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Black Girl (play)
''Black Girl'' is a play by American playwright J. E. Franklin. It was first produced on public television in 1969, followed by an off-Broadway production in 1971. It was later adapted by the playwright as a feature film that was released the following year. Plot synopsis A family drama about a young woman who defies the low expectations thrust upon her and pursues her dream of becoming a dancer. Television production Produced by WGBH, Boston in 1969. Original Off-Broadway production *Directed by Shauneille Perry *Produced by New Federal Theatre *Producers: Bert Beck, Woodie King Jr. and Dick Williams *Set Designer: Charles Mills *Costume Designer: Femi *Lighting Designer: Buddy *Sound Designer: Gary Harris *Production Stage Manager: Horacena J. Taylor *Opened: June 17, 1971 at Theatre De Lys Cast * Arthur French - Earl * Minnie Gentry - Mu'Dear * Leslie Uggams - Netta * Louise Stubbs - Mama Rosie * Kishasha - Billie Jean * Gloria Edwards - Norma * Loretta Greene - Ruth Ann ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucille Lortel Theatre
The Lucille Lortel Theatre is an off-Broadway playhouse at 121 Christopher Street in Manhattan's West Village. It was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse. The interior is largely unchanged to this day. In the early 1950s, the site was converted to an off-Broadway theater as , opening on June 9, 1953, with a production of ''Maya'', a play by Simon Gantillon starring Kay Medford, Vivian Matalon, and Susan Strasberg. It closed after seven performances. Much more successful was ''The Threepenny Opera'' which opened March 10, 1954, with a cast that included Bea Arthur, John Astin, Lotte Lenya, Leon Lishner, Scott Merrill, Gerald Price, Charlotte Rae and Jo Sullivan. Because of an incoming booking, it was forced to close after 96 performances. Re-opening September 20, 1955, with largely the same cast, ''The Threepenny Opera'' this time played until December 17, 1961, a then record-setting run for a musical in New York City ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leslie Uggams
Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries ''Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations for her performance. She had earlier been highly acclaimed for the Broadway musical ''Hallelujah, Baby!'', winning a Theatre World Award in 1967 and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1968. Later in her career, Uggams received renewed notice with appearances alongside Ryan Reynolds as Blind Al in ''Deadpool'' (2016) & ''Deadpool 2'' (2018) and in a recurring role on ''Empire''. Life and career Early life Uggams was born in Harlem, the daughter of Juanita Ernestine (Smith), a Cotton Club chorus girl/dancer, and Harold Coyden Uggams, an elevator operator and maintenance man, who was a singer with the Hall Johnson choir. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1971 Plays
* The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events January * January 2 – 66 people are killed and over 200 injured during a crush in Glasgow, Scotland. * January 5 – The first ever One Day International cricket match is played between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. * January 8 – Tupamaros kidnap Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador to Uruguay, in Montevideo, keeping him captive until September. * January 9 – Uruguayan president Jorge Pacheco Areco demands emergency powers for 90 days due to kidnappings, and receives them the next day. * January 12 – The landmark United States television sitcom ''All in the Family'', starring Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker, debuts on CBS. * January 14 – Seventy Brazilian political prisoners are re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruby Dee
Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (1961). Her other notable film roles include ''The Jackie Robinson Story'' (1950) and ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989). Dee was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005. For her performance as Mama Lucas in '' American Gangster'' (2007), Dee was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Female Actor in a Supporting Role. Dee was a Grammy, Emmy, Obie and Drama Desk winner. She was also a National Medal of Arts, Kennedy Center Honors and Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award recipient. Early life Dee was born on October 27, 1922, in Cleveland, Ohio, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peggy Pettitt
Peggy Pettitt (born February 8, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, teacher, playwright, and storyteller. Pettitt is best known for her role as Billie Jean in the 1972 family–drama film ''Black Girl (1972 film), Black Girl'', starring alongside Brock Peters and Claudia McNeil. Pettitt is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. Playwright and storyteller The centerpiece of Pettitt's theater career is a unique style of solo performance rooted in African-American storytelling. She developed this form to portray a spectrum of characters. Related by blood and circumstance, these characters shed light on the multifaceted history of African American men and women. And they tell "stories addressing important issues of our time."Mark Russell, ed., ''Out of Character: Rants, Raves, and Monologues from Today's Top Performance Artists'', New York: Bantam, 1997, p. 304. In collaboration with director Remy Tissier, she has created over 10 original full-length plays. These examine issues of dome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claudia McNeil
Claudia McNeil (August 13, 1917 – November 25, 1993) was an American actress known for premiering the role of matriarch Lena Younger in both the stage and screen productions of ''A Raisin in the Sun''. She later appeared in a 1981 production of the musical version of the play, ''Raisin'' presented by Equity Library Theater. She was twice nominated for a Tony Award, first for her onstage performance in ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (1959), and again for the play ''Tiger Tiger Burning Bright'' in 1962. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award for the screen version of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' in 1961. Life and career McNeil was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Marvin Spencer McNeil, who was black, and Annie Mae (Anderson) McNeil, an Apache woman. The family moved to New York City soon after her birth. She was raised by her mother after her father left the family. At the age of 12, McNeil began working for The Heckscher Foundation for Children. There she met a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brock Peters
Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and the wrongfully convicted Tom Robinson in the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. He was nominated for a Tony Award and won a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for his lead performance as Rev. Stephen Kumalo in the 1972 Broadway revival of ''Lost in the Stars''. His film roles also included ''The Pawnbroker'' (1964), ''Soylent Green'' (1973) and ''Ghosts of Mississippi'' (1996). In the 1980s and 1990s, he voiced the role of Darth Vader in the serial radio drama adaptations of the original trilogy of ''Star Wars'' films, and played two recurring roles in the '' Star Trek'' franchise: Starfleet Admiral Cartwright in two of the original-cast feature films, and Joseph Sisko (father of station commander Benjamin Sisko) in '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Early life ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, plot summaries, trivia, ratings, and fan and critical reviews. IMDb began as a fan-operated movie database on the Usenet group "rec.arts.movies" in 1990, and moved to the Web in 1993. It is now owned and operated by IMDb.com, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon. the database contained some million titles (including television episodes) and million person records. Additionally, the site had 83 million registered users. The site's message boards were disabled in February 2017. Features The title and talent ''pages'' of IMDb are accessible to all users, but only registered and logged-in users can submit new material and suggest edits to existing entries. Most of the site's data has been provided by these volunteers. Registered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ossie Davis
Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame; were awarded the National Medal of ArtsLifetime Honors – National Medal of Arts and were recipients of the . He was inducted into the in 1994. Early life Raiford Chatman ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minnie Gentry
Minnie Gentry (born Minnie Lee Watson, December 2, 1915 – May 11, 1993) was an American actress. Gentry was born Minnie Lee Watson in Norfolk, Virginia, the daughter of Mincie and Taylor Watson. Her family moved to Cleveland during her childhood, where she began studying piano at the age of nine, at the Phyllis Wheatley School of Music. She began acting at the Friendly Inn Settlement and married Lloyd Gentry in 1932. Subsequently, she appeared in many plays at the African-American theater the Karamu House. On Broadway, Gentry performed in ''All God's Chillun Got Wings'' (1975), ''The Sunshine Boys'' (1972), ''Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'' (1971), and ''Lysistrata'' (1946). She also appeared in several films, including ''School Daze'', ''Def by Temptation'', and ''Jungle Fever''. She portrayed Aunt Bess on the television series ''All My Children'' and Miriam George on ''Ryan's Hope''. She also appeared on ''The Cosby Show''. Gentry had a daughter, Marjorie Hawkins. Her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Girl (1972 Film)
''Black Girl'' is an American family drama film with a screenplay by J.E. Franklin, based on her 1969 play, and directed by Ossie Davis. The film explores issues and experiences of black womanhood in the 1970s, including how black women were depicted and common stereotypes of the period. According to Melvin Donalson in ''Black Directors in Hollywood'', "''Black Girl'' is a film that explores the intricate and sometimes painful connections between mothers and daughters." Plot Billie Jean, the youngest of three half-sisters, lives with her mother Mama Rosie and grandmother M'Dear. She desperately wishes to avoid the fate of her two sisters Norma Faye and Ruth Ann, neither of whom finished high school and are now trapped in dull marriages. Billie Jean dreams of becoming a successful dancer, but her mother and sisters belittle her attempts to improve herself. Mama Rosie compares her daughters unfavorably with the more ambitious Netta, a young lady from the neighborhood. When Netta c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur French (actor)
Arthur Wellesley French Jr. (November 6, 1931 – July 24, 2021) was an American actor and director, best known for his work in the theatre. Life and career French was born in Harlem, New York City, on November 6, 1931, the son of Arthur and Ursilla French, who both emigrated to the U.S. from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Throughout a career that spans over fifty years, French is best known for his work on the stage. He worked extensively with the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) and has played a wide variety of roles. He was also a supporting character in the 1976 comedy film ''Car Wash''. His later film credits were in ''2 Days in New York'' and ''Red Hook Summer ''Red Hook Summer'' is a 2012 American film co-written and directed by Spike Lee. It is Lee's sixth film in his "Chronicles of Brooklyn" series following ''She's Gotta Have It'', ''Do the Right Thing'', ''Crooklyn'', '' Clockers'', and ''He Got Ga ...'', both released in August 2012. He died on July 24, 2021, at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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