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Greased Lightning
''Greased Lightning'' is a 1977 American biographical film starring Richard Pryor, Beau Bridges, and Pam Grier, and directed by Michael Schultz. The film is loosely based on the true life story of Wendell Scott, the first Black NASCAR race winner and, later, a 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee. Plot In 1930s Danville, Virginia, an African-American boy named Wendell Scott impresses a group of white boys with his bike-riding powers. Fifteen years later, Wendell returns to Danville after serving in the Army during World War II. His family welcomes him home with a party and he takes an immediate liking to a guest, Mary Jones. Later, Wendell tells his mother he does not want to work in the cotton mill and plans to use his muster pay to buy a taxicab, eventually open a garage, and be his own boss. As Wendell and Mary begin dating, Wendell tells Mary's family that his real dream is be a champion racecar driver, but they do not take him seriously. Sometime later, Wendell takes Mary to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the 2000s. His feature film debut, ''The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' (1967), was based on his own French-language novel ' and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut '' Watermelon Man'', in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker. In 1971, he released his best-known work, creating and starring in the film ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'', considered one of the earliest and best-regarded examples of the blaxploitation genre. He followed this up with the musical, '' Don't Play Us Cheap'', based on hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danville, Virginia
Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity during the American Civil War, due to its strategic location on the Richmond and Danville Railroad. In April 1865 it briefly served as the final capital of the Confederacy before the South surrendered. Danville is the principal city of the Danville, Virginia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,590. It is bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina to the south. It hosts the Danville Otterbots baseball club of the Appalachian League. Danville had an African American majority during the Reconstruction era and had African American political representatives of the Readjuster Party until after the Danville Massacre and Democrats regaining control locally and statewide. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winder, Georgia
Winder (pronounced WINE-der) is a city and the county seat of Barrow County, Georgia, United States. It is located east of Atlanta and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The population was 18,338 at the 2020 census. History The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Winder in 1893. The community was named after John H. Winder, a railroad builder, and not the John H. Winder who served as a General in the Confederate Army. Before Winder was named Winder it was originally named Jug Tavern. The first hotel of the Jameson Inn chain opened in Winder in 1987. The first Doctors’ Day observance was March 28, 1933, in Winder. This first observance included the mailing of cards to the physicians and their wives, flowers placed on graves of deceased doctors, including Dr. Long, and a formal dinner in the home of Dr. and Mrs. William T. Randolph. After the Barrow County Alliance adopted Mrs. Almond's resolution to pay tribute to the doctors, the plan was presented to the Georgia State ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georgia Allen
Georgia Williams Allen (May 12, 1919 – January 11, 2014) was an American actress. She was active from 1949 to 2006, beginning in local theater before progressing to both television and movie roles. Early life Allen was born in Beaumont, Texas.''Profiles of African American Stage Performers and Theatre People, 1816-1960'' - She later moved, via |
Bill Cobbs
William Francisco Cobbs (born June 16, 1934) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in movies such as Louisiana Slim in '' The Hitter'' (1979), Water in ''The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), and as Lewis Coleman on ''I'll Fly Away'' (1991–1993), as Jack on ''The Michael Richards Show'' (2000), and guest appearances on ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' and ''The Sopranos''. In 2020, he won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Performance in a Daytime Program for the series ''Dino Dana''. Early life Cobbs was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to a mother, Vera, who was a domestic worker and a father, David, who worked in construction. He is the second cousin of James Baskett. Career Cobbs served in the United States Air Force as a radar technician for eight years; he also worked in office products at IBM and sold cars in Cleveland. In 1970, at the age of 36, he left for New York to seek work as an actor. He supported himself by driving a cab, repairing office equipment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noble Willingham
Noble Henry Willingham, Jr. (August 31, 1931 – January 17, 2004) was an American television and film actor who appeared in more than thirty films and in many television shows, including a stint opposite Chuck Norris in ''Walker, Texas Ranger''. Early life Willingham was the son of railroad worker and farmer Noble Henry Willingham, Sr, and Ruby Ladelle (née Speights). He was born in the small town of Mineola, in Wood County east of Dallas, Texas. After graduating in 1953 from North Texas State College in Denton, he earned a master's degree in educational psychology from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Willingham served in the United States Army during the Korean War. Career Willingham taught government and economics at Sam Houston High School in Houston before he followed his dream of becoming an actor. He auditioned for a part in ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), which was filmed in Texas. He won the role, which led to another appearance, in '' Paper Moon'' (1973). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucy Saroyan
Lucy Saroyan (January 17, 1946 – April 11, 2003) was an American actress and photographer. Life and career Saroyan was born in San Francisco, California, the daughter of the writer William Saroyan and the actress Carol Grace. Her brother is writer Aram Saroyan. Lucy attended the Dalton School in New York, her mother's alma mater, where Carol solidified her lifelong friendships with Gloria Vanderbilt and Oona O'Neill. She spent her adolescent summers at a horse camp in Montana. Following her parents' second divorce, her mother married the actor Walter Matthau and Lucy later worked alongside her stepfather in a number of his films. She also played small parts on Broadway, off-Broadway, and on TV, in addition to working as a film library archivist. Her most notable film role was in Paul Schrader's 1978 film ''Blue Collar'', in which she played Harvey Keitel's wife. She dated comic legend and ''Blue Collar'' co-star Richard Pryor during this time. The first exhibit of Lucy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earl Hindman
Earl John Hindman (; October 20, 1942 – December 29, 2003) was an American actor, best known for his role as the kindly unseen neighbor Wilson W. Wilson, Jr. on the television sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–99). Early years Hindman was born in Bisbee, Arizona, the son of Eula and Burl Latney Hindman, who worked in the oil pipeline business. He studied acting at the University of Arizona. Career Hindman played villains in two 1974 thrillers, '' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' and ''The Parallax View''. He also appeared in the films ''Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name?'' (1971), ''Greased Lightning'' (1977), ''The Brink's Job'' (1978), '' Taps'' (1981), ''Murder in Coweta County'' (1983), and played the part of J.T. in the Lawrence Kasdan film '' Silverado'' (1985). Hindman's most famous pre-''Home Improvement'' role was as Bob Reid in ''Ryan's Hope''. He played the role from 1975 to 1984 and later returned for its final episodes in 1988–89. Hindman's wife ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julian Bond
Horace Julian Bond (January 14, 1940 – August 15, 2015) was an American social activist, leader of the civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1971, he co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, and served as its first president for nearly a decade. Bond was elected to serve four terms in the Georgia House of Representatives and later he was elected to serve six terms in the Georgia State Senate, serving a total of twenty years in both legislative chambers. Following his career in the legislature, he was a professor of history at the University of Virginia from 1990 to 2012. From 1998 to 2010, he was chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Early life and education Bond was born in 1940 at Hubbard Hospital in Nashville, Ten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daytona, Florida
Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately northeast of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, southeast of Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville, and northwest of Miami. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropolitan area which has a population of about 600,000 and is also a principal city of the Fun Coast region of Florida. Daytona Beach is historically known for its beach, where the hard-packed sand allows motorized vehicles on the beach in restricted areas. This hard-packed sand made Daytona Beach a mecca for motorsports, and the old Daytona Beach and Road Course hosted races for over 50 years. This was replaced in 1959 by Daytona International Speedway. The city is also the h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talladega, Alabama
Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. The city is home to the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind and the Talladega Municipal Airport, a public general aviation airport. The Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega College and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame are located nearby. The First National Bank of Talladega (now First Bank of Alabama) is the oldest bank in the State of Alabama, being founded in 1848. Etymology The name Talladega is derived from a Muscogee language, a Native American language of the Muscogee. It comes from the word ''TvlvtÄ“ke'', from Muscogee ''tvlwv'', meaning "town", and ''vtÄ“ke'', meaning "border", indicating its location on the border between Muscogee and Natchez. Geography Talladega is located in east central Alabama at 33° 26â ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà :nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the List of United States cities by population, fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the only U.S. state capital with a population of more than one million residents. Phoenix is the anchor of the Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, which in turn is part of the Salt River Valley. The metropolitan area is the 11th largest by population in the United States, with approximately 4.85 million people . Phoenix, the seat of Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, has the largest area of all cities in Arizona, with an area of , and is also the List of United States cities by area, 11th largest city by area in the United States. It is the largest metropolitan area, bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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