''The George McKenna Story'' is a 1986 biographical television film directed by

Eric Laneuville Eric Gerard Laneuville (born July 14, 1952) is an American television director, producer and actor. His first acting roles were in the science-fiction film ''The Omega Man'' (1971) with Charlton Heston, and the ABC television series ''Room 222' ...

, which stars Laneuville's '' St. Elsewhere'' co-star

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

and

Lynn Whitfield Lynn Whitfield (''née'' Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a ...

. It involves the events at

George Washington Preparatory High School George Washington Preparatory High School is a public four-year high school in the Westmont section of unincorporated Los Angeles County, California. Founded in 1926, the school has a Los Angeles address but is not located in the city limits of L ...

South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...

. The film was later (after Denzel Washington became a superstar) re-released on video under the title ''Hard Lessons''.

Cast

as school principal George McKenna *

as Bobbie Maxwell *

Earl Billings Earl William Billings (born July 4, 1945) is an American actor, best known as Rob in the television series ''What's Happening!!''. Life and career Billings was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Willie Mae Billings. He has gained recognition ...

as Mr. Rogers *

Ray Buktenica Ray Buktenica (born August 6, 1943) is an American film and television character actor. He has played numerous roles, primarily on television since 1972. He is best known for playing the character Benny Goodwin, the boyfriend and later fiancé ...

as Alan Keith *

Akosua Busia Akosua Gyamama Busia (born 30 December 1966) is a Ghanaian actress, film director, author and songwriter who lives in the United Kingdom. She played Nettie Harris in the 1985 film ''The Color Purple'' alongside Whoopi Goldberg. Family and early l ...

as Cynthia Byers *

Richard Masur Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on ''Rhoda'' (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in th ...

as Ben Proctor *Michael Milburn as Brimm Leader

Reception

''The George McKenna Story'' won a

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organization ...

in the category of "Television Specials". At

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film received two negative reviews from critics.

References

External links

* * 1986 television films 1986 films American television films American biographical films Biographical films about educators Cultural depictions of American men Black people in art Films directed by Eric Laneuville Films scored by Herbie Hancock African-American Roman Catholicism 1980s American films {{bio-film-stub