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Mabel King
Mabel Elizabeth King (née Washington; December 25, 1932 – November 9, 1999) was an American actress and singer. She is known for her role as Mabel "Mama" Thomas on the ABC sitcom ''What's Happening!!'' from its premiere in 1976 until the end of its second season in 1978. King is also known for portraying Evillene the Witch, a role she originated in the stage musical ''The Wiz'' and reprised in Sidney Lumet's 1978 film adaptation. She recorded on the Rama Records and Amy Records labels. Early life King was born Mabel Elizabeth Washington in Charleston, South Carolina, the daughter of Rosalie Washington and Joseph Washington on Christmas Day 1932. She was raised in Harlem, New York where she eventually became a gospel and nightclub singer. Career Stage work She did not start acting until her mid thirties, in 1966, when she played the role of Maria in the national touring play of ''Porgy and Bess''. The following year she played the role of Ernestina in the Broadway musical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the confluence of the Ashley, Cooper, and Wando rivers. Charleston had a population of 150,277 at the 2020 census. The 2020 population of the Charleston metropolitan area, comprising Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties, was 799,636 residents, the third-largest in the state and the 74th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States. Charleston was founded in 1670 as Charles Town, honoring King CharlesII, at Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River (now Charles Towne Landing) but relocated in 1680 to its present site, which became the fifth-largest city in North America within ten years. It remained unincorpor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ganja & Hess
''Ganja & Hess'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation horror film written and directed by Bill Gunn and starring Marlene Clark and Duane Jones. The film follows the exploits of anthropologist Dr. Hess Green (Jones), who becomes a vampire after his intelligent but unstable assistant (Gunn) stabs him with an ancient cursed dagger. Green falls in love with his assistant's widow, Ganja (Clark), who learns Green's dark secret. It is one of only two films in which the lead role was played by Duane Jones, best known for starring in the 1968 film ''Night of the Living Dead'' (though he had bit parts in other movies). The film was screened at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. It was remade by Spike Lee in 2014 as ''Da Sweet Blood of Jesus''. Plot The film follows Dr. Hess Green (Duane Jones), a wealthy black anthropologist who is doing research on the Myrthians, an ancient African nation of blood drinkers. One night, while staying in Green's lavish mansion, richly decorated with African a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tales From The Darkside
''Tales from the Darkside'' is an American anthology horror TV series created by George A. Romero. Debuting in October 1983 with a pilot episode and then being picked up for syndication in September 1984, the show ran for 4 seasons through July 1988. Each episode, aired originally by Tribune Broadcasting late at night, was an individual short story that often ended with a plot twist. The series' episodes spanned the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and some episodes featured elements of black comedy or more lighthearted themes. Since October 2012, reruns of the series have aired in the UK on Horror Channel. Series The moderate success of ''Creepshow'' led to initial inquiries about the possibilities of a ''Creepshow'' series. Because Warner Bros. owned certain aspects of ''Creepshow'', Laurel Entertainment, which produced the film, opted to take their potential series into a similar, yet separate, direction, including changing the name to ''Tales from the Darksi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amazing Stories (1985 TV Series)
''Amazing Stories'' is an American anthology television series created by Steven Spielberg, that originally ran on NBC in the United States from September 29, 1985 to April 10, 1987. The series was nominated for 12 Emmy Awards and won five. The first season episode "The Amazing Falsworth" earned writer Mick Garris an Edgar Award for Best Episode in a TV Series. It was not a ratings hit (ranking 40th in Season 1 and 52nd in Season 2), however, and the network did not renew it after the two-year contract expired. The 1987 science fiction film ''Batteries Not Included'' was originally intended as a story for ''Amazing Stories'', but Spielberg liked the idea so much that he decided to make it a theatrical release. The series title licensed the name of ''Amazing Stories'', the first dedicated science fiction magazine created by Hugo Gernsback in April 1926. The title sequence was made by computer-generated imagery (CGI) firm, Robert Abel and Associates. On March 6, 2020, a reviv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Jeffersons
''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of List of The Jeffersons episodes, 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, the second-longest-running series with a primarily African Americans, African American cast by episode count and the first to prominently feature a married interracial marriage, interracial couple. Show The show focuses on George Jefferson, George and Louise Jefferson, a prosperous African-American couple who have been able to move from Queens, New York, Queens to Manhattan owing to the success of George's dry-cleaning chain, Jefferson Cleaners. The show was launched as the second (and longest running) television spin-off, spin-off of ''All in the Family'', on which the Jeffersons had been the neighbors of Archie Bunker, Archie and Edith Bunker. The show was the creation of Norman Lear. ''The Jeffersons'' eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasy Island
''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. Guests were granted so-called "fantasies" on the island for a price. A one-season revival of the series aired 14 years later in 1998 while a horror-themed prequel film was released on February 14, 2020. That same year, it was announced that a reboot of the series was being produced at Fox; it premiered on August 10, 2021. Background Before it became a television series, ''Fantasy Island'' was introduced to viewers in 1977 and 1978 through two made-for-television films. Airing from 1978 to 1984, the original series starred Ricardo Montalbán as Mr. Roarke, the enigmatic overseer of a mysterious island somewhere near Devil's Island, French Guiana in the Atlantic Ocean, where people from all walks of life could come and live out their fant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated for two Tony Awards for his musical '' Bright Star'' in 2016. Among many honors, he has received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the Kennedy Center Honors, and an AFI Life Achievement Award. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Martin at sixth place in a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comics. ''The Guardian'' named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination. Martin came to public notice in the 1960s as a writer for ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'', for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1969, and later as a frequent host on ''Saturday Night Live''. In the 1970s, Martin performed his offbeat, absurdist comedy routines before sold-out theaters on national tours. Since the 1980s, having ret ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Jerk
''The Jerk'' is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias (from a story by Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb). This was Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The film also features Bernadette Peters, M. Emmet Walsh, and Jackie Mason. Plot Navin R. Johnson is the white adopted son of black sharecroppers, who grows to adulthood naïvely unaware of his obvious adoption. He stands out in his family not just because of his skin color but because of his utter lack of rhythm when his adoptive family plays spirited blues music. One night, he hears a champagne-style rendition of "Crazy Rhythm" on the radio and spontaneously begins to dance; he excitedly sees this as a calling and decides to leave for St. Louis, from which the song was broadcast. On the way, he stops at a motel, where a dog wakes him up by barking at his door. Navin thinks the dog is trying to warn of a fire. He wakes up the other hotel guests ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catch Phrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass media (such as films, internet, literature and publishing, television, and radio). Some become the de facto or literal "trademark" or "signature" of the person or character with whom they originated, and can be instrumental in the typecasting of a particular actor. Catchphrases are often humorous, but are never long enough or structured enough to be jokes in themselves. However, a catchphrase can be (or become) the punchline of a joke, or a reminder of a previous joke. Culture According to Richard Harris, a psychology professor at Kansas State University who studied why people like to cite films in social situations, using film quotes in everyday conversation is similar to telling a joke and a way to form solidarity with others. "People ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new characters in each sketch, and stand-up comedy, where a comedian tells jokes and stories to an audience. Sitcoms originated in radio, but today are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms. A situation comedy television program may be recorded in front of a studio audience, depending on the program's production format. The effect of a live studio audience can be imitated or enhanced by the use of a laugh track. Critics disagree over the utility of the term "sitcom" in classifying shows that have come into existence since the turn of the century. Many contemporary American sitcoms use the single-camera setup and do not feature a laugh track, thus often resembling the dramedy shows of the 1980s and 1990s rather t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clifton Davis
Clifton Duncan Davis (born October 4, 1945) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, minister, and author. Davis wrote The Jackson 5's No. 2 hit "Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1971. He appeared on Broadway in the musicals '' Two Gentlemen of Verona'' and '' Aladdin''. Davis starred in the television shows ''That's My Mama, Amen,'' '' Madam Secretary'', and others. He has hosted the Stellar Gospel Music Awards, Gospel Superfest and Lifestyle Magazine. Davis has appeared on the game shows ''Match Game'' and ''Pyramid'' and appeared in many movies. Davis is a minister of a Baptist church and has also operated an interdenominational ministry for many years. He has been a guest on the Trinity Broadcasting Network many times. Davis wrote "A Mason-Dixon Memory", one of the chapters in the book '' Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul'', about the racism which he experienced while growing up. Early life Davis was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Thelma van Putten Langhorn, a nurse, and T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in American history". With a career spanning six decades, Jones is among the few performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). Jones's voice has been praised as a "a stirring basso profondo that has lent gravel and gravitas" to his projects, including live-action acting, voice acting, and commercial voice-overs. Born with a childhood stutter, Jones has said that poetry and acting helped him overcome the disability. A pre-med major in college, he served in the United States Army during the Korean War before pursuing a career in acting. Since his Broadway debut in 1957, he has performed in several Shakespeare plays including '' Othello'', ''Hamlet'', ''Coriolanus'', and ''King Lear''. Jones made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick's 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
