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Loretta Devine
Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress. She is known for numerous roles across stage and screen. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of ''Dreamgirls'' (1981), Gloria Matthews in the film '' Waiting to Exhale'' (1995), and her recurring role as Adele Webber on the medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Devine also played Juanita Sims in the film adaptation of ''For Colored Girls'' (2010). Early life Loretta Devine was born in Houston, Texas, on August 21, 1949 to James Devine and Eunice (Toliver). She grew up in the Acres Homes, Houston, Acres Homes area of Houston, where her mother was a single mother to six children. She was very active on the pep squad, and performed in talent shows at Carver High School (Houston, Texas), George Washington Carver High School. Loretta Devine is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of Harris County, Texas, Harris County, as well as the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the List of Texas metropolitan areas, second-most populous in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth. With a population of 2,314,157 in 2023, Houston is the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most populous city in the United States after New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and the List of North American cities by population, sixth-most populous city in North America. Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle. Comprising a land area of , Houston is the List of United S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Master Of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts administration. It is a graduate degree that typically requires two to three years of postgraduate study after a bachelor's degree, though the term of study varies by country or university. Coursework is primarily of an applied or performing nature, with the program often culminating in a thesis exhibition or performance. The first university to admit students to the degree of Master of Fine Arts was the University of Iowa in 1940. Requirements A candidate for an MFA typically holds a bachelor's degree prior to admission, but many institutions do not require that the candidate's undergraduate major conform with their proposed path of study in the MFA program. Admissions requirements often consist of a sample portfolio of artworks or a per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and nominations received by Whitney Houston, one of the most awarded performers of all time. As Cultural impact of Whitney Houston, a cultural icon, her List of Whitney Houston records and achievements, chart achievements and Whitney Houston videography, music videos influenced the breaking down of Gender inequality, gender and Racial segregation, racial barriers. Known for Cultural impact of Whitney Houston#Impact on vocal style in popular music, her vocal delivery and List of Whitney Houston live performances, live performances, Houston was ranked second on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the Rolling Stone's 200 Greatest Singers of All Time#2023 list, greatest singers of all time in 2023. Houston signed to Arista Records at the age of 19. Her first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanley & Iris
''Stanley & Iris'' is a 1990 American romantic drama film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro. The screenplay by Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch is loosely based on the 1982 novel '' Union Street'' by Pat Barker. The original music score is composed by John Williams, and the cinematography is by Donald McAlpine. The film was marketed with the tagline "Some people need love spelled out for them". It is the final film for the Ritt, Frank and Ravetch trio, as Ritt died ten months after the film's release, while Ravetch and Frank retired after the film's release. It is also the last film in which Fonda would appear for 15 years until 2005's ''Monster-in-Law''. The film was panned by critics and was a box-office bomb. Plot Iris King, a widow who is still grieving eight months after losing her husband, lives in a high-crime area in Connecticut and works in a baked-goods factory. She lives from paycheck to paycheck as she raises her two children K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Nikita
''Little Nikita'' is a 1988 American thriller film directed by Richard Benjamin and starring River Phoenix and Sidney Poitier. The film marks the first collaboration between Phoenix and Poitier (the second being ''Sneakers'' in 1992). Plot Jeffrey Nicolas Grant ( River Phoenix), a brash hyperactive high school student, lives in a San Diego suburb with his parents, who own a successful garden center. Keen to fly, he has applied for entry to the Air Force Academy. During a routine background check on Jeff, FBI agent Roy Parmenter (Poitier) finds evidence they may be sleeper agents for the Soviet Union. Unable to arrest them as they have not done anything illegal, Roy continues his investigation, moves into the house across the street from the Grant family, and worms his way into their confidence. He eventually confronts Jeff with his suspicions and seeks Jeff's cooperation to learn more about his parents. Initially unbelieving, Jeff is soon forced to accept the facts and d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Will (1981 Film)
''Will'' is a 1981 American drama film directed by Jessie Maple. It was the first independent feature-length film directed by an African-American woman. The movie was filmed on location in Harlem with a budget of $12,000 and featured a then-unknown Loretta Devine in her first film role. Plot Will (Obaka Adedunyo) is a girls' basketball coach, who is battling his heroin addiction while raising a 12-year-old adopted boy (called "Little Brother") with his wife (Loretta Devine). The film includes graphic depictions of drug use, including a scene where Little Brother snorts cocaine, and portrays the effect of drugs on individuals, their families, and their communities as well as the positive results of overcoming addiction. Casting Obaka Adedunyo earned his first film credit in the lead role of Will. Loretta Devine, an aspiring actress at that time, was rehearsing for the Broadway opening of ''Dreamgirls'' when she was cast as Will's wife. Devine, in her first film role, was paid $500 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jessie Maple
Jessie Maple (February 14, 1937 – May 30, 2023) was an American cinematographer and film director most noted as a pioneer for the civil rights of African Americans and women in the film industry. Her 1981 film ''Will'' was among the first feature-length dramatic films created by an African American woman. Early life and education According to an obituary in ''The Washington Post'', Maple was born on February 14, 1937, in McComb, Mississippi, one of eleven siblings (4 brothers and 7 sisters). Maple's father worked as a farmer and died when she was 13; her mother worked as a dietician and schoolteacher. Now in Philadelphia, Maple was a student at the Franklin School of Science and Arts, where she studied medical technology. In the 1960s and 1970s, Maple was head of a bacteriology and serology laboratory in Philadelphia and New York. She later wrote for the ''New York Courier''. She received film training through Ossie Davis's Third World Cinema, and through the National Educ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wiz
''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) in the context of contemporary African-American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974, at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, and moved to Broadway's Majestic Theatre with a new cast on January 5, 1975. The 1975 Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It was an early example of Broadway's mainstream acceptance of works with an all-Black cast. It has had revivals in New York, London, San Diego, and the Netherlands, and a limited-run revival was presented by Encores! at New York City Center in June 2009. A big-budget film adaptation of the same name was released in 1978, with Ted Ross and Mabel King reprising their stage roles. '' The Wiz Live!'', a television production of the stage musical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American singer and actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), '' Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a successful recording artist. She is best known for her debut single, the ''Dreamgirls'' number and rhythm-and-blues/pop hit, " And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", for which she won a Grammy Award in 1983. She also won a 1982 Tony Award for ''Dreamgirls''. Career Broadway actress Holliday landed her first big role on Broadway in 1979 at age 18, the same day she auditioned for the Broadway production of '' Your Arms Too Short to Box with God.'' Her performance in that musical earned her a 1981 Drama Desk Award nomination. Her next role, which she began to act at age 21, was the role for which she became best known: the role of Effie Melody White in the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls.'' Holliday originated the role of Effie and remained wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Sheryl Lee Ralph (born December 30, 1956) is an American actress and singer. Known for her performances on stage and screen, she earned acclaim for her role as Deena Jones in the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'' (1981), for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Since 2021, she has starred as Barbara Howard on the ABC mockumentary sitcom '' Abbott Elementary'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, becoming the first Black woman in 35 years to win the award in September 2022. She made her film debut in the 1977 comedy '' A Piece of the Action''. In 1991, she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her performance in the 1990 comedy-drama film '' To Sleep with Anger''. Ralph's other notable roles include '' The Mighty Quinn'' (1989), ''Mistress'' (1992), '' The Distinguished Gentleman'' (1992), '' Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'' (1993), and '' The Comeback Tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Wilson (singer)
Mary Wilson (March 6, 1944 – February 8, 2021) was an American singer. She gained worldwide recognition as a founding member of the Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. chart history, as well as one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time. The trio reached number one on ''Billboard''s Hot 100 with 12 of their singles, ten of which feature Wilson on backing vocals. Wilson remained with the group following the departures of the other three original members: Barbara Martin (in 1962), Florence Ballard (in 1967), and Diana Ross (in 1970), though the subsequent group disbanded following Wilson's own departure in 1977. Wilson later became a ''New York Times'' best-selling author in 1986 with the release of her first autobiography, '' Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme'', which set records for sales in its genre, and later for the autobiography ''Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together''. Continuing a successful car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful American vocal group, vocal band, with List of Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones#Most number-one songs, 12 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. Their breakthrough is considered to have made it possible for future African-American Rhythm and blues, R&B and Soul music, soul musicians to find mainstream success. ''Billboard'' ranked the Supremes as the 16th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time. Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson (singer), Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, the original members, were all from the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects, Brewster-Douglass public ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
