A Woman Called Moses
''A Woman Called Moses'' is a 1978 American television miniseries based on the life of Harriet Tubman, the escaped African American slave who helped to organize the Underground Railroad, and who led dozens of African Americans from Slavery in the United States, enslavement in the Southern United States to freedom in the Northern United States, Northern states and Canada. Narrated by Orson Welles, the production was broadcast on the NBC television network on December 11 and 12, 1978. Tubman was portrayed by Cicely Tyson. Music The soundtrack music was by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and soul music composer/arranger/singer Van McCoy contributed some music to the series, which was featured on a soundtrack album released by MCA Records.Van McCoy Musi(Page 2) The Story of Van McCoy/ref> Cast Video releases The miniseries was first released on VHS on September 29, 1992, followed by a DVD release on February 3, 2001. See also * List of films featuring slavery * ''The Quest for Freedom ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Paul Wendkos
Abraham Paul Wendkos (September 20, 1925 – November 12, 2009) was an American television and film director. Early life and education Wendkos was born in Philadelphia to parents Simon Wendkos and Judith Wendkos. Wendkos served in World War II in the United States Navy and went to Columbia University on the G.I. Bill. Paul made his first feature, a documentary on a school for the blind called ''Dark Interlude'' in 1953. Career Columbia Pictures Wendkos' first feature film was '' The Burglar''. His fluid camera technique caught the attention of the head of Columbia Pictures, Harry Cohn, who not only wished to distribute the film but put Wendkos under contract. Wendkos directed episodes of ''Playhouse 90'' then did ''The Case Against Brooklyn'' (1958) for producer Charles Schneer at Columbia. He directed a TV movie for Columbia about Jesse James, ''Bitter Heritage'' (1958) and episodes of '' Behind Closed Doors'' (1958). Wendkos directed another for Schneer, the war movie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Will Geer
Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In California he befriended rising singer Woody Guthrie. They both lived in New York for a time in the 1940s. He was blacklisted in the 1950s by Hollywood after refusing, in testimony before Congress, to name persons who had joined the Communist Party. In his later years, he was well known for his role as the grandfather figure Zebulon Walton in the TV series ''The Waltons'' until his death. Early life Geer was born in Frankfort, Indiana, the son of Katherine (née Aughe), a teacher, and Roy Aaron Ghere, a postal worker. His father left the family when he was 11 years old. He was deeply influenced by his grandfather, who taught him the botanical names of the plants in his native state. Geer started out to become a botanist, studying the subje ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Films Featuring Slavery
Film has been the most influential medium in the presentation of the history of slavery to the general public. The American film industry has had a complex relationship with slavery, and until recent decades often avoided the topic. Films such as ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915) and ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) became controversial because they gave a favorable depiction. In 1940, '' The Santa Fe Trail'' gave a strong condemnation of abolitionist John Brown's attacks on slavery. The American civil rights movement in the 1950s made defiant slaves into heroes. Most Hollywood films used American settings, although ''Spartacus'' (1960) dealt with an actual slave revolt in the Roman Empire known as the Third Servile War. It failed, and all the rebels were executed, but their spirit lived on according to the film. ''The Last Supper'' (''La última cena'' in Spanish) was a 1976 film directed by Cuban Tomás Gutiérrez Alea about the teaching of Christianity to slaves in Cuba and emp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dick Anthony Williams
Richard Anthony Williams (August 9, 1934 – February 16, 2012) was an American actor. Williams is best known for his starring performances on Broadway in ''The Poison Tree'', ''What the Wine-Sellers Buy'' and ''Black Picture Show''. Williams also had notable roles in 1970s blaxploitation films such as ''The Mack'' and ''Slaughter's Big Rip-Off''. Early life Born in Chicago, Illinois, Williams was raised in the Bronzeville neighborhood. During his early childhood, Williams spent several years in a local hospital due to having polio. For high school, Williams attended Hyde Park Academy High School. Williams later attended Herzl Junior College (now known as City Colleges of Chicago). Career Williams began his career during his late teens as a member of Williams Brothers Quartet, singing group founded in Chicago. He later moved to Los Angeles and began his acting career. Some of Williams roles included Pretty Tony in ''The Mack'' (1973), the limo driver in ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shadrach Minkins
Shadrach Minkins (c. 1814 – December 13, 1875) was an African-American fugitive slave from Virginia who escaped in 1850 and reached Boston. He also used the pseudonyms Frederick Wilkins and Frederick Jenkins.Collison (1998), p. 1. He is known for being freed from a courtroom in Boston after being captured by United States marshals under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Members of the Boston Vigilance Committee freed and hid him, helping him get to Canada via the Underground Railroad. Minkins settled in Montreal, where he raised a family. Two men were prosecuted in Boston for helping free him, but they were acquitted by the jury. Early life Minkins was born into slavery about 1817 in Norfolk, Virginia. Escape and capture He escaped from slavery at age 33 in 1850 and reached Boston, Massachusetts, where he became a waiter. Later that year, Congress enacted the Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed federal agents to seize escaped slaves living in free states and return them to thei ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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James Sikking
James Barrie Sikking (born March 5, 1934) is a former American actor, most known for his role as Lt. Howard Hunter on the 1980s TV series ''Hill Street Blues''. Early years Sikking was born in Los Angeles on March 5, 1934 to Andy and Sue (née Paxton) Sikking. His mother co-founded Santa Monica's Unity-by-the-Sea Church. He graduated from UCLA in 1959 and attended the University of Hawaii. He has two brothers, Tom and Art, and a sister, Joy. Career Sikking starred on the ABC TV series ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'' as Dr. David Howser and on the 1997 drama series ''Brooklyn South'' as Captain Stan Jonas. Sikking appeared as Sergeant (later promoted to Lieutenant) Howard Hunter on ''Hill Street Blues'' from 1981 to 1987. He also portrayed Geoffrey St. James on the NBC comedy '' Turnabout'' and voiced General Gordon on the short-lived 1998 cartoon series ''Invasion America''. He is often credited as James B. Sikking, and was sometimes credited as "Jim Sikking" in some of his earlier ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mae Mercer
Mae Mercer (June 12, 1932 – October 29, 2008) was an American blues singer and actress. She was born in the Temperance Hall community of Edgecombe County. Mercer lived in North Carolina through age 15. She spent eight years in the 1960s singing in a blues bar in Paris, the Blues Club, owned by publisher Maurice Girodias and touring Europe. She eventually came to own and operate a blues club in the city. Mercer returned to the United States in the early 1970s to begin a career as an actress in films and television. Films in which she appeared included ''Dirty Harry'' (1971), '' The Beguiled'' (1971), ''Frogs'' (1972), '' Cindy'' (1978), and ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She was co-producer of the documentary film ''Angela Davis: Portrait of a Revolutionary'' (1972). In 1996, the Mayor of Rocky Mount, NC, Fred Turnage, declared June 12 ''Mae Mercer Day''. During this time, Mercer sought to produce her own biographical picture through her production company Black Owl Productio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Getz
John William Getz (born October 15, 1946) is an American character actor. After starting his acting career on stage, he has appeared in numerous television series and films. Personal life Getz, one of four children, was born in Davenport, Iowa, and grew up in the Mississippi River Valley. He began acting while attending the University of Iowa, where he helped found the Center for New Performing Arts. He has a daughter, Hannah, from his marriage to playwright Grace McKeaney. Career Getz dropped out of college to attend the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. While working in a winery, he helped found the Theater Company in Napa County, California. His location in the grape-growing Napa Valley led to Getz's television debut in a made-for-television horror film '' Killer Bees'' (1974). ''Killer Bees'' starred Gloria Swanson, Craig Stevens, Kate Jackson, and Edward Albert. Getz then moved to New York City, where he became active in local theater while doing an 18-mo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Judyann Elder
Judyann Elder (born Judith Ann Johnson) is an American actress, director, and writer. Elder played Nadine Waters on the FOX sitcom ''Martin''. She also played Harriette Winslow on CBS ''Family Matters'' for the remaining eight episodes of its ninth and final season after the departure of Jo Marie Payton. Elder is also a veteran of the stage who has appeared in scores of theatrical productions throughout the United States and Europe. Early life and career Born in Cleveland, Elder is the daughter of Edward T. Johnson, PhD. and Camille Johnson (née Russell). Elder attended Shaker Heights High School and graduated from Emerson College in Boston as the first recipient of the Carol Burnett Award in the Performing Arts. Elder began her professional career in off-Broadway in New York as "Judyann Jonsson". A founding member and resident actor with the Tony Award-winning Negro Ensemble Company, she originated roles in the premier productions of ''The Song of the Lusitanian Bogey'', ''D ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Clifford David
Clifford David (June 30, 1928 – November 30, 2017) was an American actor, singer, and coach. His career began in the 1950s, with early live television appearances leading to roles in Broadway musicals. He also played character roles in television series, feature films, and theatre. He is most recognized for his singing performances on several original Broadway cast albums. Early life David was born in Toledo, Ohio, the youngest son of Farris and Lily (née Abdow). His uncle was Metropolitan archdiocese Samuel David of Toledo, the archbishop of a diocese of Syrian Orthodox parishes. Samuel David's chanting of the Byzantine mass was world-renowned, and Clifford, inspired by his uncle's voice, went to New York City to pursue music and theater. Career A protégé of Lee Strasberg, David made his Broadway debut as Scipio in Albert Camus' ''Caligula'' directed by Sidney Lumet. He also played Pasquale in ''The Aspern Papers'', directed by Margaret Webster, Antipholus in the 1963 O ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ben Ross (freed Lumberman)
Harriet Tubman (18221913) was an American abolitionist and political activist. Tubman escaped slavery and rescued approximately 70 enslaved people, including members of her family and friends. Harriet Tubman's family includes her birth family; her two husbands, John Tubman and Nelson Davis; and her adopted daughter Gertie Davis. Tubman's parents—Benjamin "Ben" Ross and Harriett “Rit" Greene Ross—were enslaved people who were owned by two different families. Their lives came together when Mary Pattison Brodess, Rit's owner, married Anthony Thompson. Ben Ross, owned by Thompson, met and married Rit Greene. They lived together until about 1823 or 1824, when Rit and their children went to the Brodess farm. Ben was a timber estimator and foreman and Rit was a domestic servant. After Ben was freed, he bought his wife's freedom. Ben was a conductor on the Underground Railroad and slaveholders were becoming suspicious of his role in escapes in the area. Tubman, having freed other fa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jason Bernard
Jason Bernard (born Ronald Carl Johnson, May 17, 1938 – October 16, 1996) was an American actor. Life and career Bernard was born in Chicago, Illinois. His first starring role was in the pilot episode of the television series '' The White Shadow'' as Jim Willis. His other well-known television roles are in the television series ''Cagney & Lacey'' as Inspector Marquette from 1982 to 1983, ''Days of Our Lives'' as Preston Wade in 1982, and a recurring role in the first season of ''Night Court'' as Judge Stone's arrogant rival Judge Willard. His big role came in the 1983 NBC miniseries '' V'' as Caleb Taylor. Bernard reprised his role in the 1984 sequel '' V: The Final Battle''. In the 1990s Fox comedy series ''Herman's Head'', he played Herman's boss, Mr. Paul Bracken. He appeared in the video games '' Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger'' and '' Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom'' as Captain William Eisen. Bernard's first role in a feature film was a cameo in the C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |