundreds of film executives, The Black List has been a strong resource to clue one in on projects to potentially anticipate, but first, to kickstart Hollywood on bringing them to screen. Last year’s chart-topper, the Madonna film Blonde Ambition by Elyse Hollander, was picked up by Universal Pictures and also in the top five was Liz Hannah’s The Post, which Steven Spielberg turned out quite fast. Today we have this year’s edition.
Topping the 2017 edition we have the post-wwii drama Ruin by Matthew Firpo and Ryan Firpo, which Gal Gadot is set to star in with direction by Macbeth and Snowtown‘s Justin Kurzel. Also among the list is the abortion drama Let Her Speak, the story of Anne Frank’s diary, Keeper of the Diary (which will be directed by Kenneth Branagh at Focus Features...
Topping the 2017 edition we have the post-wwii drama Ruin by Matthew Firpo and Ryan Firpo, which Gal Gadot is set to star in with direction by Macbeth and Snowtown‘s Justin Kurzel. Also among the list is the abortion drama Let Her Speak, the story of Anne Frank’s diary, Keeper of the Diary (which will be directed by Kenneth Branagh at Focus Features...
- 12/11/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
A representative for Playboy confirmed on Wednesday that Hugh Hefner had peacefully passed away at age 91 on Wednesday from natural causes at his home, The Playboy Mansion. Below is his final ever interview with People.
On March 17, 2016, Hugh Hefner was having a ball. In advance of his upcoming milestone birthday, the Playboy founder was at home, paging through his painstakingly maintained scrapbooks and reams of personal photos, testimonials of a career and life that spanned nine decades.
Wearing his signature red silk robe and black smoking slippers, Hefner chuckled as he recalled the lighter moments and smiled fondly as he...
On March 17, 2016, Hugh Hefner was having a ball. In advance of his upcoming milestone birthday, the Playboy founder was at home, paging through his painstakingly maintained scrapbooks and reams of personal photos, testimonials of a career and life that spanned nine decades.
Wearing his signature red silk robe and black smoking slippers, Hefner chuckled as he recalled the lighter moments and smiled fondly as he...
- 9/29/2017
- by Aili Nahas
- PEOPLE.com
Hugh Hefner was often accused of being a misogynist who celebrated women as sex objects, but the publisher also has a surprising legacy as an outspoken advocate for civil, Lgbtq and women’s rights.
The Playboy founder, who died at the age of 91 on Wednesday, called himself a “human rights activist” in a 1994 interview with Lgbtq-interest magazine The Advocate — and many who knew his work would agree.
“I felt from a very early age that there were things in society that were wrong, and that I might play some small part in changing them,” Hefner told CBS in 2011.
The publishing...
The Playboy founder, who died at the age of 91 on Wednesday, called himself a “human rights activist” in a 1994 interview with Lgbtq-interest magazine The Advocate — and many who knew his work would agree.
“I felt from a very early age that there were things in society that were wrong, and that I might play some small part in changing them,” Hefner told CBS in 2011.
The publishing...
- 9/28/2017
- by Stephanie Petit
- PEOPLE.com
While Hugh Hefner had seen his reputation somewhat tarnished by Playmate Holly Madison‘s tell-all about life in the Playboy Mansion, Down the Rabbit Hole and the subsequent sale of the Playboy Mansion, but his life was about far more than what people tuning into The Girls Next Door or readers of Madison’s book might suspected.
Hefner’s death of natural causes throws the Playboy empire into a state of flux. For one thing, in a 2011 interview with The Hollywood Reporter Scott Flanders, CEO of Playboy, admitted there was no succession plan for leadership of the company. And for another,...
Hefner’s death of natural causes throws the Playboy empire into a state of flux. For one thing, in a 2011 interview with The Hollywood Reporter Scott Flanders, CEO of Playboy, admitted there was no succession plan for leadership of the company. And for another,...
- 9/28/2017
- by Alex Heigl
- PEOPLE.com
Kristoff St. John was born in New York City on July 15, 1966. He is an actor who started his career in childhood and his first role was Alex Haley in the ABC series ‘Roots: The Next Generation’. His first major role was in ‘Charlie & Co.’, a series which was aired on CBS. He is now best-known for playing Neil Winters on ‘The Young and the Restless’. This is a television show in which he has appeared from 1991 to the present day. In addition to his television work, Kristoff St. John has also had many movie roles. His
Five Things You Didn’t Know About Kristoff St. John...
Five Things You Didn’t Know About Kristoff St. John...
- 8/19/2017
- by Nat Berman
- TVovermind.com
Ji-Tu Cumbuka, who appeared in films including Harlem Nights and Brewster’s Millions and on 1977 TV miniseries Roots, has died. Cumbuka died Tuesday in Atlanta after a long illness, his niece Amber Holifield wrote on Facebook. Cumbuka received critical praise for his role as the slave Wrestler in Alex Haley’s Emmy-winning 1977 ABC miniseries Roots. His more recent television work includes roles in CSI, Walker Texas Ranger, In the Heat of the Night and Knots Landing. He…...
- 7/9/2017
- Deadline TV
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Tuesday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best show currently on TV?” can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: What is the best TV adaptation of a book/book series?
Daniel Fienberg (@TheFienPrint), The Hollywood Reporter
Ok, I listed like 50 answers for last week’s Guest Stars question and I’m determined not to cheat this week! Kinda. The answer is “Friday Night Lights,” but I acknowledge that there are caveats, because the NBC TV series was based on the feature film, which was based on Buzz Bissinger’s book, so is the show based on a book or based on a movie? Well, because Peter Berg adapted both, I’m gonna say they’re both based on the book, because really the only continuity...
This week’s question: What is the best TV adaptation of a book/book series?
Daniel Fienberg (@TheFienPrint), The Hollywood Reporter
Ok, I listed like 50 answers for last week’s Guest Stars question and I’m determined not to cheat this week! Kinda. The answer is “Friday Night Lights,” but I acknowledge that there are caveats, because the NBC TV series was based on the feature film, which was based on Buzz Bissinger’s book, so is the show based on a book or based on a movie? Well, because Peter Berg adapted both, I’m gonna say they’re both based on the book, because really the only continuity...
- 4/4/2017
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
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