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(Multicom Jingle)
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- Oh yeah, the black presence on TV
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has changed America forever.
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Just start subtracting black from TV
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00:00:20,075 --> 00:00:23,354
and then you tell me, think
of TV without In Living Color.
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00:00:23,354 --> 00:00:25,958
Think of Saturday Night
Live without Eddie Murphy.
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Think of television without Flip Wilson.
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Let's start subtracting,
let's think about TV without
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Bill Cosby or Fat Albert and His Boys.
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Think about TV music without
Quincy's themes Mod Squad.
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(retro 70s music)
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The Bill Cosby Show.
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- What are you gonna
do for us this evening?
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Are you gonna sing or you
gonna play the xylophone?
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- Sanford and Son.
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Think of TV without Redd Foxx.
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Think of TV without George Jefferson.
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Think of TV without Good
Times and then what you got?
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You know what you got then?
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(voice echoes)
(calm hip hop music)
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(explosion blasts)
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- [Radio Announcer] From
the primitive rock crystal
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of yesterday's radio is the
crystal ball of television
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in which is visible a whole
new era of communication.
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(calm jazz music)
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- [Narrator] The first 50
years of television in black
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has been a sometimes strange dance
28
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of images across the TV screen,
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stereotyped, sanitized
and sometimes idealized.
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Often examined for deeper meaning
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than just entertainment,
black images on television
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changed the performers and
the viewers by illuminating
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the funny, dramatic and
musical soul of America.
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- You wouldn't be able to
talk about American culture
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without talking about many of
these African American figures
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you couldn't talk about
popular culture in my mind
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without talking about Louis
Armstrong for instance.
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You couldn't talk about the
idea of being hip or cool
39
00:02:02,651 --> 00:02:05,704
without talking about Duke
Ellington and Miles Davis
40
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you know so we have to recognize this.
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(radio static buzzes)
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- [Narrator] In the 30s and
40s, radio ruled the airwaves
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and the excitement of hearing live bands,
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radio dramas and comedies
brought families together
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to sit and listen, soon it
would to gather and watch.
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- There was no such thing as television
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and radio we'd sit around when I was a kid
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and we'd listen to Amos 'n Andy
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and we'd listen to all
these shows and Beulah,
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and all these people were white
because it was economical.
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They didn't want to hire blacks.
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You have to be remember this.
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- [Announcer] You will
find that you are tuned in
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on today and focus on tomorrow.
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- [Narrator] Go back
when television was only
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black and white, ask
people of a certain age.
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They can pinpoint the
very first person of color
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they saw on those tiny 12 inch screens.
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- Ike, come in come in
quick, there's a black on TV.
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00:03:00,769 --> 00:03:02,829
There's somebody black on television.
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00:03:02,829 --> 00:03:05,268
- When we would see any
kind of black person
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doing anything on
television, hey here's one,
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come here, come here,
come here, oh it's gone,
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oh please who was it, I don't
know know it was too fast.
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- I was really struck by William Marshall,
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Lena Horn, Rochester.
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♪ Life's full of consequence ♪
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♪ But who's scared of consequence ♪
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00:03:28,725 --> 00:03:31,643
- And of course we're talking
about and Ethel Waters.
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♪ Am I blue ♪
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- Ethel Waters and Louise
Beavers on the Beulah Show
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and it was like a moment, of course we all
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gathered around the TV because
the Beulah Show was on.
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00:03:44,546 --> 00:03:47,569
- Beulah and I think it might have been
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Louise Beavers who played her.
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- Well I like that.
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♪ Unforgettable ♪
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- The first person of color
that I saw on television
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was probably Nat King Cole.
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00:04:02,047 --> 00:04:05,501
♪ Little girl, you're
the one girl for me ♪
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00:04:05,501 --> 00:04:07,037
♪ Little girl ♪
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00:04:07,037 --> 00:04:10,510
- Nat Cole, my vivid
recollection was Nat Cole,
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because he was like one of the black guys,
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he was the only black guy on television.
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♪ Pretend you're happy when you're blue ♪
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And he did things that
you just dreamt of doing,
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so the fact that he was there
proved that you could do it.
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♪ Just you ♪
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♪ Just me ♪
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(trumpet fanfare music)
(crowd claps)
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00:04:35,266 --> 00:04:39,683
- Buckwheat from the Our
Gang series, Little Rascals.
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00:04:42,870 --> 00:04:44,932
- Wow, I think we're
going back to the days
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where you had to wait
till that tube heated up
94
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for the television to work,
but I think my first memories
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00:04:51,132 --> 00:04:55,296
of ever seeing blacks on
television were The Little Rascals
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Our Gang with Buckwheat and
Cotton and the little boy
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whose name was Stymie
who never said a word.
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00:05:01,793 --> 00:05:04,054
He wore that hat and a suit
99
00:05:04,054 --> 00:05:05,848
and what I later learned in life
100
00:05:05,848 --> 00:05:08,860
was that they edited out
a lot of what he said
101
00:05:08,860 --> 00:05:12,382
because they felt that
Stymie was too articulate
102
00:05:12,382 --> 00:05:14,465
and I think that that
really had an impact on me
103
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as I got older and became
a running her mouth
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kind of girl on TV that
nobody would stymie me.
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I'm not gonna be stymied.
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00:05:22,916 --> 00:05:24,332
- And away we go!
107
00:05:26,651 --> 00:05:29,570
- Sammy Davis Jr. and
I think it was probably
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an appearance on a variety show,
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you know it's such a
thrill I really mean this
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and it's kind of an opportunity for me too
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ladies and gentleman.
- Well Sammy Davis Jr.
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was the first black cowboy on TV.
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- Sammy Davis was woo,
I mean he was with the
114
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Will Mastin Trio, he and
his dad and his uncle.
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♪ This is the place where we first met ♪
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I saw them on Ed Sullivan
for the first time
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and he was awesome I mean
he did those impressions.
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- Ah, gee you don't have to get excited,
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00:06:01,212 --> 00:06:03,749
if I could have to and I'm
only out here trying to find--
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00:06:03,749 --> 00:06:05,460
(crowd laughs and claps)
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00:06:05,460 --> 00:06:08,057
- He danced and he sang.
(boisterous jazz music)
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♪ And she was blue note ♪
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(boisterous drum music)
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He was probably the most
versatile complete entertainer
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that I had ever seen,
he was just wonderful.
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♪ And then they loose step ♪
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- It was that image that cemented itself
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indelibly in my brain
as a pattern for which
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00:06:36,551 --> 00:06:41,122
I would then go on to pattern
my own style of entertaining,
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00:06:41,122 --> 00:06:45,289
by that I mean one who
really did dramatic acting,
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really did the comedy, really danced,
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00:06:51,061 --> 00:06:54,811
who could really sing
and do it with the best
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that was considered to be
the best in the business.
134
00:07:01,145 --> 00:07:04,537
- Her second birthday, she's
blowing out the candles
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on her cake.
- Esther Rolle, Good Times.
136
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She was Florida Evans.
137
00:07:11,264 --> 00:07:14,681
- Morgan Freeman on The Electric Company.
138
00:07:15,897 --> 00:07:19,230
- Oh boy, I remember and I loved her too
139
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Diahann Carole, Julia, I mean
I thought she was gorgeous.
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- [Announcer] Network
television out of the laboratory
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and into your living room to
provide the greatest medium
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of mass information and mass
entertainment in the world.
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00:07:38,728 --> 00:07:41,621
- I did grow up on TV, I
mean as much as my parents
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would hate for me to say that
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and I have very vivid
memories of television.
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- There's one incident
that sticks in my mind
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and the caveat is I'll
never know if it was
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a person of color, but it
happened in the early 60s
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and my mother and I were
watching a television commercial
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and there was a woman playing a housewife
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and she was mopping the floor
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and my mother and I looked at each other
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00:08:07,177 --> 00:08:10,635
with that kind of knowing
wink that you know
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she's black or she's a
negro, we were certain of it.
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- I know the names of every black person
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that was on television
between like 1950 up to 1980
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because these were all
the marks, the benchmarks.
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♪ You'll miss me honey when I'm away ♪
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- [Narrator] While the
black image was first
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seen in variety shows,
soon comedy inched its way
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from film, theater and radio
onto the television screen.
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- Well I can't say I never told you now,
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leaving somebody here with all this stuff,
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I bet you're gonna blame me for it.
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- There's this old black comedy tradition,
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Stepin Fetchit in my mind started it
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and you could even go
back to Burt Williams
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00:09:00,833 --> 00:09:03,895
and old minstrel tradition
if you wanted to.
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00:09:03,895 --> 00:09:05,956
You know it's physical comedy.
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Eyes rolling, grinning, as I like to say
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people scratching when they don't itch,
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people laughing when things aren't funny.
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I think Burt Williams
was in a cramp you know,
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I mean the average black person alive
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during the time of Burt Williams
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couldn't get a drink of water.
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You know what I'm saying?
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This dude's making a living,
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albeit in a very degrading manner,
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but he's making a living
and people know him
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and he has recognition, but
when he takes that face off
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he's just another nigger
and I'm sure he knew that
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as well as the people around him.
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I mean Rochester went
through the same thing.
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- Do I look as pale as I feel?
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- Stepin Fetchit went
through the same thing.
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- Where are you going stranger?
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- You scare somebody stiff like that.
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I'm looking for hillbillies, is you one?
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00:10:00,587 --> 00:10:03,034
- I ain't saying I am,
but I'm saying I ain't.
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00:10:03,034 --> 00:10:04,821
- Well that's close enough for me
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00:10:04,821 --> 00:10:07,194
because I'm tired of walking myself.
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00:10:07,194 --> 00:10:11,411
- Stepin Fetchit had 22
cars and all these servants
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00:10:11,411 --> 00:10:14,574
and fur coats and all you
know people want to talk about
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00:10:14,574 --> 00:10:17,446
bling bling like go deal
with Stepin Fetchit.
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00:10:17,446 --> 00:10:20,446
He was the original ghetto fabulous.
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00:10:21,717 --> 00:10:24,604
But he was a guy who when he goes home
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00:10:24,604 --> 00:10:27,674
and he's not going home to you know
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00:10:27,674 --> 00:10:29,222
to live next door to Jack Bennett,
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00:10:29,222 --> 00:10:30,967
you know what I'm saying?
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00:10:30,967 --> 00:10:33,879
When he goes home, when
he has to go back to
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where every other black person
has to be, different story.
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00:10:41,506 --> 00:10:44,890
It's really hard you know
to go in front of all these
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00:10:44,890 --> 00:10:48,203
white people and make them
laugh by pandering to these
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racist stereotypes and
then have to go home
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00:10:50,689 --> 00:10:52,324
and look at yourself in the mirror
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00:10:52,324 --> 00:10:56,407
or to then be relegated
to second class citizenry
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00:10:58,443 --> 00:11:01,505
in the same way that
every other black person
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00:11:01,505 --> 00:11:04,517
at the time is relegated to
be a second class citizen,
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00:11:04,517 --> 00:11:06,406
so it's a bit of a disconnect.
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00:11:06,406 --> 00:11:11,406
(dramatic music)
(glass shatters)
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- Willie?
- Yes sir.
213
00:11:13,331 --> 00:11:15,294
- I'll be gone for a little while.
214
00:11:15,294 --> 00:11:18,283
A Mr. Lynn Dale will
call, you take the message
215
00:11:18,283 --> 00:11:19,919
and be sure and get it right.
216
00:11:19,919 --> 00:11:21,295
- Oh yes sir.
217
00:11:21,295 --> 00:11:23,750
- At that particular time Willie Best
218
00:11:23,750 --> 00:11:25,167
and Ethel Waters.
219
00:11:26,533 --> 00:11:29,593
♪ Can't forget your troubles ♪
220
00:11:29,593 --> 00:11:32,923
♪ When you're thinking what they are ♪
221
00:11:32,923 --> 00:11:34,409
And Louise Beavers.
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00:11:34,409 --> 00:11:36,022
- Never let the seeds stop you
223
00:11:36,022 --> 00:11:38,388
from enjoying the watermelons.
224
00:11:38,388 --> 00:11:40,246
- So what if you've got a watermelon.
225
00:11:40,246 --> 00:11:42,253
- You mustn't say that Ms. Mason.
226
00:11:42,253 --> 00:11:45,874
You've got your watermelon,
but you choked yourself up
227
00:11:45,874 --> 00:11:50,755
on all those little seeds,
I always say spit them out.
228
00:11:50,755 --> 00:11:54,083
Spit them out so you taste watermelon.
229
00:11:54,083 --> 00:11:56,957
- It was kind of like a
small group of black folks
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00:11:56,957 --> 00:11:58,986
that appeared over and over and over again
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00:11:58,986 --> 00:12:03,813
in various films and television
shows and they were it,
232
00:12:03,813 --> 00:12:07,062
but at least we could see
them on a regular basis
233
00:12:07,062 --> 00:12:10,115
on those television shows and
they weren't any place else.
234
00:12:10,115 --> 00:12:11,457
- Mr. Irving's place.
235
00:12:11,457 --> 00:12:13,010
New York?
236
00:12:13,010 --> 00:12:14,247
Can you hear me?
237
00:12:14,247 --> 00:12:16,295
- We're in commercials,
you just didn't see
238
00:12:16,295 --> 00:12:18,679
them anywhere else and
so whenever there was
239
00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:20,347
somebody black on TV, it was like
240
00:12:20,347 --> 00:12:21,832
everybody got called into the room.
241
00:12:21,832 --> 00:12:23,766
Come on, see the black person,
242
00:12:23,766 --> 00:12:25,381
of course we didn't say
black in those days.
243
00:12:25,381 --> 00:12:28,569
Colored people on TV or
Negros on TV, you know,
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00:12:28,569 --> 00:12:32,372
whatever, but we made sure we
were gonna go see it, yeah.
245
00:12:32,372 --> 00:12:35,365
- But baby.
- Think it over.
246
00:12:35,365 --> 00:12:39,397
- And it was a joy just to
it's like wow, we're there.
247
00:12:39,397 --> 00:12:43,027
You know we're there and
I don't think anybody said
248
00:12:43,027 --> 00:12:47,543
that at that time, it was
really kind of more unspoken.
249
00:12:47,543 --> 00:12:50,735
And there was a pride you
know that we were there
250
00:12:50,735 --> 00:12:53,424
and we were represented.
251
00:12:53,424 --> 00:12:56,651
- [Narrator] Early TV was
a gamble in any color,
252
00:12:56,651 --> 00:12:59,467
so risk takers turned
to proven money makers.
253
00:12:59,467 --> 00:13:02,757
Hit radio shows like
Beulah and Amos 'n Andy,
254
00:13:02,757 --> 00:13:05,705
TV's Beulah debuted in 1950.
255
00:13:05,705 --> 00:13:09,027
Three of Hollywood's mammie
actresses played the lead,
256
00:13:09,027 --> 00:13:11,686
Louise Beavers, Haddie McDaniel--
257
00:13:11,686 --> 00:13:14,961
- This is Beulah, you're all around gal.
258
00:13:14,961 --> 00:13:18,935
(laughs) I'm the same size all around.
259
00:13:18,935 --> 00:13:21,414
- And Ethel Waters.
- Hi Beulah.
260
00:13:21,414 --> 00:13:22,610
- [Narrator] Beulah didn't seem to have
261
00:13:22,610 --> 00:13:26,014
a life of her own, she
was the true stereotype.
262
00:13:26,014 --> 00:13:29,010
Happy, overweight, cheerfully
solving the problems
263
00:13:29,010 --> 00:13:31,429
of the white family in her care.
264
00:13:31,429 --> 00:13:32,875
- And don't you eat those cookies before
265
00:13:32,875 --> 00:13:35,829
you eat your sandwiches.
- I won't.
266
00:13:35,829 --> 00:13:38,261
I owe Rusty Levinson
two plain and two raisin
267
00:13:38,261 --> 00:13:42,326
from yesterday and I always
like to pay my debts promptly.
268
00:13:42,326 --> 00:13:44,697
- You know it kept me in
mind of this domestic,
269
00:13:44,697 --> 00:13:49,142
the woman who really took
care of the household,
270
00:13:49,142 --> 00:13:53,106
so it gave me an image of
the black woman as the person
271
00:13:53,106 --> 00:13:55,463
who actually took care of the household
272
00:13:55,463 --> 00:13:58,657
and was a smart woman again who answered
273
00:13:58,657 --> 00:14:01,341
a lot of questions that
needed to be answered
274
00:14:01,341 --> 00:14:03,969
in that particular household.
275
00:14:03,969 --> 00:14:05,439
- [Narrator] Beulah was too offensive,
276
00:14:05,439 --> 00:14:07,989
said image aware watchdog
groups, their protests
277
00:14:07,989 --> 00:14:10,683
forced the network to cancel the series.
278
00:14:10,683 --> 00:14:13,020
- You know Beulah I think
that dress needs a pin
279
00:14:13,020 --> 00:14:14,509
or something, let me get you mine.
280
00:14:14,509 --> 00:14:16,460
- Oh no, Miss Alice, I don't want to wear
281
00:14:16,460 --> 00:14:18,139
your good jewelry.
- Oh don't be silly,
282
00:14:18,139 --> 00:14:20,026
it's just costume stuff,
I'll get it for you.
283
00:14:20,026 --> 00:14:21,859
- Oh, you're so sweet.
284
00:14:23,263 --> 00:14:24,973
- [Narrator] The most
listened to radio show
285
00:14:24,973 --> 00:14:28,227
of the 30s and 40s took
place in an all black world
286
00:14:28,227 --> 00:14:31,056
of Amos 'n Andy, most
of the cast was black,
287
00:14:31,056 --> 00:14:33,835
but series creators Freeman Gosden
288
00:14:33,835 --> 00:14:35,507
and Charles Correll were not.
289
00:14:35,507 --> 00:14:37,138
- Can I have a little now please?
290
00:14:37,138 --> 00:14:40,501
- Okay Mike, Andy's right here like this
291
00:14:40,501 --> 00:14:44,668
and Andy say, "Who scared
me, ha ha ha, a little."
292
00:14:48,097 --> 00:14:50,691
- Mr. Garden, may I have
a check from you now sir?
293
00:14:50,691 --> 00:14:53,392
- And then we have Amos,
Amos about here Mike,
294
00:14:53,392 --> 00:14:55,733
how's the balance on Amos?
295
00:14:55,733 --> 00:14:56,908
- [Narrator] So for television they began
296
00:14:56,908 --> 00:15:00,748
a long search for black actors
to play the title roles.
297
00:15:00,748 --> 00:15:04,047
- This fellow Spencer Williams
actually comes to life
298
00:15:04,047 --> 00:15:05,847
as Andrew H. Brown and I venture to say
299
00:15:05,847 --> 00:15:09,495
that three or four
seconds after you see him,
300
00:15:09,495 --> 00:15:12,937
you will always think of
him when you think of Andy,
301
00:15:12,937 --> 00:15:14,908
and to prove what I'm
talking about here he is,
302
00:15:14,908 --> 00:15:19,908
Andrew H. Brown.
(audience claps and laughs)
303
00:15:22,245 --> 00:15:26,578
- Hello.
(audience claps and laughs)
304
00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:31,963
- And this next character
we were a long time finding,
305
00:15:31,963 --> 00:15:34,796
because the Kingfish is really somebody,
306
00:15:34,796 --> 00:15:38,231
he's a fellow that has to
have a twinkle in his eye,
307
00:15:38,231 --> 00:15:42,864
a smile on his face and a
sort of a devil in his heart.
308
00:15:42,864 --> 00:15:45,245
The brother who is always
looking out after his brothers,
309
00:15:45,245 --> 00:15:48,087
but first and last after himself.
310
00:15:48,087 --> 00:15:50,773
(audience laughs)
Now when this fellow comes out
311
00:15:50,773 --> 00:15:53,228
and when he's on television
I think you'll realize
312
00:15:53,228 --> 00:15:55,805
that this really is the Kingfish.
313
00:15:55,805 --> 00:15:58,453
In fact, we predict that all
of the characters we have
314
00:15:58,453 --> 00:16:00,669
when you see them in the television film,
315
00:16:00,669 --> 00:16:03,631
they'll all come to life
in front of your eyes.
316
00:16:03,631 --> 00:16:05,881
So ladies and gentleman, here he is,
317
00:16:05,881 --> 00:16:09,085
Tim Moore, the man that plays
the part of George Stevens,
318
00:16:09,085 --> 00:16:10,975
Kingfish of the lodge.
319
00:16:10,975 --> 00:16:13,725
(audience claps)
320
00:16:16,697 --> 00:16:19,157
- Don't forget, we is all brothers
321
00:16:19,157 --> 00:16:23,345
in that great fraternity, the
Mystic Knights of the Seed.
322
00:16:23,345 --> 00:16:27,012
(audience claps and laughs)
323
00:16:30,156 --> 00:16:32,089
- Now ladies and gentleman, we
would like to thank our cast
324
00:16:32,089 --> 00:16:34,072
for coming down here and
making this personal appearance
325
00:16:34,072 --> 00:16:36,031
so that you could meet
them before you see them
326
00:16:36,031 --> 00:16:39,054
in the television show,
so without further ado,
327
00:16:39,054 --> 00:16:41,959
we would like to say let's
put on the Amos 'n Andy Show
328
00:16:41,959 --> 00:16:43,914
and we hope you enjoy it.
329
00:16:43,914 --> 00:16:45,569
- [Narrator] Beginning
in 1951, Amos 'n Andy
330
00:16:45,569 --> 00:16:47,667
brought laughter, scheming and confusion
331
00:16:47,667 --> 00:16:49,895
into everyone's living rooms.
332
00:16:49,895 --> 00:16:52,040
It was wildly popular, but it made some
333
00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,721
African Americans uncomfortable.
334
00:16:54,721 --> 00:16:57,162
- Kingfish, if you don't
give me my money back,
335
00:16:57,162 --> 00:16:59,080
I'm gonna punch you in each eye,
336
00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:00,723
then I'm gonna punch you in the mouth,
337
00:17:00,723 --> 00:17:02,847
then I'm gonna take a
stick and crack your head.
338
00:17:02,847 --> 00:17:05,391
In other words, I'm gonna
open everything that's closed
339
00:17:05,391 --> 00:17:07,557
and close everything that's opened.
340
00:17:07,557 --> 00:17:10,694
- Our household didn't put that very high
341
00:17:10,694 --> 00:17:13,612
on the list of shows to be watched.
342
00:17:15,631 --> 00:17:16,464
It was
343
00:17:20,919 --> 00:17:23,742
mentionable, noteworthy that blacks
344
00:17:23,742 --> 00:17:27,492
were on television and
that was a good thing,
345
00:17:29,725 --> 00:17:33,509
but that particular show we had to watch
346
00:17:33,509 --> 00:17:37,592
with a certain amount of
reserve in my household.
347
00:17:39,358 --> 00:17:43,223
- Amos, would you believe me if I told you
348
00:17:43,223 --> 00:17:45,479
I was doing this to
keep our old friend Andy
349
00:17:45,479 --> 00:17:46,889
from going to jail?
350
00:17:46,889 --> 00:17:47,722
- No.
351
00:17:49,183 --> 00:17:52,165
- Well when I want your
opinion I'll ask for it.
352
00:17:52,165 --> 00:17:55,427
- I got a call from the
producers of the show
353
00:17:55,427 --> 00:17:58,927
asking me would I play a part on the show?
354
00:18:00,216 --> 00:18:02,949
And I explained to him
in no uncertain terms
355
00:18:02,949 --> 00:18:06,484
I don't do that type of stereotype roles
356
00:18:06,484 --> 00:18:08,480
and you have the wrong person
357
00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,039
and ooh I really, really went through it.
358
00:18:12,039 --> 00:18:15,401
Well to make a long story
short, I did the role
359
00:18:15,401 --> 00:18:17,851
because he showed me something then
360
00:18:17,851 --> 00:18:20,133
that they were doing on Amos 'n Andy
361
00:18:20,133 --> 00:18:23,058
that they're not doing today
362
00:18:23,058 --> 00:18:24,808
and that was for Andy
363
00:18:28,199 --> 00:18:31,587
you had a counterpart over here,
364
00:18:31,587 --> 00:18:34,409
for Andy, you had an attorney.
365
00:18:34,409 --> 00:18:35,617
- Now would you mind telling the court
366
00:18:35,617 --> 00:18:39,201
under just what circumstances
you met the defendant?
367
00:18:39,201 --> 00:18:42,415
- Well, about 18 years ago at a carnival.
368
00:18:42,415 --> 00:18:43,711
I reached in my pocket to get my wallet
369
00:18:43,711 --> 00:18:45,831
and shook hands with Mr. Steven.
370
00:18:45,831 --> 00:18:47,560
(audience laughs)
371
00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,333
- Good heavens.
372
00:18:49,333 --> 00:18:53,132
- For Madam Queen, you had
a nurse or a female doctor.
373
00:18:53,132 --> 00:18:55,663
- Hello folks.
- For Amos,
374
00:18:55,663 --> 00:18:59,926
who was a cab driver, who
appeared to be a pound,
375
00:18:59,926 --> 00:19:03,995
you had a psychiatrist,
you had a counterpart
376
00:19:03,995 --> 00:19:07,264
to balance it out, I
did I think four or five
377
00:19:07,264 --> 00:19:09,979
Amos 'n Andy shows and
I always played the part
378
00:19:09,979 --> 00:19:14,312
of a judge, a lawyer, a
doctor, a college professor.
379
00:19:15,702 --> 00:19:18,334
- Anybody who looks at
Amos 'n Andy and thinks
380
00:19:18,334 --> 00:19:22,001
that this portrays black
people is an idiot.
381
00:19:23,138 --> 00:19:25,991
We walk the streets,
you'll see black doctors,
382
00:19:25,991 --> 00:19:27,565
you'll see black lawyers if you go into
383
00:19:27,565 --> 00:19:29,065
an office building
384
00:19:30,333 --> 00:19:31,583
we are not that
385
00:19:33,605 --> 00:19:35,443
and it's obvious that we are not that.
386
00:19:35,443 --> 00:19:38,967
This is comedy, there's no Superman.
387
00:19:38,967 --> 00:19:41,545
Anybody who thinks who runs
and jumps off a building
388
00:19:41,545 --> 00:19:44,632
thinking he could fly is
just as stupid as that person
389
00:19:44,632 --> 00:19:49,108
as that person who has that
ideology about Amos 'n Andy.
390
00:19:49,108 --> 00:19:53,136
They are just funny
characters employing Ebonics
391
00:19:53,136 --> 00:19:55,719
before Ebonics ever came along.
392
00:19:56,656 --> 00:19:57,705
- If this trouble's with my eyes,
393
00:19:57,705 --> 00:19:59,495
how come I gotta take my pants off?
394
00:19:59,495 --> 00:20:02,453
- That's a secret of
obstrecity, so don't argue
395
00:20:02,453 --> 00:20:04,247
with the obstrecitor.
- If you look at it
396
00:20:04,247 --> 00:20:08,164
as it was, it was a TV
show, a comedy, a sitcom
397
00:20:10,727 --> 00:20:14,013
and that's all.
- I did like Amos 'n Andy.
398
00:20:14,013 --> 00:20:16,678
I did and I'll tell you why
399
00:20:16,678 --> 00:20:20,435
because you have you know
Kingfish was doing his schemes
400
00:20:20,435 --> 00:20:22,634
and all that stuff, however--
401
00:20:22,634 --> 00:20:24,919
- Hi Kingfish!
- There were lawyers,
402
00:20:24,919 --> 00:20:28,722
they were cab drivers,
it helped people to work
403
00:20:28,722 --> 00:20:32,785
at a time when there wasn't a lot of work.
404
00:20:32,785 --> 00:20:35,785
- [Narrator] The NAACP urged
CBS to develop programming
405
00:20:35,785 --> 00:20:39,531
that presented a black
world not so stereotypical.
406
00:20:39,531 --> 00:20:43,181
Instead, the network chose
to cancel Amos 'n Andy,
407
00:20:43,181 --> 00:20:46,781
the funny men went off
the air and out on tour.
408
00:20:46,781 --> 00:20:50,978
(upbeat music)
(audience laughing)
409
00:20:50,978 --> 00:20:52,365
- I thought they were hilarious
410
00:20:52,365 --> 00:20:56,939
and in fact, after the TV
show, they went on the road
411
00:20:56,939 --> 00:21:01,263
and they had my mother
play Sapphire on tour.
412
00:21:01,263 --> 00:21:04,786
So I got a chance to see them
rehearse in my living room
413
00:21:04,786 --> 00:21:07,953
and it was a gas, they were wonderful.
414
00:21:09,199 --> 00:21:11,124
- [Narrator] Canceled or
not, the series continued
415
00:21:11,124 --> 00:21:15,137
in syndication until 1966,
it still sells briskly
416
00:21:15,137 --> 00:21:19,407
in VHS and DVD formats
living viewers safe at home
417
00:21:19,407 --> 00:21:23,992
to chuckle out loud at the
Kingfish, Calhoun and Sapphire.
418
00:21:23,992 --> 00:21:27,078
- My daddy, who grew up
in the south, which is
419
00:21:27,078 --> 00:21:31,542
where I'm from, he used to
tell me about Amos 'n Andy,
420
00:21:31,542 --> 00:21:32,946
never knew what he was talking about.
421
00:21:32,946 --> 00:21:35,076
Then they put out this video collection
422
00:21:35,076 --> 00:21:37,833
of Amos 'n Andy and I watched it and yes,
423
00:21:37,833 --> 00:21:40,653
I thought it was funny,
especially for the time.
424
00:21:40,653 --> 00:21:42,669
- You see this head here of mine?
425
00:21:42,669 --> 00:21:46,266
Well there's a lot of
ideas growing in that head.
426
00:21:46,266 --> 00:21:48,681
- Well if it's what's growing
on the top is any sign
427
00:21:48,681 --> 00:21:52,911
of what's growing inside,
it must be pretty bad.
428
00:21:52,911 --> 00:21:55,569
- Can you do that now, should you?
429
00:21:55,569 --> 00:21:59,555
Yeah, no, but was it funny
especially for the time?
430
00:21:59,555 --> 00:22:03,555
Yes, it was, it was
ridiculous, it was very ripe
431
00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,786
if I might with satire
I think it's hilarious.
432
00:22:08,786 --> 00:22:12,607
People don't want to see
that now and rightfully so.
433
00:22:12,607 --> 00:22:16,107
- It says here no collateral, no cosigner.
434
00:22:17,195 --> 00:22:18,714
Well I ain't got none of that stuff,
435
00:22:18,714 --> 00:22:20,964
so I'm in good shape there.
436
00:22:21,867 --> 00:22:25,366
- And I was quite pissed
off when Amos 'n Andy
437
00:22:25,366 --> 00:22:28,698
was taken off of television,
but we have certain
438
00:22:28,698 --> 00:22:32,615
organizations when they
run out of things to do
439
00:22:35,234 --> 00:22:37,067
they lose jobs for us.
440
00:22:38,331 --> 00:22:41,087
At one time they called
it black exploitation.
441
00:22:41,087 --> 00:22:43,104
It was not black exploitation.
442
00:22:43,104 --> 00:22:45,775
It was black employment.
443
00:22:45,775 --> 00:22:47,514
- [Narrator] Once again, Tarzan's war cry
444
00:22:47,514 --> 00:22:49,899
rings through the African jungle,
445
00:22:49,899 --> 00:22:53,468
a daring challenge to the
ominous rhythm of battle drums.
446
00:22:53,468 --> 00:22:56,903
- They griped about Tarzan,
I didn't give a damn
447
00:22:56,903 --> 00:22:59,488
if a white boy took over the jungle.
448
00:22:59,488 --> 00:23:02,690
They hired lots of black people.
449
00:23:02,690 --> 00:23:05,583
I don't care if they
ooga boogaed all across
450
00:23:05,583 --> 00:23:08,543
Warner Bros. or whoever filmed Tarzan,
451
00:23:08,543 --> 00:23:13,543
but I was happy to see a
bunch of black people working.
452
00:23:13,872 --> 00:23:17,097
♪ Oh the Lord isn't well ♪
453
00:23:17,097 --> 00:23:19,515
- [Narrator] Appearances on
religious or cultural programs
454
00:23:19,515 --> 00:23:23,282
seemed to fly under the
radar of the watchdog groups.
455
00:23:23,282 --> 00:23:24,990
- Lamp Unto my Feet, Look Up and Live,
456
00:23:24,990 --> 00:23:28,128
a woman named Pamela
Ailett was the producer.
457
00:23:28,128 --> 00:23:32,606
We would have music composed
I mean for those ballets
458
00:23:32,606 --> 00:23:37,218
which were based on the Bible,
so I've done all the ladies
459
00:23:37,218 --> 00:23:41,141
Mary to Bathsheba and the Witch of Endor
460
00:23:41,141 --> 00:23:44,308
and all those great ladies, great fun.
461
00:23:47,679 --> 00:23:50,154
- [Narrator] 50s television
included variety shows,
462
00:23:50,154 --> 00:23:52,303
which occasionally featured
black entertainers,
463
00:23:52,303 --> 00:23:56,386
Duke Ellington,
(calm jazz music)
464
00:23:59,481 --> 00:24:00,583
Cab Calloway,
465
00:24:00,583 --> 00:24:04,735
♪ Now here's a very interesting phrase ♪
466
00:24:04,735 --> 00:24:07,220
♪ It will put you in a daze ♪
467
00:24:07,220 --> 00:24:08,567
Paul Robeson.
468
00:24:08,567 --> 00:24:13,205
- You have just an audience
with the Emperor Jones.
469
00:24:13,205 --> 00:24:14,606
- [Narrator] Ella Fitzgerald.
470
00:24:14,606 --> 00:24:17,405
♪ Please stop, sweetie, sweetie, ♪
471
00:24:17,405 --> 00:24:18,744
♪ But be discrete ♪
472
00:24:18,744 --> 00:24:20,600
- Right.
- Sara Vaughan
473
00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,757
and others appeared on shows
with veteran white hosts
474
00:24:23,757 --> 00:24:27,333
such as Ed Sullivan, Milton
Berle and Steve Allen.
475
00:24:27,333 --> 00:24:30,083
(calm pop music)
476
00:24:31,131 --> 00:24:33,649
(boisterous pop music)
477
00:24:33,649 --> 00:24:37,495
Ray Charles and Mahalia Jackson
both had regional TV shows,
478
00:24:37,495 --> 00:24:40,220
but the first national show
was hosted by Nat King Cole
479
00:24:40,220 --> 00:24:42,741
and featured both white
and black entertainers,
480
00:24:42,741 --> 00:24:44,983
from Pearl Bailey to George Shearing.
481
00:24:44,983 --> 00:24:48,615
It was a great source of pride
for African American viewers.
482
00:24:48,615 --> 00:24:51,967
- Thank you very much and
thanks for being with us again.
483
00:24:51,967 --> 00:24:54,569
This next song I'd like to
do is moving up very rapidly
484
00:24:54,569 --> 00:24:56,335
on the popular charts.
485
00:24:56,335 --> 00:24:59,602
♪ I'll put a ring around my rosy ♪
486
00:24:59,602 --> 00:25:03,085
- [Man] Billy Daniels, the
band leader had his own show.
487
00:25:03,085 --> 00:25:06,301
♪ Because that darn baby is mine ♪
488
00:25:06,301 --> 00:25:08,673
- But those shows could not go national,
489
00:25:08,673 --> 00:25:12,837
they could not go national
because parts of the country,
490
00:25:12,837 --> 00:25:15,761
not just the south or the former Dixie,
491
00:25:15,761 --> 00:25:19,671
but parts of the country
would not run the shows
492
00:25:19,671 --> 00:25:23,207
and sponsors would not back the shows.
493
00:25:23,207 --> 00:25:27,207
So that by the late 50s
those attempts were over
494
00:25:29,818 --> 00:25:33,993
and you saw African Americans
really in subservient roles
495
00:25:33,993 --> 00:25:37,213
servants, occasional criminals.
496
00:25:37,213 --> 00:25:39,924
Certainly the networks and the advertising
497
00:25:39,924 --> 00:25:42,174
who sponsored the show were
498
00:25:43,241 --> 00:25:46,064
racist, prejudiced, bigoted, you choose.
499
00:25:46,064 --> 00:25:47,639
♪ The coffee could be sweeter ♪
500
00:25:47,639 --> 00:25:49,167
♪ But I'm not in the dumps ♪
501
00:25:49,167 --> 00:25:50,645
♪ 'Cause every time she hugs me, ♪
502
00:25:50,645 --> 00:25:52,191
♪ It's like two extra lumps ♪
503
00:25:52,191 --> 00:25:55,492
Eddie Canter had the
temerity not only to hug
504
00:25:55,492 --> 00:26:00,204
Sammy Davis Jr. on
television, but also Sammy was
505
00:26:00,204 --> 00:26:03,363
sweating and he handed
him his handkerchief
506
00:26:03,363 --> 00:26:06,910
and there was an uproar,
they actually almost pulled
507
00:26:06,910 --> 00:26:10,391
Eddie Cantor off the air
permanently because a Caucasian man
508
00:26:10,391 --> 00:26:15,007
had given a man of color
a handkerchief to use.
509
00:26:15,007 --> 00:26:19,991
♪ Yes, thank your lucky
stars, it's doing fine ♪
510
00:26:19,991 --> 00:26:24,991
Dinah Shore hugged or put her
arm around Mahalia Jackson
511
00:26:25,090 --> 00:26:27,941
doing a duet on the Dinah
Shore Chevrolet Show
512
00:26:27,941 --> 00:26:29,956
and it started all those rumors again
513
00:26:29,956 --> 00:26:33,167
that Dinah Shore was in fact a mulatto.
514
00:26:33,167 --> 00:26:36,662
♪ And lovers walked beneath those trees ♪
515
00:26:36,662 --> 00:26:39,695
♪ And birds found songs to sing ♪
516
00:26:39,695 --> 00:26:41,443
Racism in television was very real.
517
00:26:41,443 --> 00:26:44,085
- I think the saddest
time I had on television,
518
00:26:44,085 --> 00:26:49,085
when John Butler did a wonderful
piece for Ed Sullivan Show,
519
00:26:51,769 --> 00:26:55,355
I was dancing Willow Weep for
May or something like that
520
00:26:55,355 --> 00:26:57,775
and I was going to dance with Glen Tetley,
521
00:26:57,775 --> 00:27:01,343
and Glen Tetley, I had been
dancing with him all the time.
522
00:27:01,343 --> 00:27:03,939
It was part of John
Butler's company that we did
523
00:27:03,939 --> 00:27:06,898
all those morning programs
together, nobody said anything
524
00:27:06,898 --> 00:27:08,673
about being of color or anything,
525
00:27:08,673 --> 00:27:11,493
we just did what we did,
but I could not dance
526
00:27:11,493 --> 00:27:14,320
with Glen because he was white.
527
00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,790
Now John Butler was in
Greenwood, Mississippi
528
00:27:17,790 --> 00:27:21,275
and his two main ladies in his company
529
00:27:21,275 --> 00:27:23,692
were Mary Hinkson and myself.
530
00:27:25,411 --> 00:27:27,713
He was told he could not use me at all.
531
00:27:27,713 --> 00:27:30,072
We could not do this piece together.
532
00:27:30,072 --> 00:27:32,405
John was like thunderstruck.
533
00:27:34,201 --> 00:27:36,342
♪ Unchain my heart ♪
534
00:27:36,342 --> 00:27:38,469
- [Narrator] Variety
performance kept on singing.
535
00:27:38,469 --> 00:27:41,985
(boisterous pop music)
536
00:27:41,985 --> 00:27:42,845
Dancing.
537
00:27:42,845 --> 00:27:46,095
(boisterous pop music)
538
00:27:48,666 --> 00:27:51,735
♪ One more dance for the nice lady ♪
539
00:27:51,735 --> 00:27:53,911
And waiting for change.
540
00:27:53,911 --> 00:27:58,003
It came in the mid 60s from
a government and a nurse.
541
00:27:58,003 --> 00:28:00,389
- You really did not get a
change from African Americans
542
00:28:00,389 --> 00:28:03,952
playing either servants or
musical performers until I Spy
543
00:28:03,952 --> 00:28:06,633
in the mid 60s, in which Bill Cosby
544
00:28:06,633 --> 00:28:08,683
was matched up with Robert Culp,
545
00:28:08,683 --> 00:28:12,516
playing government agents,
he was the scholar.
546
00:28:13,413 --> 00:28:18,413
- We started looking at how
cool Bill Cosby was in I Spy
547
00:28:18,792 --> 00:28:22,556
and the fact that he was
particularly for then
548
00:28:22,556 --> 00:28:25,806
he was treated as somewhat of an equal.
549
00:28:27,259 --> 00:28:29,658
- I thought one of the
groundbreaking things about
550
00:28:29,658 --> 00:28:31,609
Bill Cosby's participation in I Spy
551
00:28:31,609 --> 00:28:33,810
was his portrayal as this
552
00:28:33,810 --> 00:28:36,890
brilliant Rhodes Scholar individual
553
00:28:36,890 --> 00:28:40,707
that is probably brighter than his partner
554
00:28:40,707 --> 00:28:43,790
and was certainly a quantum leap from
555
00:28:44,698 --> 00:28:47,198
some of the characterizations
that had been
556
00:28:47,198 --> 00:28:50,497
heretofore given to black actors.
557
00:28:50,497 --> 00:28:52,857
(funky music)
558
00:28:52,857 --> 00:28:54,373
And then a few years after that,
559
00:28:54,373 --> 00:28:58,623
you got Julia with Diahann
Carroll playing a nurse.
560
00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:03,847
- She was the perfect black woman,
561
00:29:03,847 --> 00:29:07,486
black white woman they thought
I guess during that time,
562
00:29:07,486 --> 00:29:09,903
but Julia her show was great.
563
00:29:13,127 --> 00:29:15,606
And we needed to make
that move, that change,
564
00:29:15,606 --> 00:29:18,841
sort of bougie, but I liked
it, I liked bourgeois,
565
00:29:18,841 --> 00:29:22,076
along with some other things,
it's good, it's healthy.
566
00:29:22,076 --> 00:29:24,223
I thought it was like all
the other shows that were on,
567
00:29:24,223 --> 00:29:26,209
it was very up, it was
positive, she had a child.
568
00:29:26,209 --> 00:29:29,811
She was a single parent,
right and she was doing well
569
00:29:29,811 --> 00:29:32,517
and that was great for me, I enjoyed it.
570
00:29:32,517 --> 00:29:34,417
- She couldn't do anything
right, I mean you know
571
00:29:34,417 --> 00:29:38,750
black folks criticized her
because she was too fancy
572
00:29:39,991 --> 00:29:43,818
or she spoke too well, or she
wasn't really black you know
573
00:29:43,818 --> 00:29:45,317
and white folks criticized her
574
00:29:45,317 --> 00:29:48,269
because nobody lives like
that or nobody acts like that
575
00:29:48,269 --> 00:29:51,271
or whatever, I mean she just
couldn't do anything right
576
00:29:51,271 --> 00:29:53,800
and that was a lot of pressure on her,
577
00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:57,847
but thank God she did it
even for three seasons.
578
00:29:57,847 --> 00:30:00,764
(calm flute music)
579
00:30:05,295 --> 00:30:09,545
- [Narrator] This is the
future starting to happen.
580
00:30:11,627 --> 00:30:14,321
- And you got Room 222, something
that's often overlooked,
581
00:30:14,321 --> 00:30:18,357
but then you had Lloyd Haynes
playing a history teacher.
582
00:30:18,357 --> 00:30:21,675
- I'm a teacher, I'm here to teach,
583
00:30:21,675 --> 00:30:25,637
but there's a regulation that
says I can't teach this kid,
584
00:30:25,637 --> 00:30:29,828
that he's got to go to
Tyler and that's wrong,
585
00:30:29,828 --> 00:30:33,393
because I know Tyler, I'm from Tyler.
586
00:30:33,393 --> 00:30:34,645
And what they're doing there
587
00:30:34,645 --> 00:30:37,182
isn't teaching, it's controlling.
588
00:30:37,182 --> 00:30:40,699
- And Denise Nicholas
playing a guidance counselor.
589
00:30:40,699 --> 00:30:44,407
- I'm just doing what
I have to do, Richie,
590
00:30:44,407 --> 00:30:49,190
you've been doing so great
lately, the top 10% of your class
591
00:30:49,190 --> 00:30:51,666
I sent a letter home to
your folks to let them know
592
00:30:51,666 --> 00:30:55,597
how happy we were about
it and it came back.
593
00:30:55,597 --> 00:30:56,930
No such address.
594
00:31:00,401 --> 00:31:03,768
You do live in this school
district, don't you?
595
00:31:03,768 --> 00:31:08,069
- Sure Liz McIntire
all upper middle class,
596
00:31:08,069 --> 00:31:11,510
touch all the bases, follow all the rules.
597
00:31:11,510 --> 00:31:14,770
Yes sir, Mr. Kaufman we
gonna kick Richie out.
598
00:31:14,770 --> 00:31:16,103
- [Man] And the students were integrated
599
00:31:16,103 --> 00:31:17,125
and they dealt with issues of race.
600
00:31:17,125 --> 00:31:20,359
- I'm taking attendance.
- What are you doing that for?
601
00:31:20,359 --> 00:31:21,617
- Look, I don't want an argument,
602
00:31:21,617 --> 00:31:22,840
are you here or not Avery?
603
00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:24,056
- Well yeah I'm here.
604
00:31:24,056 --> 00:31:25,223
- Jason Allen.
605
00:31:26,663 --> 00:31:29,901
- Get yourself together
baby, ain't it enough
606
00:31:29,901 --> 00:31:32,549
you dress like the teacher?
607
00:31:32,549 --> 00:31:34,799
- Jason Allen, here or not?
608
00:31:36,620 --> 00:31:39,577
(laughs) Oh yes, Jason's here.
609
00:31:39,577 --> 00:31:41,584
- Even the principal was Jewish.
610
00:31:41,584 --> 00:31:43,306
- It's part of my civil
service examination,
611
00:31:43,306 --> 00:31:45,492
it said can you be a
louse and I answered yes
612
00:31:45,492 --> 00:31:47,451
and they made me a principal.
613
00:31:47,451 --> 00:31:50,741
- They were going for
ethnicity in that show.
614
00:31:50,741 --> 00:31:54,188
- Ms. Jones is here to dry
the area behind her ears.
615
00:31:54,188 --> 00:31:55,685
She's gonna spend the
rest of this semester
616
00:31:55,685 --> 00:31:58,317
with you student teaching.
617
00:31:58,317 --> 00:32:02,453
- I hope it's a meaningful
semester for both of us.
618
00:32:02,453 --> 00:32:04,179
- Just what you always wanted right?
619
00:32:04,179 --> 00:32:05,846
Meaningful semester?
620
00:32:08,326 --> 00:32:09,937
- It's very important that you and I
621
00:32:09,937 --> 00:32:12,237
establish good human relations.
622
00:32:12,237 --> 00:32:14,285
- Right.
- I know I have a lot
623
00:32:14,285 --> 00:32:18,471
of middle class hangups, I
went to a segregated school.
624
00:32:18,471 --> 00:32:20,804
- Oh, that's okay, so did I.
625
00:32:21,952 --> 00:32:26,727
- So the breakthrough started
to come in the late 60s.
626
00:32:26,727 --> 00:32:29,093
(crowd cheering)
627
00:32:29,093 --> 00:32:30,259
- [Narrator] Viewers
caught a first glimpse
628
00:32:30,259 --> 00:32:32,706
of their favorite musical
performers on the most popular
629
00:32:32,706 --> 00:32:34,428
variety shows of the era.
630
00:32:34,428 --> 00:32:39,428
♪ Tonight you're mine completely ♪
631
00:32:39,546 --> 00:32:43,681
♪ And you you're asking me, oh ♪
632
00:32:43,681 --> 00:32:46,627
♪ Don't miss me Bill ♪
633
00:32:46,627 --> 00:32:47,800
♪ No no no no ♪
634
00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:49,827
- The first Motown act that
we ever had Ed Sullivan
635
00:32:49,827 --> 00:32:52,395
was of course The Supremes
636
00:32:52,395 --> 00:32:56,514
and then we just lined up, I
mean it's like a line of us
637
00:32:56,514 --> 00:32:59,335
going to the Ed Sullivan Show.
638
00:32:59,335 --> 00:33:04,335
♪ I've got this burning, burning,
yearning feeling inside me ♪
639
00:33:06,069 --> 00:33:07,557
The reason we started to call The Supremes
640
00:33:07,557 --> 00:33:11,509
The Girls of Motown was
because the first time
641
00:33:11,509 --> 00:33:14,372
they were on there, Ed
Sullivan introduced them.
642
00:33:14,372 --> 00:33:18,539
He said, "And now we have
from Detroit The Girls."
643
00:33:21,621 --> 00:33:25,777
♪ Nothing but high, ooh ooh ooh ♪
644
00:33:25,777 --> 00:33:28,159
But he couldn't think of their name.
645
00:33:28,159 --> 00:33:29,941
And the first time we were on there
646
00:33:29,941 --> 00:33:33,969
he said, "Now from Detroit
from that Motown sound,
647
00:33:33,969 --> 00:33:37,302
"we have Smokey and the Little Smokies."
648
00:33:39,097 --> 00:33:41,847
(crowd cheering)
649
00:33:43,721 --> 00:33:46,957
♪ Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah ♪
650
00:33:46,957 --> 00:33:49,040
(laughs)
651
00:33:50,074 --> 00:33:52,178
- I think The Temptations
did the Ed Sullivan Show
652
00:33:52,178 --> 00:33:54,011
around 1966 I believe.
653
00:33:56,375 --> 00:34:00,380
♪ Laughed and turned the gray sky blue ♪
654
00:34:00,380 --> 00:34:03,297
When knowledge of a black performer
655
00:34:04,145 --> 00:34:08,728
was going to perform on Ed
Sullivan or a show like that
656
00:34:11,844 --> 00:34:14,398
at that time of course
people really congregated
657
00:34:14,398 --> 00:34:17,793
around the TV, there were
people that didn't have a TV,
658
00:34:17,793 --> 00:34:21,377
they would go to
someone's house and watch.
659
00:34:22,357 --> 00:34:26,829
And to show you how much
of a part that television
660
00:34:26,829 --> 00:34:30,731
in black performance played at that time,
661
00:34:30,731 --> 00:34:34,648
we were booked to do a
live show in Mississippi
662
00:34:37,789 --> 00:34:39,621
and on that same night
663
00:34:41,152 --> 00:34:45,074
♪ Unhappy man with all
the powers at his hand ♪
664
00:34:45,074 --> 00:34:49,333
the taped performance on
Ed Sullivan was playing.
665
00:34:49,333 --> 00:34:51,855
No one came to that show
666
00:34:51,855 --> 00:34:54,688
because they thought that the show
667
00:34:56,504 --> 00:34:59,045
would be a hoax because
they said how can they be on
668
00:34:59,045 --> 00:35:03,441
television and be here at this
coliseum at the same time,
669
00:35:03,441 --> 00:35:08,441
so the promoter literally
lost his shirt because of that
670
00:35:08,914 --> 00:35:10,938
simply because we were being shown
671
00:35:10,938 --> 00:35:13,521
on Ed Sullivan that same night.
672
00:35:15,075 --> 00:35:17,474
- [Narrator] More than music
made a mark on TV viewers
673
00:35:17,474 --> 00:35:20,323
in this decade of challenge and change.
674
00:35:20,323 --> 00:35:23,771
- We will be any free
by any means necessary.
675
00:35:23,771 --> 00:35:26,521
- Black power means black dignity
676
00:35:28,271 --> 00:35:30,867
just as surely as you're
proud to be white,
677
00:35:30,867 --> 00:35:34,401
we're proud to be black,
black is beautiful baby.
678
00:35:34,401 --> 00:35:35,962
It's pretty.
679
00:35:35,962 --> 00:35:37,745
- [Narrator] It was civil rights.
680
00:35:37,745 --> 00:35:40,169
Serious documentaries about rural poverty,
681
00:35:40,169 --> 00:35:43,725
segregation and the growing
movement started appearing.
682
00:35:43,725 --> 00:35:46,264
News coverage of violent
segregationist backlash
683
00:35:46,264 --> 00:35:49,656
burned images of fire
hoses, dogs and beatings
684
00:35:49,656 --> 00:35:52,111
into the American psyche.
685
00:35:52,111 --> 00:35:54,634
Thanks to TV, two black
male figures rushed
686
00:35:54,634 --> 00:35:57,706
to the forefront of American minds,
687
00:35:57,706 --> 00:36:01,303
Dr. Martin Luther King
was seen as saintly,
688
00:36:01,303 --> 00:36:05,725
leading marches in Selma,
Birmingham and Montgomery.
689
00:36:05,725 --> 00:36:08,225
- I just want to do God's will
690
00:36:09,583 --> 00:36:13,576
and he's allowed me to
go up to the mountain
691
00:36:13,576 --> 00:36:17,993
and I've looked over and
I've seen the promised land.
692
00:36:21,225 --> 00:36:24,023
I may not get there with you,
693
00:36:24,023 --> 00:36:26,702
but I want you to know tonight
694
00:36:26,702 --> 00:36:30,869
that we as a people will
get to the promised land.
695
00:36:32,014 --> 00:36:34,419
- [Narrator] Conversely,
the stance and religion
696
00:36:34,419 --> 00:36:38,525
of Malcolm X struck fear
in the hearts of viewers.
697
00:36:38,525 --> 00:36:41,942
- And it goes back to growing up in Iowa.
698
00:36:43,225 --> 00:36:46,975
I would say that for me
the national coverage
699
00:36:50,071 --> 00:36:53,855
of the civil rights
movement in the early 60s
700
00:36:53,855 --> 00:36:55,944
was in many ways that and the print media
701
00:36:55,944 --> 00:36:58,444
how I as a child participated.
702
00:37:00,445 --> 00:37:02,352
I would say it was
different from my parents,
703
00:37:02,352 --> 00:37:03,915
because I can remember
for instance my father
704
00:37:03,915 --> 00:37:08,036
being photographed picketing
a Greyhound bus station,
705
00:37:08,036 --> 00:37:11,690
but as a child I lived
the civil rights movement
706
00:37:11,690 --> 00:37:15,087
through those television images.
707
00:37:15,087 --> 00:37:18,008
- I grew up in Winston,
Salem and 30 miles away
708
00:37:18,008 --> 00:37:20,983
was Greensborough where the
Woolworth sit-ins happened
709
00:37:20,983 --> 00:37:24,401
and there was a lot of
activity going on down south
710
00:37:24,401 --> 00:37:27,861
and my parents were trying
to help me understand that
711
00:37:27,861 --> 00:37:30,880
and at the same time try
to shelter from the types
712
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:32,214
of things that little black girls had
713
00:37:32,214 --> 00:37:34,479
to go through in the 60s
714
00:37:34,479 --> 00:37:37,577
and I think that television
was the thing that let us know
715
00:37:37,577 --> 00:37:40,995
that in our struggle to be
equal that we weren't alone
716
00:37:40,995 --> 00:37:42,761
that that television was a way of
717
00:37:42,761 --> 00:37:43,878
bringing in the entire nation
718
00:37:43,878 --> 00:37:45,705
and the world into my living room
719
00:37:45,705 --> 00:37:47,312
and letting me know that I counted,
720
00:37:47,312 --> 00:37:50,593
that there were people out
there fighting for my rights,
721
00:37:50,593 --> 00:37:52,872
and that made me at least
722
00:37:52,872 --> 00:37:55,146
it made me in a very young age realize
723
00:37:55,146 --> 00:37:57,271
the power that television had,
724
00:37:57,271 --> 00:38:01,585
the images that it makes
on lives and impressions,
725
00:38:01,585 --> 00:38:03,952
the power that it gives a
little girl from North Carolina
726
00:38:03,952 --> 00:38:05,699
to believe that there's a nation out there
727
00:38:05,699 --> 00:38:07,547
believing that you're equal too.
728
00:38:07,547 --> 00:38:08,806
And you know something little girl,
729
00:38:08,806 --> 00:38:10,951
there might not be any black
anchor women on TV today,
730
00:38:10,951 --> 00:38:13,687
but you're gonna be one.
731
00:38:13,687 --> 00:38:15,673
And that kind of image, that let me know
732
00:38:15,673 --> 00:38:20,673
the power of that medium and
that's why I love television.
733
00:38:20,865 --> 00:38:22,566
- [Narrator] By the 70s the entire world
734
00:38:22,566 --> 00:38:24,893
was beginning to count on
television for a significant
735
00:38:24,893 --> 00:38:26,718
part of its entertainment.
736
00:38:26,718 --> 00:38:29,501
America fell in love with
two very funny black men
737
00:38:29,501 --> 00:38:33,485
as the 70s began and soon
Redd Foxx and Flip Wilson
738
00:38:33,485 --> 00:38:35,921
were soon standing on top of the world.
739
00:38:35,921 --> 00:38:38,921
- Flip Wilson is entertaining, yeah.
740
00:38:39,947 --> 00:38:43,280
Flip Wilson when I saw him do Geraldine,
741
00:38:44,409 --> 00:38:47,755
I hooped, there was no cussing,
742
00:38:47,755 --> 00:38:50,971
but just that character
and the nerve of this man
743
00:38:50,971 --> 00:38:55,355
to dress in as we know today
drag and be comfortable with it
744
00:38:55,355 --> 00:38:57,815
and be hilarious, it was brilliant.
745
00:38:57,815 --> 00:39:00,035
See back then we didn't know any better.
746
00:39:00,035 --> 00:39:01,883
At least I didn't, I
didn't know I was like
747
00:39:01,883 --> 00:39:04,716
is that a man, that's Flip Wilson.
748
00:39:06,478 --> 00:39:08,881
How brilliant was that.
749
00:39:08,881 --> 00:39:10,427
See back then I think
maybe black comedians
750
00:39:10,427 --> 00:39:12,379
someone said can you believe
751
00:39:12,379 --> 00:39:14,265
he is putting this damn dress on?
752
00:39:14,265 --> 00:39:18,219
But then when they saw his
ratings and the dollar signs,
753
00:39:18,219 --> 00:39:20,821
oh putting a dress on is not so bad.
754
00:39:20,821 --> 00:39:23,738
(funky jazz music)
755
00:39:25,059 --> 00:39:28,405
- I like The Flip Wilson Show
and the reason why I liked it
756
00:39:28,405 --> 00:39:31,572
is because it was this black man on TV
757
00:39:32,902 --> 00:39:36,521
who was actually in
control of his own show
758
00:39:36,521 --> 00:39:39,523
and that and when you're
in control of your own,
759
00:39:39,523 --> 00:39:42,643
you tend to look out for your folks.
760
00:39:42,643 --> 00:39:46,410
He brought in the black artists
to be a part of his show,
761
00:39:46,410 --> 00:39:48,601
you know and that was wonderful.
762
00:39:48,601 --> 00:39:52,819
I saw a power, a sense of
power and a sense of control
763
00:39:52,819 --> 00:39:55,069
in Flip and his production.
764
00:39:56,747 --> 00:39:58,603
- The funniest person ever on television
765
00:39:58,603 --> 00:39:59,811
I think was Redd Foxx.
766
00:39:59,811 --> 00:40:02,644
(funky 70s music)
767
00:40:04,489 --> 00:40:06,283
He was very honest and I think
768
00:40:06,283 --> 00:40:08,813
if they had allowed him
to cuss, he would have.
769
00:40:08,813 --> 00:40:10,794
Just his facial
expressions, he didn't even
770
00:40:10,794 --> 00:40:12,779
have to open his mouth
and that's what makes
771
00:40:12,779 --> 00:40:15,755
a great comedian without saying a word
772
00:40:15,755 --> 00:40:18,321
and you still have people just crying.
773
00:40:18,321 --> 00:40:20,970
He was the funniest person on television.
774
00:40:20,970 --> 00:40:23,887
(funky jazz music)
775
00:40:25,849 --> 00:40:28,068
- This has been a nerve-shattering
experience for me, sir.
776
00:40:28,068 --> 00:40:29,235
I'd like to go home.
777
00:40:29,235 --> 00:40:34,235
- Richard Pryor and I got our
Writer's Guild cards together,
778
00:40:34,993 --> 00:40:36,909
writing for Sanford and Son.
779
00:40:36,909 --> 00:40:39,742
(funky 70s music)
780
00:40:43,179 --> 00:40:45,191
And Richard couldn't take
the grind of every day,
781
00:40:45,191 --> 00:40:47,747
so he quit, so I stayed on,
782
00:40:47,747 --> 00:40:51,593
but a black comedy writer was
something that was on the moon
783
00:40:51,593 --> 00:40:55,481
it was unheard of, they
had mostly white men
784
00:40:55,481 --> 00:40:58,844
who grew up with the black
people who knew black people
785
00:40:58,844 --> 00:41:01,225
writing for black shows.
786
00:41:01,225 --> 00:41:03,253
I will hear that expression,
it would always bother me,
787
00:41:03,253 --> 00:41:06,959
it would hurt my ears, because
every script I ever wrote
788
00:41:06,959 --> 00:41:09,952
for Sanford and Son, Redd
Foxx and those black actors
789
00:41:09,952 --> 00:41:11,682
the minute they picked that script up,
790
00:41:11,682 --> 00:41:13,944
they knew I had, they
knew I had written it.
791
00:41:13,944 --> 00:41:16,861
(funky jazz music)
792
00:41:18,222 --> 00:41:22,209
I grew up with Redd Foxx
so I was a big fan of his
793
00:41:22,209 --> 00:41:24,748
and he loved Richard and
Richard Pryor loved him,
794
00:41:24,748 --> 00:41:26,659
so it was like family, it was easy.
795
00:41:26,659 --> 00:41:29,492
(funky 70s music)
796
00:41:32,191 --> 00:41:34,243
(calm jazz music)
797
00:41:34,243 --> 00:41:35,777
- [Narrator] Being black in entertainment
798
00:41:35,777 --> 00:41:38,250
means being part of a very small family,
799
00:41:38,250 --> 00:41:40,841
inside an awful hostile larger world,
800
00:41:40,841 --> 00:41:43,062
but African American performers today
801
00:41:43,062 --> 00:41:46,256
from the celebrated to
the unknown understand
802
00:41:46,256 --> 00:41:48,725
with each step they take
they stand on the shoulders
803
00:41:48,725 --> 00:41:51,762
of those who came before them.
804
00:41:51,762 --> 00:41:53,415
- It's so vital that there
were so many nameless
805
00:41:53,415 --> 00:41:56,404
and faceless individuals
who really, really paid
806
00:41:56,404 --> 00:42:00,015
ferocious dues for those
who we came to know
807
00:42:00,015 --> 00:42:01,943
like the James Edwards
in Home of the Brave,
808
00:42:01,943 --> 00:42:04,069
Mr. Sidney Poitier in No Way Out,
809
00:42:04,069 --> 00:42:06,239
of course Ethel Waters and Louise Beavers
810
00:42:06,239 --> 00:42:09,353
and Mr. Ernest Whitman,
Freddie Washington,
811
00:42:09,353 --> 00:42:12,548
Laurence Criner, Alex Lovejoy,
many of the Lafayette players
812
00:42:12,548 --> 00:42:16,692
these individuals were
so germane to our success
813
00:42:16,692 --> 00:42:19,235
and they carried us through
and they took the parts
814
00:42:19,235 --> 00:42:22,177
that they had no option to take,
815
00:42:22,177 --> 00:42:23,893
because they wanted to
work, they were artists
816
00:42:23,893 --> 00:42:26,560
and they paid dues and
people like to go back
817
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:29,182
and reference Lincoln
Perry, Mr. Stepin Fetchit,
818
00:42:29,182 --> 00:42:31,542
which was a character not the man,
819
00:42:31,542 --> 00:42:32,801
people like to reference him
820
00:42:32,801 --> 00:42:35,039
as some sort of pejorative notion,
821
00:42:35,039 --> 00:42:36,867
but we are not that far
removed with a lot of the young
822
00:42:36,867 --> 00:42:39,995
people in what they are doing today.
823
00:42:39,995 --> 00:42:42,175
I mean we used to have
a time, certainly during
824
00:42:42,175 --> 00:42:45,467
the time when my early
maturation in the 70s
825
00:42:45,467 --> 00:42:47,299
and we would look at variety shows
826
00:42:47,299 --> 00:42:49,555
and we would see Mr. Sammy Davis Jr.
827
00:42:49,555 --> 00:42:51,927
We would see Diahann Carroll,
we would see Leslie Adams,
828
00:42:51,927 --> 00:42:55,107
Mr. Poiter, Mr. Bellafonte,
we'd see Pearl Bailey.
829
00:42:55,107 --> 00:42:57,181
We'd see all new Lena
Horn, these great artists
830
00:42:57,181 --> 00:43:00,537
and every single time they hit the stage,
831
00:43:00,537 --> 00:43:02,828
we were proud because they brought
832
00:43:02,828 --> 00:43:05,450
such a usable consciousness
and a magnificent
833
00:43:05,450 --> 00:43:09,121
sense of dignity and huge
artistry to the moment
834
00:43:09,121 --> 00:43:11,635
that we are all proud
and we were made better
835
00:43:11,635 --> 00:43:14,141
each time they took the stage.
836
00:43:14,141 --> 00:43:17,707
- I would say Ruby Dee,
Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson,
837
00:43:17,707 --> 00:43:20,457
Sidney Poitier, Harry Bellafonte,
838
00:43:21,609 --> 00:43:25,643
you know just all these
really incredible people
839
00:43:25,643 --> 00:43:29,593
that without them we
probably would not be here
840
00:43:29,593 --> 00:43:32,836
to go through all the hard knocks
841
00:43:32,836 --> 00:43:36,401
and the struggles that they had to endure
842
00:43:36,401 --> 00:43:38,683
for me to be here I know that.
843
00:43:38,683 --> 00:43:41,850
- The public doesn't get that there is
844
00:43:42,967 --> 00:43:46,790
sort of an unspoken
fraternity and comradery
845
00:43:46,790 --> 00:43:48,659
that goes along with
being in this business
846
00:43:48,659 --> 00:43:51,404
that exists, they see
us in competition a lot
847
00:43:51,404 --> 00:43:54,148
because the business
is structured that way,
848
00:43:54,148 --> 00:43:56,501
you have charts that who's
number one, who's this,
849
00:43:56,501 --> 00:43:58,655
who's that, who's best
box office, who's this
850
00:43:58,655 --> 00:44:02,094
and it looks as if it
is somewhat competitive
851
00:44:02,094 --> 00:44:04,221
and on a certain level I guess that it is,
852
00:44:04,221 --> 00:44:06,892
but on a much deeper level as artists
853
00:44:06,892 --> 00:44:10,402
we all share a certain
kind of understanding
854
00:44:10,402 --> 00:44:11,997
about what we're going through
855
00:44:11,997 --> 00:44:14,314
and particularly as
African American artists
856
00:44:14,314 --> 00:44:17,113
that we are part of
something that is bigger
857
00:44:17,113 --> 00:44:19,035
than just the work that we're doing
858
00:44:19,035 --> 00:44:21,449
and we try to support each other.
859
00:44:21,449 --> 00:44:26,037
- It takes an entire community
to protect and nurture
860
00:44:26,037 --> 00:44:28,576
this thing called entertainment
861
00:44:28,576 --> 00:44:30,576
and called images of us.
862
00:44:32,639 --> 00:44:35,472
(calm jazz music)
863
00:44:39,697 --> 00:44:41,177
- [Narrator] The first
years of television in black
864
00:44:41,177 --> 00:44:44,441
paralleled the growth of the nation.
865
00:44:44,441 --> 00:44:47,381
Mammie and Dixon buffoonery
changed into civil rights
866
00:44:47,381 --> 00:44:49,657
and strong looks at history,
867
00:44:49,657 --> 00:44:51,329
but television had to wait many more years
868
00:44:51,329 --> 00:44:54,705
for equal opportunity, laughter and tears.
869
00:44:54,705 --> 00:44:57,538
(calm jazz music)
870
00:45:03,991 --> 00:45:05,799
- Oh yeah, the black presence on TV
871
00:45:05,799 --> 00:45:08,132
has changed America forever.
872
00:45:09,264 --> 00:45:11,079
Just start subtracting black from TV
873
00:45:11,079 --> 00:45:12,461
and then you tell me.
874
00:45:12,461 --> 00:45:14,432
Think of TV without In Living Color,
875
00:45:14,432 --> 00:45:16,571
think of Saturday Night
Live without Eddie Murphy.
876
00:45:16,571 --> 00:45:19,538
Think of television without Flip Wilson.
877
00:45:19,538 --> 00:45:20,543
Let's start subtracting,
878
00:45:20,543 --> 00:45:22,003
let's think of TV without Bill Cosby
879
00:45:22,003 --> 00:45:23,690
or Fat Albert and His Boys,
880
00:45:23,690 --> 00:45:27,833
think of TV music without
Quincy's themes, Mod Squad.
881
00:45:27,833 --> 00:45:29,877
(funky music)
882
00:45:29,877 --> 00:45:30,710
The Bill Cosby Show.
883
00:45:30,710 --> 00:45:32,097
- What are you gonna
do for us this evening,
884
00:45:32,097 --> 00:45:35,483
are you gonna sing or are
you gonna play the xylophone?
885
00:45:35,483 --> 00:45:37,085
- Sanford and Son.
886
00:45:37,085 --> 00:45:40,184
Think of TV without Redd Foxx.
887
00:45:40,184 --> 00:45:42,352
Think of TV without George Jefferson,
888
00:45:42,352 --> 00:45:43,931
think of TV without Good Times
889
00:45:43,931 --> 00:45:45,758
and then what you got?
890
00:45:45,758 --> 00:45:47,276
You know what do you got then?
891
00:45:47,276 --> 00:45:50,493
(voice echoes)
892
00:45:50,493 --> 00:45:52,650
- [Announcer] From the
primitive rock crystal
893
00:45:52,650 --> 00:45:55,803
of yesterday's radio is the
crystal ball of television,
894
00:45:55,803 --> 00:45:58,922
in which is visible a whole
new era of communication.
895
00:45:58,922 --> 00:46:01,755
(calm jazz music)
896
00:46:03,633 --> 00:46:05,693
- [Narrator] Technology
progressed at breakneck speed
897
00:46:05,693 --> 00:46:07,919
during the first 50 years of television,
898
00:46:07,919 --> 00:46:11,078
but did societies
attitudes change as fast?
899
00:46:11,078 --> 00:46:13,143
Black characterizations and concepts
900
00:46:13,143 --> 00:46:15,647
seemed to move at a snail's pace.
901
00:46:15,647 --> 00:46:16,648
- Huh?
902
00:46:16,648 --> 00:46:17,968
- [Narrator] Looking
back at the last 20 years
903
00:46:17,968 --> 00:46:20,198
of the 20th century, comedy seemed to be
904
00:46:20,198 --> 00:46:23,718
the comfort genre for television in black.
905
00:46:23,718 --> 00:46:27,551
- Comedy is fun because
it makes people laugh.
906
00:46:28,413 --> 00:46:30,283
There's enough sad things.
907
00:46:30,283 --> 00:46:32,494
- Hey, you want to see some nice pictures?
908
00:46:32,494 --> 00:46:34,629
- [Narrator] The changing
voice in television comedy
909
00:46:34,629 --> 00:46:37,835
was Bill Cosby in his
very first comedy series,
910
00:46:37,835 --> 00:46:40,967
he played gym teacher Chet Kincaid.
911
00:46:40,967 --> 00:46:44,187
- And everybody in this
gymnasium at the time
912
00:46:44,187 --> 00:46:48,522
when we start the tryouts is
gonna be given a fair chance,
913
00:46:48,522 --> 00:46:50,201
even the little guys.
914
00:46:50,201 --> 00:46:53,584
- Mr. Bill Cosby, that
first one that when he did
915
00:46:53,584 --> 00:46:56,019
gym, hit the bod, that whole.
916
00:46:56,019 --> 00:46:57,860
- We can win against Jefferson High School
917
00:46:57,860 --> 00:47:00,391
in two weeks, you'll see
and if we don't beat them.
918
00:47:00,391 --> 00:47:02,001
- What?
- Well, I'll just
919
00:47:02,001 --> 00:47:04,526
walk right into the
mouth of a hippopotamus.
920
00:47:04,526 --> 00:47:07,128
- See you at the zoo.
- Ha ha ha.
921
00:47:07,128 --> 00:47:09,516
- In the history of our country,
in terms of entertainment
922
00:47:09,516 --> 00:47:11,366
there's always been someone
at the top of the heap
923
00:47:11,366 --> 00:47:14,760
that was black with respect to comedy.
924
00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:16,215
- [Narrator] At the top of that heap
925
00:47:16,215 --> 00:47:20,035
were Redd Foxx, Flip
Wilson and Bill Cosby,
926
00:47:20,035 --> 00:47:22,579
but from the bottom came a bigot
927
00:47:22,579 --> 00:47:24,672
to hand out some real life truths.
928
00:47:24,672 --> 00:47:26,775
His name was Archie Bunker,
929
00:47:26,775 --> 00:47:30,203
an unrepentant racist and homophobe.
930
00:47:30,203 --> 00:47:31,204
- I've been thinking--
931
00:47:31,204 --> 00:47:32,723
- Don't do no more of that.
932
00:47:32,723 --> 00:47:36,345
- Oh, look at this, you've
got him on his lap already.
933
00:47:36,345 --> 00:47:40,179
You'll be churning out homie
through a massage parlor.
934
00:47:40,179 --> 00:47:41,787
- [Narrator] Even though All in the Family
935
00:47:41,787 --> 00:47:44,185
was criticized as being too bold,
936
00:47:44,185 --> 00:47:46,620
it was an important move toward realism.
937
00:47:46,620 --> 00:47:48,835
- You know what I like about you Archie?
938
00:47:48,835 --> 00:47:49,975
- What's that Maude?
939
00:47:49,975 --> 00:47:52,235
- Nothing.
(audience laughs)
940
00:47:52,235 --> 00:47:53,393
- But it was honest.
941
00:47:53,393 --> 00:47:54,748
And that's what I appreciate about it.
942
00:47:54,748 --> 00:47:56,189
It was an honest show.
943
00:47:56,189 --> 00:47:57,775
I think sometimes we get so into
944
00:47:57,775 --> 00:47:59,858
we want to be politically correct,
945
00:47:59,858 --> 00:48:02,201
oh no, you can't put a racist on TV,
946
00:48:02,201 --> 00:48:04,299
it's honest, it's what it was,
947
00:48:04,299 --> 00:48:05,667
it's who that character was.
948
00:48:05,667 --> 00:48:08,681
I appreciate it, even as a
child, I thought it was funny.
949
00:48:08,681 --> 00:48:10,033
- I mean nothing personal,
but you know a guy
950
00:48:10,033 --> 00:48:12,048
could go broke just
buying wedding presents
951
00:48:12,048 --> 00:48:13,945
for your side of the family.
952
00:48:13,945 --> 00:48:15,847
- And still fighting mental health.
953
00:48:15,847 --> 00:48:18,483
- I was like oh, he was wild.
954
00:48:18,483 --> 00:48:20,663
And then when they
introduced George Jefferson,
955
00:48:20,663 --> 00:48:22,445
that just put the icing
on the cake for me,
956
00:48:22,445 --> 00:48:24,706
like oh ho, somebody's firing back.
957
00:48:24,706 --> 00:48:28,864
- It's part of black
heritage it's called hutzpah.
958
00:48:28,864 --> 00:48:32,183
(audience laughs)
959
00:48:32,183 --> 00:48:34,857
- Hutzpah, that's a Jewish word.
960
00:48:34,857 --> 00:48:37,165
- So was ghetto till we got a hold of.
961
00:48:37,165 --> 00:48:38,848
- Hi daddy!
962
00:48:38,848 --> 00:48:41,542
- Yes, of course everyone
watched All in the Family
963
00:48:41,542 --> 00:48:45,292
and All in the Family
was a wonderful TV show
964
00:48:46,353 --> 00:48:49,561
and it was so raw and so
real that the lead character
965
00:48:49,561 --> 00:48:52,998
was a bigot you know
and he had to introduce
966
00:48:52,998 --> 00:48:55,843
black people into that in
order for his character
967
00:48:55,843 --> 00:48:59,353
to be his character and
Carroll O'Connor who was
968
00:48:59,353 --> 00:49:02,400
one of the greatest actors ever in life
969
00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:05,903
pulled it off wonderfully, you know
970
00:49:05,903 --> 00:49:09,448
and so yeah, All in the
Family was the first show
971
00:49:09,448 --> 00:49:13,315
that I remember that came
right down front with it.
972
00:49:13,315 --> 00:49:16,224
- The sitcoms became even more buffoonish.
973
00:49:16,224 --> 00:49:18,453
A good example of that is Good Times,
974
00:49:18,453 --> 00:49:20,870
♪ Good Times ♪
975
00:49:22,159 --> 00:49:24,373
which was a spinoff of Maude,
976
00:49:24,373 --> 00:49:26,987
a semi-spinoff of Maude, the first series
977
00:49:26,987 --> 00:49:29,455
on television created
by African Americans,
978
00:49:29,455 --> 00:49:32,787
Eric Monte and Michael
Evans and it's interesting
979
00:49:32,787 --> 00:49:34,381
that both of them walked out of the show
980
00:49:34,381 --> 00:49:36,387
after a year because they
just couldn't take it.
981
00:49:36,387 --> 00:49:38,623
- Where is all the food
in this refrigerator?
982
00:49:38,623 --> 00:49:39,973
There ain't nothing in
here, but some cold lamb
983
00:49:39,973 --> 00:49:41,916
and a lonesome leg bone.
984
00:49:41,916 --> 00:49:43,455
- It's also fitting that when interviews
985
00:49:43,455 --> 00:49:45,271
are done about Good Times, which is about
986
00:49:45,271 --> 00:49:48,133
the life of African American
family in the projects
987
00:49:48,133 --> 00:49:52,340
of Chicago when interviews
are done the cast members
988
00:49:52,340 --> 00:49:54,566
are embarrassed to have
been involved with it,
989
00:49:54,566 --> 00:49:56,987
the African American
writers are embarrassed
990
00:49:56,987 --> 00:49:58,782
to have been involved
with it and then they talk
991
00:49:58,782 --> 00:50:01,344
to the Caucasian producers and they say
992
00:50:01,344 --> 00:50:04,034
we were doing this breakthrough show.
993
00:50:04,034 --> 00:50:06,049
So was it a breakthrough?
994
00:50:06,049 --> 00:50:07,759
Well maybe for some people.
995
00:50:07,759 --> 00:50:08,925
Was it embarrassing?
996
00:50:08,925 --> 00:50:10,483
Apparently for others.
997
00:50:10,483 --> 00:50:12,565
- You wouldn't do that to Henry Kissinger.
998
00:50:12,565 --> 00:50:14,513
- Henry ain't got what you got.
999
00:50:14,513 --> 00:50:15,996
- I thought Good Times was very funny.
1000
00:50:15,996 --> 00:50:19,489
I thought that at that
time it was very honest.
1001
00:50:19,489 --> 00:50:20,572
At that time,
1002
00:50:23,209 --> 00:50:25,053
I'm not gonna say all,
but a large percentage
1003
00:50:25,053 --> 00:50:27,383
of black people could relate to that show.
1004
00:50:27,383 --> 00:50:29,591
Me personally, I've always
lived in the suburbs,
1005
00:50:29,591 --> 00:50:32,625
always had both parents,
they always had great jobs.
1006
00:50:32,625 --> 00:50:35,749
We very middle class,
upper middle class family,
1007
00:50:35,749 --> 00:50:37,799
but it was very funny,
it was entertaining,
1008
00:50:37,799 --> 00:50:40,982
I enjoyed it, I loved JJ, I loved Velma,
1009
00:50:40,982 --> 00:50:44,143
I loved seeing this black
teenage who was hip and funky
1010
00:50:44,143 --> 00:50:46,366
and was just a glamour doll.
1011
00:50:46,366 --> 00:50:49,558
I loved that, I said wow
and I had a older sister
1012
00:50:49,558 --> 00:50:52,659
who I was like ooh I see her
wear her makeup and her clothes
1013
00:50:52,659 --> 00:50:54,975
do that it was entertaining.
1014
00:50:54,975 --> 00:50:56,257
Like I didn't look at it and say,
1015
00:50:56,257 --> 00:50:58,040
oh, I can't believe they
put these niggers on TV
1016
00:50:58,040 --> 00:51:00,603
and look how they acted, no.
1017
00:51:00,603 --> 00:51:02,307
- It's gonna be fun all we need now is an
1018
00:51:02,307 --> 00:51:04,389
Indian and Chinamen and
we make up a rainbow.
1019
00:51:04,389 --> 00:51:05,808
- The Jeffersons followed that.
1020
00:51:05,808 --> 00:51:07,416
Now here you have a
character that was supposed
1021
00:51:07,416 --> 00:51:09,276
to be the flip side of Archie Bunker,
1022
00:51:09,276 --> 00:51:11,126
the character of George Jefferson.
1023
00:51:11,126 --> 00:51:13,723
He was an African American who
was financially successful.
1024
00:51:13,723 --> 00:51:16,743
He had a chain of drying cleaning stores.
1025
00:51:16,743 --> 00:51:18,243
Was it buffoonish?
1026
00:51:19,634 --> 00:51:20,551
You decide.
1027
00:51:23,071 --> 00:51:27,719
- I started out as a guest
on the very first show
1028
00:51:27,719 --> 00:51:30,911
and I had the line how come we
overcame and nobody told me?
1029
00:51:30,911 --> 00:51:33,677
How come we overcame and nobody told me?
1030
00:51:33,677 --> 00:51:35,215
They got such a big
laugh that they decided
1031
00:51:35,215 --> 00:51:37,393
to write something else for me,
1032
00:51:37,393 --> 00:51:38,859
but I wasn't in that show,
1033
00:51:38,859 --> 00:51:41,553
and I wasn't expected to be in that show.
1034
00:51:41,553 --> 00:51:43,321
I did the fifth show and then
they wrote something else
1035
00:51:43,321 --> 00:51:45,362
and I came back on the eighth show
1036
00:51:45,362 --> 00:51:48,362
and then they offered me a contract.
1037
00:51:49,638 --> 00:51:51,589
- I've decided to back Conroy instead.
1038
00:51:51,589 --> 00:51:52,683
He's the better man.
1039
00:51:52,683 --> 00:51:54,418
- I should have known.
1040
00:51:54,418 --> 00:51:56,724
- What was funny about it was
the fact that George Jefferson
1041
00:51:56,724 --> 00:51:58,974
was the black Archie Bunker
1042
00:52:00,079 --> 00:52:04,615
and plus George Jefferson
was he always wanted to be
1043
00:52:04,615 --> 00:52:09,187
really hip you know (laughs)
1044
00:52:09,187 --> 00:52:11,669
in the know and all that
1045
00:52:11,669 --> 00:52:13,885
and I just think that Sherman played
1046
00:52:13,885 --> 00:52:15,852
a wonderful George Jefferson
1047
00:52:15,852 --> 00:52:18,305
and everybody on the show was great.
1048
00:52:18,305 --> 00:52:21,153
Everybody played their character so great.
1049
00:52:21,153 --> 00:52:23,103
- Well I think The Jeffersons represented
1050
00:52:23,103 --> 00:52:25,275
a cross section of society,
1051
00:52:25,275 --> 00:52:29,469
you had me for the masses of
people who worked at a job
1052
00:52:29,469 --> 00:52:31,111
and who has a boss, they have a boss
1053
00:52:31,111 --> 00:52:33,981
and they like to tell
that boss off sometimes,
1054
00:52:33,981 --> 00:52:36,615
but they can't, because
they might get fired.
1055
00:52:36,615 --> 00:52:39,082
And then you have Ralph the Doorman,
1056
00:52:39,082 --> 00:52:42,265
played by Ned Waterman and he represented
1057
00:52:42,265 --> 00:52:44,893
all the people who worked for tips.
1058
00:52:44,893 --> 00:52:46,781
And then we had the Willises
1059
00:52:46,781 --> 00:52:48,649
and that was an interracial marriage,
1060
00:52:48,649 --> 00:52:50,796
people always wanted to
know what goes on there,
1061
00:52:50,796 --> 00:52:55,208
so we got a chance to peep
in and see that relationship.
1062
00:52:55,208 --> 00:52:59,310
Then we had Mother Jefferson
who was Zara Cully,
1063
00:52:59,310 --> 00:53:02,975
so the seniors really
related to what she did.
1064
00:53:02,975 --> 00:53:05,634
So she picked up all the
things like social security
1065
00:53:05,634 --> 00:53:07,717
problems and all of that.
1066
00:53:09,003 --> 00:53:12,699
Then you have The Jeffersons,
without benefit of education,
1067
00:53:12,699 --> 00:53:17,449
they became a success, so we
had something for everybody.
1068
00:53:19,793 --> 00:53:21,339
- Here's a vivid moment I remember,
1069
00:53:21,339 --> 00:53:23,294
this happened in The Jeffersons.
1070
00:53:23,294 --> 00:53:26,839
Moses Gunn the great
actor and Sherman Hensley
1071
00:53:26,839 --> 00:53:30,867
had a scene where Moses
Gunn was the interloper
1072
00:53:30,867 --> 00:53:34,893
and he was getting on
George Jefferson's nerves
1073
00:53:34,893 --> 00:53:38,393
and George Jefferson they started to fight
1074
00:53:39,539 --> 00:53:41,346
and the two men had gotten to the point
1075
00:53:41,346 --> 00:53:43,010
where their fists were cocked
1076
00:53:43,010 --> 00:53:46,385
and drawn back and Moses
Gunn and I don't know
1077
00:53:46,385 --> 00:53:49,539
if this was scripted, but
he says to George Jefferson,
1078
00:53:49,539 --> 00:53:52,153
you know, you know,
tight fists pulled back
1079
00:53:52,153 --> 00:53:54,167
ready to hit him, "Nigger!"
1080
00:53:54,167 --> 00:53:56,669
And I had was like again I was blown away,
1081
00:53:56,669 --> 00:54:00,669
because it was so authentic,
I knew it was real.
1082
00:54:02,029 --> 00:54:03,529
I knew it was real
1083
00:54:05,981 --> 00:54:10,981
and something told me but that
wasn't supposed to be said.
1084
00:54:11,420 --> 00:54:13,420
You know that was vivid.
1085
00:54:16,699 --> 00:54:17,736
- [Announcer] The following program
1086
00:54:17,736 --> 00:54:21,153
is brought to you in living color on NBC.
1087
00:54:24,278 --> 00:54:26,391
- [Narrator] Television
comedy then took another route
1088
00:54:26,391 --> 00:54:29,841
as stand up comedian Richard
Pryor got his own show,
1089
00:54:29,841 --> 00:54:33,365
resulting in a firestorm of controversy.
1090
00:54:33,365 --> 00:54:34,669
- NBC loved Richard.
1091
00:54:34,669 --> 00:54:36,720
It gave them new blood, they were alive,
1092
00:54:36,720 --> 00:54:38,544
all the executives would come down.
1093
00:54:38,544 --> 00:54:41,835
I mean every day there was a new surprise.
1094
00:54:41,835 --> 00:54:44,521
- Saturday night, they
always call it nigger night,
1095
00:54:44,521 --> 00:54:46,449
because white folks go
out about eight and leave
1096
00:54:46,449 --> 00:54:48,791
and go home at 10:00, and
leave it to the niggers
1097
00:54:48,791 --> 00:54:50,188
because it gets thick.
1098
00:54:50,188 --> 00:54:52,217
- Those execs, now they had Richard.
1099
00:54:52,217 --> 00:54:53,326
They had something to worry about,
1100
00:54:53,326 --> 00:54:54,549
something to bother them,
1101
00:54:54,549 --> 00:54:57,373
something to let you
know that they had a job.
1102
00:54:57,373 --> 00:55:01,165
- You can eat 24 hours a day in America.
1103
00:55:01,165 --> 00:55:03,622
I said yes, you got
some money or a pistol,
1104
00:55:03,622 --> 00:55:05,344
you can get something to eat.
1105
00:55:05,344 --> 00:55:07,095
- They loved every second of it.
1106
00:55:07,095 --> 00:55:09,615
It was Richard that quit, not them.
1107
00:55:09,615 --> 00:55:11,242
They were fascinated with Richard.
1108
00:55:11,242 --> 00:55:12,893
He was breaking all the rules.
1109
00:55:12,893 --> 00:55:13,965
People used to stand around
1110
00:55:13,965 --> 00:55:17,774
and watch our show like it was church.
1111
00:55:17,774 --> 00:55:19,618
When The Richard Pryor Show
when those specials came on
1112
00:55:19,618 --> 00:55:22,199
people in bars people were standing
1113
00:55:22,199 --> 00:55:25,704
they were loving it, they'd
never seen anything like it,
1114
00:55:25,704 --> 00:55:29,271
you know this is the
mother of In Living Color
1115
00:55:29,271 --> 00:55:31,815
and the rest of those shows.
1116
00:55:31,815 --> 00:55:34,187
We did a special and
about six, seven episodes,
1117
00:55:34,187 --> 00:55:35,449
they're all classics now.
1118
00:55:35,449 --> 00:55:38,597
If you watch them now,
they're very funny now.
1119
00:55:38,597 --> 00:55:40,078
- You got any reefer?
1120
00:55:40,078 --> 00:55:41,455
Knowing he was cool and he was clean.
1121
00:55:41,455 --> 00:55:43,047
You got any reefer bro?
1122
00:55:43,047 --> 00:55:45,387
You know I used to practice at home,
1123
00:55:45,387 --> 00:55:46,477
try to get my shit together,
1124
00:55:46,477 --> 00:55:48,635
you got any reefer, in front of the man,
1125
00:55:48,635 --> 00:55:50,557
you got any reefer, you got any reefer?
1126
00:55:50,557 --> 00:55:53,185
I'd ask anybody cops I'd
be like you got any reefer?
1127
00:55:53,185 --> 00:55:54,944
Sure have young fellow right this way.
1128
00:55:54,944 --> 00:55:58,661
- When you write something
that deals with the truth
1129
00:55:58,661 --> 00:56:02,281
and it's earnest and it's
political and social,
1130
00:56:02,281 --> 00:56:04,848
it lasts forever you know.
1131
00:56:04,848 --> 00:56:06,002
- Right the cops always pull up,
1132
00:56:06,002 --> 00:56:08,567
put your hands up white boy (screams)
1133
00:56:08,567 --> 00:56:09,772
I didn't do nothing!
1134
00:56:09,772 --> 00:56:11,447
Put your hands against the wall!
1135
00:56:11,447 --> 00:56:12,435
There ain't no wall.
1136
00:56:12,435 --> 00:56:13,466
Find one.
1137
00:56:13,466 --> 00:56:15,029
- Brilliant.
1138
00:56:15,029 --> 00:56:15,862
Brilliant.
1139
00:56:17,333 --> 00:56:20,399
I'm saddened to see his physical ability
1140
00:56:20,399 --> 00:56:22,938
and his health be where it is,
1141
00:56:22,938 --> 00:56:24,871
but he was brilliant, and you know what
1142
00:56:24,871 --> 00:56:28,566
I love those guys, because
they didn't change.
1143
00:56:28,566 --> 00:56:31,562
They didn't do what somebody
else said you should do.
1144
00:56:31,562 --> 00:56:33,969
They did what they felt
was right in their heart.
1145
00:56:33,969 --> 00:56:36,097
- My neighborhood didn't
have no candy stores in it,
1146
00:56:36,097 --> 00:56:38,245
right, there was a lot of whorehouses.
1147
00:56:38,245 --> 00:56:40,466
That's right man like you
could walk down my street
1148
00:56:40,466 --> 00:56:42,053
and you say hey your
mother is a whore right,
1149
00:56:42,053 --> 00:56:45,872
20 dudes go huh, who you talking about?
1150
00:56:45,872 --> 00:56:48,120
- It's about using comedy
the way Richard Pryor
1151
00:56:48,120 --> 00:56:51,036
used comedy, you know as intelligence
1152
00:56:51,036 --> 00:56:54,044
to take some of the things in society
1153
00:56:54,044 --> 00:56:57,877
that are really negative
and hard to deal with
1154
00:56:58,829 --> 00:57:00,625
and making people laugh about them,
1155
00:57:00,625 --> 00:57:03,014
but in laughing about
them, think about it.
1156
00:57:03,014 --> 00:57:06,080
I saw Richard Pryor many
times walk into a room
1157
00:57:06,080 --> 00:57:07,971
and he was probably high,
1158
00:57:07,971 --> 00:57:10,500
but that was his thing,
1159
00:57:10,500 --> 00:57:12,414
that that was where his edge came from
1160
00:57:12,414 --> 00:57:14,142
and just alienated everybody in the room
1161
00:57:14,142 --> 00:57:16,700
and before that show was
over, they were eating
1162
00:57:16,700 --> 00:57:17,945
out of the palm of his hands.
1163
00:57:17,945 --> 00:57:19,995
The man was a true genius.
1164
00:57:19,995 --> 00:57:23,841
- Come on, get down, baby,
push me, push me again now.
1165
00:57:23,841 --> 00:57:27,219
♪ What you see ♪
1166
00:57:27,219 --> 00:57:28,885
♪ Is what you get ♪
1167
00:57:28,885 --> 00:57:30,499
- [Narrator] As both black television
1168
00:57:30,499 --> 00:57:34,404
and the 1970s progressed
America finally experienced
1169
00:57:34,404 --> 00:57:38,135
a black drama with the miniseries Roots.
1170
00:57:38,135 --> 00:57:41,192
- [Announcer] January
1977, America shared with
1171
00:57:41,192 --> 00:57:44,336
Alex Haley the saga of his family's roots.
1172
00:57:44,336 --> 00:57:47,576
- Hear me oh African.
- Aired over eight nights
1173
00:57:47,576 --> 00:57:50,899
in 1977, Roots became a television event,
1174
00:57:50,899 --> 00:57:54,343
not only for African Americans,
but for all Americans
1175
00:57:54,343 --> 00:57:56,881
and the program attracted an estimated
1176
00:57:56,881 --> 00:57:59,261
130 million viewers becoming
1177
00:57:59,261 --> 00:58:02,137
the highest rated miniseries ever.
1178
00:58:02,137 --> 00:58:04,335
It still holds that record.
1179
00:58:04,335 --> 00:58:07,335
- But Roots was it was a phenomenon.
1180
00:58:08,339 --> 00:58:12,453
However, I don't know if
it changed television.
1181
00:58:12,453 --> 00:58:14,662
I don't know if it did you know.
1182
00:58:14,662 --> 00:58:17,191
There were wonderful performances,
1183
00:58:17,191 --> 00:58:20,108
but I don't know if all of a sudden
1184
00:58:24,169 --> 00:58:25,728
we were everywhere,
1185
00:58:25,728 --> 00:58:29,978
because the kind of ratings
and the kind of numbers
1186
00:58:30,852 --> 00:58:35,602
that Roots got we should have
been everywhere afterwards.
1187
00:58:36,441 --> 00:58:38,353
- [Narrator] Although hundreds
of millions of viewers
1188
00:58:38,353 --> 00:58:41,602
did tune in to Roots, comedy still seemed
1189
00:58:41,602 --> 00:58:45,129
the favorite vehicle for
African American on television.
1190
00:58:45,129 --> 00:58:47,412
Many still wonder what
it is about the comical
1191
00:58:47,412 --> 00:58:49,613
stereotypes that capture the nation
1192
00:58:49,613 --> 00:58:51,815
in a cultural stronghold.
1193
00:58:51,815 --> 00:58:55,049
- One of the greatest tragedies is when
1194
00:58:55,049 --> 00:58:58,919
a community who ultimately
cares very little
1195
00:58:58,919 --> 00:59:02,411
about you has complete control over
1196
00:59:02,411 --> 00:59:04,551
the image of your community
1197
00:59:04,551 --> 00:59:07,718
and they show so little regard for us,
1198
00:59:09,485 --> 00:59:13,402
but ultimately it's what
is our responsibility.
1199
00:59:14,375 --> 00:59:16,329
But you see you have so many of us
1200
00:59:16,329 --> 00:59:18,872
that will sell that out,
you have so many of us
1201
00:59:18,872 --> 00:59:20,833
that's willing to be the buffoons.
1202
00:59:20,833 --> 00:59:23,744
- We get a lot of criticism
for The Parkers, a lot,
1203
00:59:23,744 --> 00:59:25,784
I've had people e-mail me and say,
1204
00:59:25,784 --> 00:59:27,888
I can't believe you're
doing that buffoonery.
1205
00:59:27,888 --> 00:59:29,545
What's buffoonery about that?
1206
00:59:29,545 --> 00:59:32,297
It's two black women both in college,
1207
00:59:32,297 --> 00:59:35,465
there's a black man who's a
professor, what's buffoonery?
1208
00:59:35,465 --> 00:59:37,500
Yes, Nicki Parker is very physical.
1209
00:59:37,500 --> 00:59:38,731
Lucille Ball was very physical.
1210
00:59:38,731 --> 00:59:41,564
(audience laughs)
1211
00:59:42,653 --> 00:59:44,887
Did they e-mail her and
say it was buffoonery?
1212
00:59:44,887 --> 00:59:47,148
They said she was a
genius and she was funny.
1213
00:59:47,148 --> 00:59:51,581
So I take that with a grain of
salt, I brush it right away.
1214
00:59:51,581 --> 00:59:54,946
- I know what you're thinking,
you see Foggie and Beth?
1215
00:59:54,946 --> 00:59:57,469
We can make it baby, me and you.
1216
00:59:57,469 --> 00:59:59,250
- I look at Eddie Murphy and I see
1217
00:59:59,250 --> 01:00:02,316
the ghost of Mantan
Moreland or Stepin Fetchit
1218
01:00:02,316 --> 01:00:04,655
or Rochester, Willie Bess.
1219
01:00:04,655 --> 01:00:07,589
These people's image back in the day
1220
01:00:07,589 --> 01:00:11,188
were some of the only black
images you saw on film
1221
01:00:11,188 --> 01:00:13,377
and a lot of people maybe embraced them
1222
01:00:13,377 --> 01:00:15,464
because they wanted
these images as opposed
1223
01:00:15,464 --> 01:00:17,883
to no images, but the
legacy they left behind
1224
01:00:17,883 --> 01:00:20,757
many of these modern day
comics have picked up on
1225
01:00:20,757 --> 01:00:24,387
and it's more about you know being funny
1226
01:00:24,387 --> 01:00:26,643
and getting a laugh at any expense
1227
01:00:26,643 --> 01:00:30,015
than it is about intelligence or wit.
1228
01:00:30,015 --> 01:00:31,833
- Did you know that every seven minutes
1229
01:00:31,833 --> 01:00:35,199
a black person is born in
this country without soul?
1230
01:00:35,199 --> 01:00:39,790
♪ Tiger yellow ringing
around the old old tree ♪
1231
01:00:39,790 --> 01:00:42,852
- I just think that
there's room for all kinds
1232
01:00:42,852 --> 01:00:45,447
of humor without having
to put a judgment on
1233
01:00:45,447 --> 01:00:49,797
you know what's acceptable
and what's not acceptable.
1234
01:00:49,797 --> 01:00:52,221
- See you at the zoo.
- Ha ha ha.
1235
01:00:52,221 --> 01:00:56,249
- I think what's hard is
when there's not a balance.
1236
01:00:56,249 --> 01:00:59,750
- You have so many of us that's willing to
1237
01:00:59,750 --> 01:01:02,667
perpetuate the negative stereotypes
1238
01:01:04,399 --> 01:01:06,703
that have been perpetuated for so long,
1239
01:01:06,703 --> 01:01:09,309
so when we start seemingly making progress
1240
01:01:09,309 --> 01:01:12,451
we don't shift into another gear and say
1241
01:01:12,451 --> 01:01:15,750
now it's time to make even more demands
1242
01:01:15,750 --> 01:01:17,319
and to be even more unified.
1243
01:01:17,319 --> 01:01:18,485
We don't have that.
1244
01:01:18,485 --> 01:01:19,615
- We as African American people
1245
01:01:19,615 --> 01:01:21,103
we're so critical of each other,
1246
01:01:21,103 --> 01:01:24,724
like remember the sitcom
Homeboys from Outer Space?
1247
01:01:24,724 --> 01:01:26,760
And everybody said oh my God that is just
1248
01:01:26,760 --> 01:01:29,078
such a disgrace to the race,
anybody would have taken
1249
01:01:29,078 --> 01:01:31,762
that part and I don't fault Flex,
1250
01:01:31,762 --> 01:01:34,841
and I said Flex, do your job we're actors
1251
01:01:34,841 --> 01:01:36,401
and that's what you were paid to do.
1252
01:01:36,401 --> 01:01:39,251
To act, did it go a little over the top?
1253
01:01:39,251 --> 01:01:41,301
Of course it did, that's what comedies do,
1254
01:01:41,301 --> 01:01:42,509
we go over the top.
1255
01:01:42,509 --> 01:01:45,353
Friends live in New York
and don't lock their door.
1256
01:01:45,353 --> 01:01:47,028
That's over the top.
1257
01:01:47,028 --> 01:01:49,528
Seinfeld lives in New York,
doesn't lock his door.
1258
01:01:49,528 --> 01:01:50,540
That's over the top.
1259
01:01:50,540 --> 01:01:53,528
On Drew Carey, Minnie
wears light blue eyeshadow
1260
01:01:53,528 --> 01:01:55,477
and big muumuus that's over the top.
1261
01:01:55,477 --> 01:01:57,733
That's what we do, that's what we do
1262
01:01:57,733 --> 01:02:00,254
so I am like why are we so critical?
1263
01:02:00,254 --> 01:02:02,232
Why are we picking it apart
for a fine tooth comb?
1264
01:02:02,232 --> 01:02:05,719
For 30 minutes, my job
is to make you laugh.
1265
01:02:05,719 --> 01:02:08,318
(calm jazz music)
1266
01:02:08,318 --> 01:02:10,281
- [Narrator] The black
images on television
1267
01:02:10,281 --> 01:02:13,781
in comedy, drama, sports, news and variety
1268
01:02:15,129 --> 01:02:17,509
have always inspired young hopefuls
1269
01:02:17,509 --> 01:02:19,847
with dreams of their own.
1270
01:02:19,847 --> 01:02:22,680
- I remember watching Cos on I Spy
1271
01:02:24,967 --> 01:02:28,247
with Robert Culp and saying now
1272
01:02:28,247 --> 01:02:31,330
that's the kind of role I want to do.
1273
01:02:33,319 --> 01:02:35,444
And then for him to win the Emmys
1274
01:02:35,444 --> 01:02:37,163
and win the recognition that he did,
1275
01:02:37,163 --> 01:02:40,175
to take that opportunity
to do so well with it
1276
01:02:40,175 --> 01:02:43,342
was really I think just groundbreaking
1277
01:02:46,198 --> 01:02:49,435
and opened up a lot of doors.
1278
01:02:49,435 --> 01:02:51,685
- I can remember sitting in
1279
01:02:52,755 --> 01:02:56,054
our apartment in Harlem as a little girl
1280
01:02:56,054 --> 01:02:59,471
watching award shows and thinking one day
1281
01:03:00,833 --> 01:03:03,063
I'm gonna do that, I'm gonna go up there
1282
01:03:03,063 --> 01:03:06,123
and I'm gonna get an award and
I have a vivid recollection
1283
01:03:06,123 --> 01:03:09,729
of that so I must have been like six.
1284
01:03:09,729 --> 01:03:12,096
- Muhhamad Ali fought Joe Frazier
1285
01:03:12,096 --> 01:03:15,179
and it was a such a significant fight
1286
01:03:16,999 --> 01:03:18,999
because Joe was the guy.
1287
01:03:22,497 --> 01:03:23,997
Because Ali he was
1288
01:03:25,921 --> 01:03:28,793
going through a hiatus I would say
1289
01:03:28,793 --> 01:03:33,210
and they fought and when
Joe Frazier knocked him down
1290
01:03:34,133 --> 01:03:36,716
to win that fight there it just
1291
01:03:38,513 --> 01:03:40,849
it stuck in my mind for many, many years
1292
01:03:40,849 --> 01:03:44,099
because Muhhamad Ali to me was the best
1293
01:03:45,872 --> 01:03:49,372
because he talked trash and he was pretty.
1294
01:03:50,243 --> 01:03:54,993
Ali was a prime model that
mold I wanted to be born from.
1295
01:03:56,042 --> 01:03:58,510
- This brainwashing the Negroes see,
1296
01:03:58,510 --> 01:04:00,249
then he goes to the drug store
1297
01:04:00,249 --> 01:04:01,653
he orders two different ice cream,
1298
01:04:01,653 --> 01:04:03,110
he says I want a different chocolate,
1299
01:04:03,110 --> 01:04:04,431
a different vanilla and every time
1300
01:04:04,431 --> 01:04:06,114
they put the chocolate on the bottom
1301
01:04:06,114 --> 01:04:07,962
and the vanilla on the top.
1302
01:04:07,962 --> 01:04:10,379
- What he brought to the
ring was entertainment,
1303
01:04:10,379 --> 01:04:13,559
not just fisticuffs, not
just guys boxing each other,
1304
01:04:13,559 --> 01:04:17,226
he brought style, grace,
beauty to the ring.
1305
01:04:18,303 --> 01:04:20,886
Outside the ring he was able to
1306
01:04:22,609 --> 01:04:25,378
grab the public's imagination to show them
1307
01:04:25,378 --> 01:04:28,284
that black is beautiful,
that black is strong
1308
01:04:28,284 --> 01:04:30,931
that black is wonderful.
1309
01:04:30,931 --> 01:04:33,263
- Every day you got a headache with Negro
1310
01:04:33,263 --> 01:04:35,524
that has been brainwashed by your kind
1311
01:04:35,524 --> 01:04:37,219
so now it's our job to re-brainwash him
1312
01:04:37,219 --> 01:04:38,832
to teach him that rich dirt is black dirt,
1313
01:04:38,832 --> 01:04:42,443
don't feel bad, strong
confidence is black confidence,
1314
01:04:42,443 --> 01:04:44,608
you understand, you
make them re-integrated
1315
01:04:44,608 --> 01:04:46,813
with black folks, you
know what I'm saying?
1316
01:04:46,813 --> 01:04:48,050
So now he feels proud,
1317
01:04:48,050 --> 01:04:49,788
now he's not begging no more.
1318
01:04:49,788 --> 01:04:51,488
Now he wants to be himself,
he's not worrying you
1319
01:04:51,488 --> 01:04:54,096
no more so he needs some black history
1320
01:04:54,096 --> 01:04:55,769
and he needs some black culture
1321
01:04:55,769 --> 01:04:58,303
so he'll know who he is and be proud
1322
01:04:58,303 --> 01:05:01,650
to be who he is and quit
worrying you so much.
1323
01:05:01,650 --> 01:05:06,650
♪ Oh wherever my man is ♪
1324
01:05:08,308 --> 01:05:10,558
♪ I'm here ♪
1325
01:05:12,648 --> 01:05:15,893
- Diana Ross, Diana Ross,
it was Lady Sings the Blues,
1326
01:05:15,893 --> 01:05:19,327
it came on television
and that was the first
1327
01:05:19,327 --> 01:05:23,028
African American woman that
I saw on TV really doing it.
1328
01:05:23,028 --> 01:05:24,533
- You can't fight it when you're hooked
1329
01:05:24,533 --> 01:05:26,722
and you are hooked.
1330
01:05:26,722 --> 01:05:29,055
(screaming)
1331
01:05:30,215 --> 01:05:32,798
- Give it to me, give it to me.
1332
01:05:34,643 --> 01:05:36,578
- You'd kill me for it, wouldn't you?
1333
01:05:36,578 --> 01:05:39,319
- She is a huge reason
why I'm an actor today.
1334
01:05:39,319 --> 01:05:41,714
- For me it was Paul Robeson
1335
01:05:41,714 --> 01:05:45,986
and he kind of transformed,
he mesmerized me.
1336
01:05:45,986 --> 01:05:50,986
♪ And I go tramp, tramp,
tramping on getting ♪
1337
01:05:51,424 --> 01:05:52,507
I command it.
1338
01:05:53,623 --> 01:05:56,110
He had such a commanding presence.
1339
01:05:56,110 --> 01:05:59,831
I remember him singing Sweet
Lola, Sweet Chariot (laughs)
1340
01:05:59,831 --> 01:06:02,370
in that deep, deep voice resonating.
1341
01:06:02,370 --> 01:06:06,907
- [Agent] This tape will
self-destruct in five seconds.
1342
01:06:06,907 --> 01:06:09,152
- Greg Morris from Mission: Impossible,
1343
01:06:09,152 --> 01:06:13,152
I mean my house was full
of the detective shows.
1344
01:06:14,367 --> 01:06:17,098
- [Narrator] As deep as the
canyons of Manhattan after dark.
1345
01:06:17,098 --> 01:06:18,667
- I'm with you boss.
1346
01:06:18,667 --> 01:06:20,763
- The cowboy shows.
- Four queens.
1347
01:06:20,763 --> 01:06:22,617
(crowd shouts)
- My dad was really
1348
01:06:22,617 --> 01:06:25,958
into that so I do remember
seeing Greg Morris
1349
01:06:25,958 --> 01:06:27,965
and I really like the fact that he was
1350
01:06:27,965 --> 01:06:30,374
such a professional man
and that he was smooth
1351
01:06:30,374 --> 01:06:33,134
and good looking and
he could carry his word
1352
01:06:33,134 --> 01:06:35,954
so well and he was a hero.
1353
01:06:35,954 --> 01:06:38,246
I mean he helped crack a lot of cases.
1354
01:06:38,246 --> 01:06:40,934
And he was respected by
his peers in the business
1355
01:06:40,934 --> 01:06:43,647
of what we saw on television.
1356
01:06:43,647 --> 01:06:46,564
I think that was really impressive.
1357
01:06:48,183 --> 01:06:49,456
- [Narrator] One of the
earliest doors to be opened
1358
01:06:49,456 --> 01:06:53,377
for black talent was opened
with a gun and a badge.
1359
01:06:53,377 --> 01:06:55,675
Television cops became very popular icons
1360
01:06:55,675 --> 01:06:58,410
for black youths, but one in particular,
1361
01:06:58,410 --> 01:07:01,174
a female cop would set the precedence.
1362
01:07:01,174 --> 01:07:04,112
Her name was Christie Love.
1363
01:07:04,112 --> 01:07:06,771
- But what a way to do it!
- I did it?
1364
01:07:06,771 --> 01:07:08,663
I suppose I called down to room service
1365
01:07:08,663 --> 01:07:11,206
and asked them to send up one killer?
1366
01:07:11,206 --> 01:07:14,539
(raucous hip hop music)
1367
01:07:19,675 --> 01:07:20,569
- Christie, you know what you've got?
1368
01:07:20,569 --> 01:07:22,470
You've got hutzpah,
that's what you've got.
1369
01:07:22,470 --> 01:07:25,259
- [Narrator] But black police
heroes didn't end there,
1370
01:07:25,259 --> 01:07:29,159
Clarence Williams III
as Link on Mod Squad.
1371
01:07:29,159 --> 01:07:31,994
- I'm sorry, but my hands are tied.
1372
01:07:31,994 --> 01:07:33,082
- I resign.
1373
01:07:33,082 --> 01:07:35,915
(funky 70s music)
1374
01:07:41,018 --> 01:07:44,483
- [Narrator] George
Sanford Brown on Rookies.
1375
01:07:44,483 --> 01:07:46,539
- We've got to create
an atmosphere of trust
1376
01:07:46,539 --> 01:07:48,360
in the community and you don't do that by
1377
01:07:48,360 --> 01:07:50,953
calling Riker and half the
police force in on this.
1378
01:07:50,953 --> 01:07:52,493
- Mike you made a mistake.
1379
01:07:52,493 --> 01:07:54,639
You get a piece of the
blame, so does Webster,
1380
01:07:54,639 --> 01:07:57,498
do does Gillus, you don't all
the credit when you're right.
1381
01:07:57,498 --> 01:07:59,926
You don't get all the
blame when you're wrong.
1382
01:07:59,926 --> 01:08:03,494
All right where are we
and where are we gonna go?
1383
01:08:03,494 --> 01:08:07,220
- [Narrator] And Greg Morris
on Vegas all wore a badge
1384
01:08:07,220 --> 01:08:11,347
and before there was
NYPD Blue, there was NYPD
1385
01:08:11,347 --> 01:08:14,469
and one of its stars Bobbie Hooks.
1386
01:08:14,469 --> 01:08:17,309
- I was the first black
to co-star as a New York
1387
01:08:17,309 --> 01:08:19,862
police detective in NYPD.
1388
01:08:19,862 --> 01:08:22,694
(funky 70s music)
1389
01:08:25,898 --> 01:08:28,199
It was a wonderful experience for me.
1390
01:08:28,199 --> 01:08:32,760
First of all, there were three
of us starring in the show.
1391
01:08:32,760 --> 01:08:35,142
The New York Police Department
gave us carte blanche
1392
01:08:35,142 --> 01:08:38,644
to use stories out of the files out of the
1393
01:08:38,644 --> 01:08:40,970
New York Police Department so we
1394
01:08:40,970 --> 01:08:45,970
and we shot 80% of the show
on the streets of New York.
1395
01:08:46,961 --> 01:08:49,235
It was a blast, it was wonderful
1396
01:08:49,235 --> 01:08:51,456
because we just went all around New York.
1397
01:08:51,456 --> 01:08:53,449
I remember going into the bank,
1398
01:08:53,449 --> 01:08:55,967
a bank, we were shooting in a bank
1399
01:08:55,967 --> 01:08:59,042
and I remember this little
girl coming up to me,
1400
01:08:59,042 --> 01:09:00,721
asking me for my autograph
1401
01:09:00,721 --> 01:09:03,478
and saying that she wanted to
be in the business and all.
1402
01:09:03,478 --> 01:09:05,823
It turned out it was Whoopie Goldberg.
1403
01:09:05,823 --> 01:09:07,823
It was Whoopie Goldberg.
1404
01:09:15,836 --> 01:09:17,321
- [Narrator] Oddly, some
of the most popular black
1405
01:09:17,321 --> 01:09:20,145
characters of the early 1980s were
1406
01:09:20,145 --> 01:09:23,269
wisecracking black children
adopted into white families.
1407
01:09:23,269 --> 01:09:27,336
The premise of both Webster
and Different Strokes.
1408
01:09:27,336 --> 01:09:29,913
- Wow, it's these black
kids that got out the ghetto
1409
01:09:29,913 --> 01:09:31,810
and they live in a nice house.
1410
01:09:31,810 --> 01:09:33,450
I think that's why it was so popular,
1411
01:09:33,450 --> 01:09:35,700
because every black kid dreamt of that,
1412
01:09:35,700 --> 01:09:38,316
of you know not necessarily
living with a white man,
1413
01:09:38,316 --> 01:09:41,396
but I'm talking about just (laughs)
1414
01:09:41,396 --> 01:09:45,001
but just the whole just
the whole lifestyle
1415
01:09:45,001 --> 01:09:48,167
that Arnold and his brother just lived
1416
01:09:50,101 --> 01:09:51,981
and they were able to just be theirselves
1417
01:09:51,981 --> 01:09:53,852
and though they went through
their trials and tribulations,
1418
01:09:53,852 --> 01:09:56,373
like they still had a good life
1419
01:09:56,373 --> 01:10:00,601
and that was something
that myself I know I wanted
1420
01:10:00,601 --> 01:10:03,077
for myself and my family
1421
01:10:03,077 --> 01:10:05,411
and just TV was that escape.
1422
01:10:06,251 --> 01:10:08,037
- [Narrator] One actor
who weathered the fickle
1423
01:10:08,037 --> 01:10:10,492
viewing audience through three long series
1424
01:10:10,492 --> 01:10:13,762
was the veteran stage
performer Robert Guillaume,
1425
01:10:13,762 --> 01:10:16,493
who first found fame with Soap.
1426
01:10:16,493 --> 01:10:18,481
It was his portrayal of Benson
1427
01:10:18,481 --> 01:10:21,213
which brought him the
affection of America.
1428
01:10:21,213 --> 01:10:22,466
- It was a classic case of the right actor
1429
01:10:22,466 --> 01:10:24,383
meeting the right role,
1430
01:10:25,499 --> 01:10:28,701
because he was written against type.
1431
01:10:28,701 --> 01:10:32,534
He was somebody that if
you had the misfortune
1432
01:10:34,380 --> 01:10:37,380
to have hired you couldn't fire him.
1433
01:10:40,491 --> 01:10:43,342
But it was interesting in the sense
1434
01:10:43,342 --> 01:10:48,002
that I had so many people
in my own background
1435
01:10:48,002 --> 01:10:50,169
who were similar to Benson
1436
01:10:52,121 --> 01:10:55,288
and had a similar attitude about life.
1437
01:10:57,403 --> 01:10:59,893
Benson the character I played
1438
01:10:59,893 --> 01:11:02,726
was a revenge for Mantan Moreland,
1439
01:11:05,059 --> 01:11:07,809
Willie Best and--
- What was that?
1440
01:11:09,963 --> 01:11:11,530
- Oh, nothing.
1441
01:11:11,530 --> 01:11:14,082
- No, well it was probably
just something simple
1442
01:11:14,082 --> 01:11:17,619
like an atom bomb, I'll
go see if it's out front.
1443
01:11:17,619 --> 01:11:19,755
- Rochester.
- Pardon me, boss,
1444
01:11:19,755 --> 01:11:21,696
but could I get confidential for a moment?
1445
01:11:21,696 --> 01:11:23,827
- Stepin Fetchit.
- Fine grab,
1446
01:11:23,827 --> 01:11:26,839
well plague take you, I thought I told you
1447
01:11:26,839 --> 01:11:27,672
to stay away from that vest.
1448
01:11:27,672 --> 01:11:29,430
- Yeah but Jessie got all up on my--
1449
01:11:29,430 --> 01:11:31,534
- Yeah, you got me coat on there too.
1450
01:11:31,534 --> 01:11:33,499
- Yes, but stuffed coat.
- Stuffed coat.
1451
01:11:33,499 --> 01:11:35,873
- I mean possum.
- What do you mean possum?
1452
01:11:35,873 --> 01:11:37,540
- Rabbits.
- Rabbits?
1453
01:11:42,963 --> 01:11:44,629
- [Narrator] When Diahann
Carroll was criticized
1454
01:11:44,629 --> 01:11:47,949
in the 1960s for her
portrayal of the too affluent
1455
01:11:47,949 --> 01:11:50,608
Julia, she was merely
laying the groundwork
1456
01:11:50,608 --> 01:11:52,223
for the acceptance of a series
1457
01:11:52,223 --> 01:11:54,665
that would soon change television.
1458
01:11:54,665 --> 01:11:58,165
- She loved it until people started saying
1459
01:11:59,696 --> 01:12:02,258
she couldn't have been that wealthy
1460
01:12:02,258 --> 01:12:03,550
and she couldn't have done this
1461
01:12:03,550 --> 01:12:06,699
and she couldn't have that
and that was impossible
1462
01:12:06,699 --> 01:12:08,443
and they were treating
her like she was white
1463
01:12:08,443 --> 01:12:11,110
and there were treating her like
1464
01:12:12,085 --> 01:12:14,252
that's the part that hurt.
1465
01:12:15,471 --> 01:12:18,599
That was pitiful, but
whether we realize it or not,
1466
01:12:18,599 --> 01:12:21,766
it made the road easier for Bill Cosby
1467
01:12:23,054 --> 01:12:26,304
to represent an African American doctor
1468
01:12:27,483 --> 01:12:31,066
and an African American
advocate, his wife.
1469
01:12:32,139 --> 01:12:34,557
We were ready to accept then.
1470
01:12:37,202 --> 01:12:39,719
- [Narrator] More people
watched The Cosby Show
1471
01:12:39,719 --> 01:12:44,057
than any other sitcom in
TV history, black or white.
1472
01:12:44,057 --> 01:12:46,781
The program was ranked
number one more times
1473
01:12:46,781 --> 01:12:49,898
than any other since it premiered.
1474
01:12:49,898 --> 01:12:52,655
- My desire to get
involved in the industry
1475
01:12:52,655 --> 01:12:55,688
started with my own
viewing of The Cosby Show,
1476
01:12:55,688 --> 01:12:58,432
which depicted us with honesty and dignity
1477
01:12:58,432 --> 01:13:00,603
and we were depicted as characters
1478
01:13:00,603 --> 01:13:02,063
who had more than one dimension,
1479
01:13:02,063 --> 01:13:05,538
where in previous shows, we
kind of had one dimension.
1480
01:13:05,538 --> 01:13:09,205
We are all broke and
without a lot of goals.
1481
01:13:10,391 --> 01:13:14,246
So it really made me see that
there was something for me
1482
01:13:14,246 --> 01:13:18,579
and that there was something
more to show the world.
1483
01:13:20,409 --> 01:13:22,963
- [Narrator] Then Cosby
brought A Different World
1484
01:13:22,963 --> 01:13:26,261
to the television screen and
revealed another dimension
1485
01:13:26,261 --> 01:13:31,039
to the black experience,
life at an all black college.
1486
01:13:31,039 --> 01:13:34,218
- As a result of the positive
images that were depicted
1487
01:13:34,218 --> 01:13:36,844
on A Different World and
the positive experiences
1488
01:13:36,844 --> 01:13:39,733
that we were depicting
in the college setting,
1489
01:13:39,733 --> 01:13:42,032
college enrollment of
African Americans went up
1490
01:13:42,032 --> 01:13:44,179
significantly, significantly during
1491
01:13:44,179 --> 01:13:47,335
the run of that show and beyond.
1492
01:13:47,335 --> 01:13:50,375
It makes me feel wonderful
to have been a part of that.
1493
01:13:50,375 --> 01:13:51,612
A lot of people starting naming their kids
1494
01:13:51,612 --> 01:13:53,070
after the characters
too, so they were really
1495
01:13:53,070 --> 01:13:56,507
paying attention, they made it personal.
1496
01:13:56,507 --> 01:13:59,753
I mean it was personal
for a lot of people.
1497
01:13:59,753 --> 01:14:03,003
- Whitney to me was that she was stuck.
1498
01:14:03,886 --> 01:14:05,808
She was black, but she
didn't grow up around
1499
01:14:05,808 --> 01:14:09,074
the culture, so she had
racial identity problems
1500
01:14:09,074 --> 01:14:10,952
when she got to school
1501
01:14:10,952 --> 01:14:13,616
and the only way I justified in my heart
1502
01:14:13,616 --> 01:14:15,934
playing that character was the balance
1503
01:14:15,934 --> 01:14:19,469
that the rest of the ensemble
gave to that character
1504
01:14:19,469 --> 01:14:20,969
because on her own
1505
01:14:22,469 --> 01:14:25,826
I would have really hated playing Whitney
1506
01:14:25,826 --> 01:14:29,151
and perpetuating the yellow girl
1507
01:14:29,151 --> 01:14:31,984
pretentious myth that precedes us.
1508
01:14:36,351 --> 01:14:38,237
Marissa Tomei and Lisa Bonet
1509
01:14:38,237 --> 01:14:42,105
were in the first season,
Charnele Brown played Kim,
1510
01:14:42,105 --> 01:14:44,163
Whitney's roommate who was pre-med
1511
01:14:44,163 --> 01:14:46,996
and very solid, very solid person.
1512
01:14:49,023 --> 01:14:51,692
Kadeem Hardison played Dwayne Wayne,
1513
01:14:51,692 --> 01:14:53,692
Sinbad was the PE coach,
1514
01:14:54,880 --> 01:14:57,913
Cree Summer was Freddie, the kind of
1515
01:14:57,913 --> 01:15:02,250
free-spirited hippie-type
character which I loved
1516
01:15:02,250 --> 01:15:06,000
and Glynn Turman was a
teacher at the school.
1517
01:15:07,011 --> 01:15:10,047
- It showed what college
life could be like
1518
01:15:10,047 --> 01:15:12,047
and kids wanted that and
1519
01:15:15,296 --> 01:15:18,320
as a result to this day
and the show has been off
1520
01:15:18,320 --> 01:15:21,045
the air for 10 years as we speak,
1521
01:15:21,045 --> 01:15:24,471
although the re-runs have never left.
1522
01:15:24,471 --> 01:15:28,925
Another generation is still
addressing me as Colonel Taylor.
1523
01:15:28,925 --> 01:15:31,175
So it was a wonderful show.
1524
01:15:32,119 --> 01:15:37,119
It was always in the top five
for the six years that it ran.
1525
01:15:37,585 --> 01:15:40,134
(funky music)
1526
01:15:40,134 --> 01:15:42,186
- [Narrator] In 1984,
the world fell in love
1527
01:15:42,186 --> 01:15:44,816
with a grown-up Michael
Jackson when he moonwalked
1528
01:15:44,816 --> 01:15:48,644
across the stage of the
Emmy-winning Motown 25,
1529
01:15:48,644 --> 01:15:51,499
but the path that brought the
special to the small screen
1530
01:15:51,499 --> 01:15:54,916
wasn't as graceful as the new dance move.
1531
01:15:55,884 --> 01:15:58,407
- Motown 25 was very difficult to get done
1532
01:15:58,407 --> 01:16:01,157
because actually in the beginning
1533
01:16:02,593 --> 01:16:04,831
when I first suggested it to Berry Gordy,
1534
01:16:04,831 --> 01:16:09,053
he was not even convinced
that it was a good idea.
1535
01:16:09,053 --> 01:16:12,212
I had grown up in Motown and
I felt very strongly about it
1536
01:16:12,212 --> 01:16:17,125
and eventually we were able to
get people to come on board.
1537
01:16:17,125 --> 01:16:19,757
One of the more interesting
things that I think happened
1538
01:16:19,757 --> 01:16:23,249
in putting that show together
was we're in rehearsal
1539
01:16:23,249 --> 01:16:27,416
and I get a letter from
Michael Jackson's attorney
1540
01:16:30,255 --> 01:16:35,173
that in essence said you are
forbidden to tape Billie Jean.
1541
01:16:36,833 --> 01:16:40,175
I had just seen him and I
thought well that's stupid.
1542
01:16:40,175 --> 01:16:41,619
So I went to Michael and I said
1543
01:16:41,619 --> 01:16:45,702
essentially look we'll
tape it, you can come into
1544
01:16:46,813 --> 01:16:50,125
the editing room and in the
end if you don't like it,
1545
01:16:50,125 --> 01:16:52,553
we won't use it, he did
come to the editing room
1546
01:16:52,553 --> 01:16:57,553
and was very instrumental in
how we put that piece together.
1547
01:16:58,441 --> 01:17:01,441
Needless to say that that one moment
1548
01:17:03,313 --> 01:17:07,063
of Billie Jean in his
career was so impactful
1549
01:17:10,618 --> 01:17:13,785
the day before he was Michael Jackson,
1550
01:17:17,534 --> 01:17:19,945
certainly a superstar, certainly someone
1551
01:17:19,945 --> 01:17:24,195
we had all admired, but by
the time the show aired,
1552
01:17:25,362 --> 01:17:28,949
he was in another category altogether
1553
01:17:28,949 --> 01:17:30,532
and one by himself.
1554
01:17:31,511 --> 01:17:33,895
- [Narrator] Tim Reid is another actor
1555
01:17:33,895 --> 01:17:36,862
who survived three long running series,
1556
01:17:36,862 --> 01:17:41,362
WKRP in Cincinnati, Simon
and Simon and Sister Sister,
1557
01:17:42,532 --> 01:17:44,496
but it was his next
series that brought him
1558
01:17:44,496 --> 01:17:46,955
the recognition that befitted him.
1559
01:17:46,955 --> 01:17:51,561
- Frank's Place, it was a
wonderful, wonderful series.
1560
01:17:51,561 --> 01:17:55,477
I was happy with all the
characters that were in it.
1561
01:17:55,477 --> 01:17:59,059
I was happy with the
dignity of the comedy.
1562
01:18:01,017 --> 01:18:03,767
It actually is comedy with class.
1563
01:18:05,189 --> 01:18:08,197
- Tim is so deceptively smart.
1564
01:18:08,197 --> 01:18:10,733
I think a lot of people just
considered him a comedian.
1565
01:18:10,733 --> 01:18:12,968
He's a brilliant man,
he's a very brilliant man,
1566
01:18:12,968 --> 01:18:17,242
well-educated man, when he
was doing Venus Fly Trap
1567
01:18:17,242 --> 01:18:21,171
and WKRP in Cincinnati, if you'll notice,
1568
01:18:21,171 --> 01:18:24,004
he dressed like the times the era,
1569
01:18:25,889 --> 01:18:28,099
super fly all that funny looking stuff,
1570
01:18:28,099 --> 01:18:31,753
but never once did you
see him acting like that.
1571
01:18:31,753 --> 01:18:34,055
He was simply a man who dressed like that.
1572
01:18:34,055 --> 01:18:38,222
There was nothing stereotypical
about his actions.
1573
01:18:39,155 --> 01:18:41,859
His dress was stereotypical,
but not about his
1574
01:18:41,859 --> 01:18:45,883
he was just as regular as
a guy in a suit and tie.
1575
01:18:45,883 --> 01:18:47,719
(funky music)
1576
01:18:47,719 --> 01:18:49,739
- [Narrator] But a small
apartment in Chicago
1577
01:18:49,739 --> 01:18:51,554
with a distinctive address would set
1578
01:18:51,554 --> 01:18:56,107
the high water mark for both
black television and NBC.
1579
01:18:56,107 --> 01:18:58,652
- 227 was a play by Christie Houston
1580
01:18:58,652 --> 01:19:01,255
who came from Chicago as I did,
1581
01:19:01,255 --> 01:19:03,597
who grew up in a neighborhood like mine.
1582
01:19:03,597 --> 01:19:06,264
227 was the address of the building
1583
01:19:06,264 --> 01:19:07,994
that she grew up in
1584
01:19:07,994 --> 01:19:10,428
and these were all the
things that happened
1585
01:19:10,428 --> 01:19:12,482
during that time in that building.
1586
01:19:12,482 --> 01:19:13,901
Brenda Tartakoff came to the play.
1587
01:19:13,901 --> 01:19:15,257
Norman Lear came to the play.
1588
01:19:15,257 --> 01:19:16,646
ABC came to the play.
1589
01:19:16,646 --> 01:19:19,029
CBS came to the play.
1590
01:19:19,029 --> 01:19:22,850
And my daughter said she was producer,
1591
01:19:22,850 --> 01:19:24,793
she said you should think about
1592
01:19:24,793 --> 01:19:26,673
getting the rights to this play.
1593
01:19:26,673 --> 01:19:29,005
NBC was still interested
and they still saw it
1594
01:19:29,005 --> 01:19:32,505
as a series, so that's how that came about
1595
01:19:33,348 --> 01:19:36,284
and we had five good years.
1596
01:19:36,284 --> 01:19:37,760
- They'll never play the Rambos
1597
01:19:37,760 --> 01:19:39,833
until they stop playing the Sambo.
1598
01:19:39,833 --> 01:19:41,987
(screams)
1599
01:19:41,987 --> 01:19:44,049
- [Narrator] Young African
Americans then began
1600
01:19:44,049 --> 01:19:46,367
working behind the television camera,
1601
01:19:46,367 --> 01:19:49,860
devising their own shows,
using their own humor
1602
01:19:49,860 --> 01:19:52,081
and television in black starting finder
1603
01:19:52,081 --> 01:19:55,253
its own brighter images from within.
1604
01:19:55,253 --> 01:19:57,590
- The very first TV show that I did
1605
01:19:57,590 --> 01:20:01,826
was actually the Robert
Townsend HBO specials.
1606
01:20:01,826 --> 01:20:04,004
They were all called Partners in Crime
1607
01:20:04,004 --> 01:20:06,019
and they were one through five
1608
01:20:06,019 --> 01:20:09,889
and I did that as a
result of working with him
1609
01:20:09,889 --> 01:20:13,084
on his first movie Hollywood Shuffle.
1610
01:20:13,084 --> 01:20:14,739
- What's the line?
- I ain't be
1611
01:20:14,739 --> 01:20:17,597
gotten no weapons.
- Ah, I ain't be
1612
01:20:17,597 --> 01:20:19,097
gotten no weapons.
1613
01:20:20,190 --> 01:20:24,109
- My first TV work was Robert
Townsend's Partner in Crime
1614
01:20:24,109 --> 01:20:26,279
I can say, you know that's the first time
1615
01:20:26,279 --> 01:20:29,161
that I did any sketches,
any type of standup on TV,
1616
01:20:29,161 --> 01:20:32,162
although I did Star Search
for like one quick second,
1617
01:20:32,162 --> 01:20:34,000
it was like he's got one star.
1618
01:20:34,000 --> 01:20:36,916
(calm piano music)
1619
01:20:38,895 --> 01:20:42,179
My first solid job in
television was In Living Color
1620
01:20:42,179 --> 01:20:46,679
and boy I'm proud to be a
part of that starting seven.
1621
01:20:47,896 --> 01:20:49,300
- I had a really strong sense of pride
1622
01:20:49,300 --> 01:20:53,255
about In Living Color, just because it was
1623
01:20:53,255 --> 01:20:55,532
us who created it,
1624
01:20:55,532 --> 01:20:57,782
it was a real special time,
1625
01:21:00,237 --> 01:21:03,050
it was something that was really new.
1626
01:21:03,050 --> 01:21:05,108
Saturday Night Live had
been around for a while,
1627
01:21:05,108 --> 01:21:06,830
but this was something
that was totally different,
1628
01:21:06,830 --> 01:21:09,405
had a different sensibility
and it was one of the first
1629
01:21:09,405 --> 01:21:14,405
shows that I worked on that
just blew up really, really big.
1630
01:21:16,349 --> 01:21:18,674
- I actually auditioned
to be a cast member,
1631
01:21:18,674 --> 01:21:20,939
but they hired Chris Rock
1632
01:21:20,939 --> 01:21:23,862
and then they had more
auditions and they hired
1633
01:21:23,862 --> 01:21:25,925
Tim Meadows and then I guess they thought
1634
01:21:25,925 --> 01:21:29,940
hmm, well we need somebody
to write for them.
1635
01:21:29,940 --> 01:21:31,857
And then they hired me.
1636
01:21:33,440 --> 01:21:37,255
- Fresh Prince, I think the
cast made it really special.
1637
01:21:37,255 --> 01:21:40,971
I think Will Smith had
something a charisma
1638
01:21:40,971 --> 01:21:43,127
that can't be denied, which is we all see
1639
01:21:43,127 --> 01:21:45,210
what's happened with him.
1640
01:21:46,083 --> 01:21:49,255
- Living Single was the first sitcom
1641
01:21:49,255 --> 01:21:51,916
about young people trying to make sense
1642
01:21:51,916 --> 01:21:54,648
of love and life in the big city.
1643
01:21:54,648 --> 01:21:56,643
It was the very first.
1644
01:21:56,643 --> 01:21:58,241
All the other ensemble comedies
1645
01:21:58,241 --> 01:22:02,013
were either about families
or about other people,
1646
01:22:02,013 --> 01:22:04,422
people in their 40s, like on Cheers,
1647
01:22:04,422 --> 01:22:06,387
they were in their 40s and 50s
1648
01:22:06,387 --> 01:22:09,684
and Living Single was really the first
1649
01:22:09,684 --> 01:22:12,952
out of all of your young hip urban sitcoms
1650
01:22:12,952 --> 01:22:16,437
and I'm proud to be
able to say I was there.
1651
01:22:16,437 --> 01:22:19,499
- I did Living Single
and after Living Single
1652
01:22:19,499 --> 01:22:24,082
I had my own show on NBC for
about maybe four episodes.
1653
01:22:25,393 --> 01:22:28,643
It's called Built to Last oddly enough.
1654
01:22:29,755 --> 01:22:32,700
And then reunited with Robert Townsend,
1655
01:22:32,700 --> 01:22:36,032
I ran the The Parent 'Hood, then Moesha.
1656
01:22:37,285 --> 01:22:40,330
- 40 Love was again just my attempt
1657
01:22:40,330 --> 01:22:43,813
to chronicle my life and
those of the people around me
1658
01:22:43,813 --> 01:22:47,184
taking it the next stage
after Living Single
1659
01:22:47,184 --> 01:22:49,184
which was being married.
1660
01:22:50,911 --> 01:22:53,941
- Bernie Mac is somebody's uncle.
1661
01:22:53,941 --> 01:22:55,684
He's a million people's uncle.
1662
01:22:55,684 --> 01:22:57,681
I got an uncle just like Bernie Mac.
1663
01:22:57,681 --> 01:22:58,924
You know people say Bernie's so fun,
1664
01:22:58,924 --> 01:23:02,126
he reminds of my uncle with this thing.
1665
01:23:02,126 --> 01:23:05,865
Well I don't know that
a lot of white folks
1666
01:23:05,865 --> 01:23:08,010
have an uncle like Bernie,
1667
01:23:08,010 --> 01:23:12,343
so they can look at Bernie
and be like what is this?
1668
01:23:17,146 --> 01:23:20,295
- Girlfriends we deal with
the female relationships
1669
01:23:20,295 --> 01:23:22,273
and we just happen to be black
1670
01:23:22,273 --> 01:23:23,527
and I love the fact
1671
01:23:23,527 --> 01:23:27,110
I have whites, I have
Latinos, Asian people
1672
01:23:29,161 --> 01:23:31,246
coming up to me saying
that they love the show
1673
01:23:31,246 --> 01:23:34,036
because we deal with women's issues.
1674
01:23:34,036 --> 01:23:36,916
We just happen to be African
Americans on the show
1675
01:23:36,916 --> 01:23:41,050
and also too we were
talking one day at work
1676
01:23:41,050 --> 01:23:43,147
about the word crossover.
1677
01:23:43,147 --> 01:23:45,376
They consider our show a crossover show
1678
01:23:45,376 --> 01:23:47,094
and I think that's a positive thing,
1679
01:23:47,094 --> 01:23:50,511
because when I hear
crossover, I think that
1680
01:23:50,511 --> 01:23:54,111
people can identify with the show.
1681
01:23:54,111 --> 01:23:56,634
- I think on Steve Harvey,
they wanted us to try
1682
01:23:56,634 --> 01:23:59,431
to open up the audience
and we actually had
1683
01:23:59,431 --> 01:24:02,388
a diverse cast, we never
got any credit for it,
1684
01:24:02,388 --> 01:24:05,664
but (laughs) because I think when you have
1685
01:24:05,664 --> 01:24:07,708
a black lead in the show
then you're perceived
1686
01:24:07,708 --> 01:24:11,791
as a black show and you're
perceived differently.
1687
01:24:13,184 --> 01:24:14,870
- [Narrator] Diversity in TV drama
1688
01:24:14,870 --> 01:24:17,537
has thrived in ensemble casting.
1689
01:24:18,439 --> 01:24:22,305
- Ah man, you know being a
part of that show LA Law,
1690
01:24:22,305 --> 01:24:24,728
and I've said it before,
but it's very true,
1691
01:24:24,728 --> 01:24:27,978
it has impacted my life
it did and continues
1692
01:24:27,978 --> 01:24:31,213
to impact my life because
of the doors it opened
1693
01:24:31,213 --> 01:24:35,380
at that time because of
the exposure of that show.
1694
01:24:36,861 --> 01:24:40,143
- Blair Underwood because
of his presence on LA Law
1695
01:24:40,143 --> 01:24:43,331
had graduated what we were used to seeing
1696
01:24:43,331 --> 01:24:47,159
and he was intelligent, he was attractive.
1697
01:24:47,159 --> 01:24:48,409
He had presence
1698
01:24:49,913 --> 01:24:53,496
and he put us more in
the equality category
1699
01:24:56,588 --> 01:24:58,589
because he was a man who was an attorney
1700
01:24:58,589 --> 01:25:00,492
who was doing things and so
1701
01:25:00,492 --> 01:25:02,749
and you wanted to see more of him,
1702
01:25:02,749 --> 01:25:06,499
so that was actually
very encouraging for me.
1703
01:25:08,809 --> 01:25:10,157
- [Narrator] Black drama continues
1704
01:25:10,157 --> 01:25:12,523
its struggle to gain ground.
1705
01:25:12,523 --> 01:25:14,559
- I was on this show called City of Angels
1706
01:25:14,559 --> 01:25:17,880
which was a black drama,
which I actually watched
1707
01:25:17,880 --> 01:25:21,443
and I don't know why there
aren't any black dramas.
1708
01:25:21,443 --> 01:25:23,080
- A CBS executive once told me
1709
01:25:23,080 --> 01:25:25,663
that TV series, dramatic series
1710
01:25:27,197 --> 01:25:29,201
with Lou Gossett and James Earl Jones
1711
01:25:29,201 --> 01:25:30,376
had both been canceled.
1712
01:25:30,376 --> 01:25:32,554
They had both premiered in
the early 80s the same year
1713
01:25:32,554 --> 01:25:34,571
because a segment of the population
1714
01:25:34,571 --> 01:25:37,019
was uncomfortable seeing the black male
1715
01:25:37,019 --> 01:25:39,317
in positions of authority.
1716
01:25:39,317 --> 01:25:41,853
- And when you go to the studio root,
1717
01:25:41,853 --> 01:25:45,501
many different things, everybody lifts up
1718
01:25:45,501 --> 01:25:49,418
that two word beast and
it says the bottom line
1719
01:25:50,903 --> 01:25:53,335
and it's all about what
makes the bottom line
1720
01:25:53,335 --> 01:25:55,067
and the money.
- I think it's hard
1721
01:25:55,067 --> 01:25:57,877
to get black-themed shows on TV
1722
01:25:57,877 --> 01:26:00,097
because there aren't enough black people
1723
01:26:00,097 --> 01:26:04,145
making the decisions
about what goes on TV.
1724
01:26:04,145 --> 01:26:07,048
- [Narrator] In 1980, Black
Entertainment Television
1725
01:26:07,048 --> 01:26:10,233
premiered, it was a cultural
phenomenon that could
1726
01:26:10,233 --> 01:26:13,491
have changed the image
of television in black.
1727
01:26:13,491 --> 01:26:16,047
- It was this force that you could feel
1728
01:26:16,047 --> 01:26:18,062
even before you could see it.
1729
01:26:18,062 --> 01:26:20,005
- We went on and sang
acapella for the first time.
1730
01:26:20,005 --> 01:26:25,005
♪ Can you tell me how a
perfect love goes wrong ♪
1731
01:26:27,462 --> 01:26:28,763
It was cool man because
one thing in the ghetto
1732
01:26:28,763 --> 01:26:31,583
if you don't have any
channel, you got BET,
1733
01:26:31,583 --> 01:26:33,755
you know what I'm saying so
we made sure that everybody
1734
01:26:33,755 --> 01:26:35,683
we knew taped it so when we got back
1735
01:26:35,683 --> 01:26:37,987
we had tapes for everybody
like I was on that show,
1736
01:26:37,987 --> 01:26:39,794
I was on that show.
1737
01:26:39,794 --> 01:26:41,022
- [Narrator] Despite its popularity
1738
01:26:41,022 --> 01:26:43,572
in the black community, sales were low.
1739
01:26:43,572 --> 01:26:47,155
- Broadcast television,
ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox,
1740
01:26:48,103 --> 01:26:51,270
they deliver audiences to advertisers.
1741
01:26:52,833 --> 01:26:57,330
Paid television, HBO,
Showtime delivers subscribers,
1742
01:26:57,330 --> 01:26:59,644
BET Black Entertainment Television,
1743
01:26:59,644 --> 01:27:03,541
a year ago they were earning
only $60,000 in revenues
1744
01:27:03,541 --> 01:27:07,281
per prime time hour, that's
what a broadcast network,
1745
01:27:07,281 --> 01:27:11,198
even a UPN or a WB they
get that more than that
1746
01:27:13,914 --> 01:27:16,092
for a 30 second spot.
1747
01:27:16,092 --> 01:27:19,371
- [Narrator] BET was
sold in Viacom in 2000.
1748
01:27:19,371 --> 01:27:20,973
- I hear people criticizing Bob Johnson
1749
01:27:20,973 --> 01:27:25,973
for selling BET, why is there
not another BET coming about?
1750
01:27:26,516 --> 01:27:29,933
Why do we have not the production houses?
1751
01:27:30,874 --> 01:27:32,850
You know you look around
and you see the athletes,
1752
01:27:32,850 --> 01:27:35,657
and I'm not trying to
spend anybody else's money,
1753
01:27:35,657 --> 01:27:39,279
but you know you would figure that
1754
01:27:39,279 --> 01:27:42,112
at some point we would say enough.
1755
01:27:45,325 --> 01:27:46,327
- They said to get a laugh
1756
01:27:46,327 --> 01:27:48,371
you can't be afraid to act like a fool.
1757
01:27:48,371 --> 01:27:49,585
- [Narrator] There are those who believe
1758
01:27:49,585 --> 01:27:52,834
the 50 years of television in
black has come full circle,
1759
01:27:52,834 --> 01:27:55,192
that buffoonery is still rampant.
1760
01:27:55,192 --> 01:27:57,264
Others believe that it
is all a work in progress
1761
01:27:57,264 --> 01:28:01,547
down the long road of
entertainment and equality.
1762
01:28:01,547 --> 01:28:04,493
- Well I think that probably
if we're gonna be honest
1763
01:28:04,493 --> 01:28:07,623
the majority of the images of black people
1764
01:28:07,623 --> 01:28:10,302
on television in comedy over the years
1765
01:28:10,302 --> 01:28:13,795
has been Calhoun in one way or another.
1766
01:28:13,795 --> 01:28:14,991
- I don't think there are great sitcoms,
1767
01:28:14,991 --> 01:28:17,949
but I do think there's
a buffoon on every show,
1768
01:28:17,949 --> 01:28:19,937
be it white or black, but
there is always somebody
1769
01:28:19,937 --> 01:28:22,947
looking at them going what,
what are you talking about?
1770
01:28:22,947 --> 01:28:27,222
- You have prominent black
people on television,
1771
01:28:27,222 --> 01:28:30,044
but a lot of the times
you do see the stereotype
1772
01:28:30,044 --> 01:28:32,057
and that's what people think that we are.
1773
01:28:32,057 --> 01:28:34,057
That's a part of us too,
1774
01:28:35,393 --> 01:28:36,969
but there's just so much more.
1775
01:28:36,969 --> 01:28:38,827
We are not one dimensional.
1776
01:28:38,827 --> 01:28:40,264
- We are not a monolith.
1777
01:28:40,264 --> 01:28:41,700
And that's the truth that needs to be told
1778
01:28:41,700 --> 01:28:43,607
over and over and over again.
1779
01:28:43,607 --> 01:28:44,885
There are all different kinds of people.
1780
01:28:44,885 --> 01:28:47,053
There are all different
kinds of black people
1781
01:28:47,053 --> 01:28:49,737
and the world needs to know that.
1782
01:28:49,737 --> 01:28:51,550
- I will be glad when the day comes
1783
01:28:51,550 --> 01:28:54,707
when we don't have to
include race in something
1784
01:28:54,707 --> 01:28:56,655
for it be considered black programming,
1785
01:28:56,655 --> 01:28:58,094
when we could just tell a story,
1786
01:28:58,094 --> 01:29:00,972
when we could have a conversation.
1787
01:29:00,972 --> 01:29:03,130
That to me is a great day,
1788
01:29:03,130 --> 01:29:04,978
but there are a lot of black
people who are against that.
1789
01:29:04,978 --> 01:29:06,330
A lot of black people think
1790
01:29:06,330 --> 01:29:07,753
black people should only
be talking about issues
1791
01:29:07,753 --> 01:29:08,989
pertaining to their blackness
1792
01:29:08,989 --> 01:29:11,907
and I'm a lot of things,
one of which is black,
1793
01:29:11,907 --> 01:29:13,264
an important one of which is black,
1794
01:29:13,264 --> 01:29:14,269
but I'm a lot of things.
1795
01:29:14,269 --> 01:29:16,391
I'm a Christian, I'm a
man, I'm a Californian,
1796
01:29:16,391 --> 01:29:19,630
all of these are me, why
should I take one aspect of me?
1797
01:29:19,630 --> 01:29:20,728
That's like doing
everything about the fact
1798
01:29:20,728 --> 01:29:22,126
that I'm from California.
1799
01:29:22,126 --> 01:29:23,282
That would be ridiculous.
1800
01:29:23,282 --> 01:29:25,171
It's just as ridiculous to say everything
1801
01:29:25,171 --> 01:29:28,202
out of my mouth should
pertain to my blackness.
1802
01:29:28,202 --> 01:29:29,452
I don't get it.
1803
01:29:30,353 --> 01:29:33,186
(calm jazz music)
1804
01:29:37,398 --> 01:29:39,041
- [Narrator] Television
in black has indeed
1805
01:29:39,041 --> 01:29:41,107
been a long strange dance.
1806
01:29:41,107 --> 01:29:44,119
It has never been as simple
as just black and white.
1807
01:29:44,119 --> 01:29:45,651
It never can be.
1808
01:29:45,651 --> 01:29:48,172
There were monumental talents
who struggled in silence
1809
01:29:48,172 --> 01:29:50,664
and whose work has been half forgotten.
1810
01:29:50,664 --> 01:29:53,705
Looking back, we know they made us laugh,
1811
01:29:53,705 --> 01:29:56,965
often tugged at our hearts,
always enriched the legacy
1812
01:29:56,965 --> 01:30:00,183
and truly changed American culture.
1813
01:30:00,183 --> 01:30:03,011
- The first 50 years were
1814
01:30:03,011 --> 01:30:06,862
the hardest most definitely in Hollywood.
1815
01:30:06,862 --> 01:30:09,945
(calm hip hop music)
1816
01:30:56,937 --> 01:30:59,770
(Multicom Jingle)
146711
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