Townsend Entertainment (also known as The Townsend Entertainment Company and officially, Townsend Entertainment Corporation) is an American entertainment company, involved primarily in the production of films and television programs. Townsend Entertainment was founded by actor, producer, director and writer Robert Townsend. Its headquarters are located in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

Overview

Townsend Entertainment was founded by Robert Townsend in July 1995. It is just one of several entertainment companies that Townsend has founded. His others include Tinsel Townsend Productions, Inc. which produced The Meteor Man (1993) and

Townsend Television ''Townsend Television'' is an American sketch comedy/variety show starring Robert Townsend who also served as the series’ executive producer. The series featured an ensemble cast including John Witherspoon, Barry Diamond and Paula Jai Parker an ...

(1993), Conquering Unicorn Inc. producing

Hollywood Shuffle ''Hollywood Shuffle'' is a 1987 American satirical comedy film about the racial stereotypes of African Americans in film and television. The film tracks the attempts of Bobby Taylor to become a successful actor and the mental and external roadbl ...

in 1987, and more.

History

In 1995, Townsend Entertainment partnered with

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

for the production of ''

The Parent 'Hood ''The Parent 'Hood'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on The WB from January 18, 1995, to July 25, 1999. The series starred Robert Townsend and Suzzanne Douglas. Originally to be titled ''Father Knows Nothing'' (a parody of th ...

'', a family sitcom starring Townsend as Robert Peterson. The show was first released on January 18, 1995 and aired until July 25, 1999. In the show's earlier seasons, it was revered as "the 'Cosby Show' of the '90's" intertwining family morals and values with comedy. Townsend Entertainment collaborated with V Studio to produce

In the Hive ''In the Hive'' is a 2012 drama film starring Michael Clarke Duncan (in his first posthumous release following his death earlier that year), Vivica A. Fox, and Jonathan McDaniel. It was directed by Robert Townsend (actor), Robert Townsend and rele ...

(2012), a drama film starring

Jonathan McDaniel Jonathan Richard McDaniel (born May 17, 1985), better known by his stage name Lil J, is an American actor and rapper. He is best known for his role as Devon Carter (Raven Baxter's boyfriend, and later ex-husband) on the hit Disney Channel show ...

Michael Clarke Duncan Michael Clarke Duncan (December 10, 1957September 3, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in '' The Green Mile'' (1999), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor a ...

Vivica A. Fox Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and television host. Fox began her career on ''Soul Train'' (19821983). She eventually continued her career with roles on the daytime television soap operas ''Days of O ...

and

Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress, singer and voice actor. She is known for numerous roles across stage and screen. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of ''Dreamgir ...

. The film was written by

Cheryl West Cheryl L. West (born October 23, 1965, Chicago) is an American playwright. Life West holds a degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She worked as a social worker and taught before turning to playwriting. In 1990, she came to ...

and directed and produced by Robert Townsend. In more recent years, Townsend Entertainment released

Playin' for Love ''Playin' for Love'' is a 2013 comedy film starring Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Robert Townsend and directed by Townsend. The film, produced by Townsend Entertainment, premiered in 2013 at the American Black Film Festival and released theatric ...

, a romantic comedy about a high school basketball coach and his star player's mother. Starring Robert Townsend and

Salli Richardson Salli Elise Richardson-Whitfield () is an American actress, director and producer. Richardson is known for her role as Angela in the film ''A Low Down Dirty Shame'' (1994) and for her role as Dr. Allison Blake on the Syfy comedy-drama series ''Eu ...

, the film was released on January 16, 2015. The film made its debut at the 17th Annual

American Black Film Festival The American Black Film Festival (originally called the Acalpulco Black Film Festival) is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on black film—works by Black members of the film industry. It is held to recognize achievements of film ...

(ABFF) in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

in 2013 at the Colony Theatre. The screening was a red carpet event featuring a live mural by MLK Mural.

Townsend Townsend (pronounced tounʹ-zənd) or Townshend may refer to: Places United States *Camp Townsend, National Guard training base in Peekskill, New York *Townsend, Delaware *Townsend, Georgia *Townsend, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Townsend ...

was awarded a grant from the

City of Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at t ...

Community Redevelopment Agency for the film and employed students from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

to assist in the making of the final product.

Films

* Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy, 2009 *

, 2012 *

, 2015

Television Shows

, 1995 * Musical Theater of Hope, 2009 * Diary of a Single Mom, 2012

Awards and nominations

* American Cinema Foundation, 1997 ** E Pluribus Unum Award – Television Series Comedy * NCLR Bravo Awards Nominations, 1996 ** Outstanding Television Series Actress in a Crossover Role,

Reagan Gomez-Preston Reagan Amyre Gomez-Preston (born April 24, 1980) is an American television, film and voice actress. She is known for her roles as Zaria Peterson on The WB sitcom ''The Parent 'Hood'' (1995–1999) and Roberta Tubbs on the FOX animated comedy ...

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

Nominations, 1996 ** Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten – Television, Kylie Erica Mar *

Winners, 1997 ** Best Performance in a TV Comedy/Drama – Supporting Young Actress Age Ten or Under, Ashli Adams ** Best Performance in a TV Comedy/Drama – Supporting Young Actor Age Ten or Under, Curtis Williams *** *

Nominations, 1998 ** Best Family TV Comedy Series ** Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series – Young Actress Age Ten or Under, Ashli Adams ** Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series – Young Actor Age Ten or Under, Curtis Williams ** Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series – Guest Starring Young Actor, Billee Thomas ** Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series – Guest Starring Young Actor,

Cody McMains Cody Arthur McMains (born October 4, 1985) is a former American actor. He is best known for playing Mitch Briggs in ''Not Another Teen Movie'' and Patch in '' Thomas & the Magic Railroad''. He appeared as Patch in '' Thomas & the Magic Railroad' ...

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

Nominations, 2013 ** Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture,

References