By Susan King
Audra McDonald is the most lauded Broadway performer winning a whopping six Tony Awards in both musical and dramatic categories. And she may be receiving her seventh for the revival of “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair du Lune” when the 74th annual Tonys take place Sept. 26th at the venerable Winter Garden Theatre.
Despite that record, it took a long time for Black artists to be acknowledged by the Tonys, which were first handed out in 1947. It wasn’t until 2004 that a Black actress won for a lead performance in a play: Phylicia Rashad broke this barrier with her win for a revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.” Hansberry was the first Black artist to be nominated for Best Play in 1960 for the original production of “A Raisin in the Sun” as were its director Lloyd Richards and stars, Sidney Poitier and Claudia McNeil.
Audra McDonald is the most lauded Broadway performer winning a whopping six Tony Awards in both musical and dramatic categories. And she may be receiving her seventh for the revival of “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair du Lune” when the 74th annual Tonys take place Sept. 26th at the venerable Winter Garden Theatre.
Despite that record, it took a long time for Black artists to be acknowledged by the Tonys, which were first handed out in 1947. It wasn’t until 2004 that a Black actress won for a lead performance in a play: Phylicia Rashad broke this barrier with her win for a revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.” Hansberry was the first Black artist to be nominated for Best Play in 1960 for the original production of “A Raisin in the Sun” as were its director Lloyd Richards and stars, Sidney Poitier and Claudia McNeil.
- 9/3/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Like Best Actress at the Oscars, only one black performer has won Best Film Drama Actress at the Golden Globes. But that could change this year if Viola Davis (“Widows”) pulls off a victory.
The actress is currently in second place in our odds, behind just Glenn Close (“The Wife”), to join Whoopi Goldberg as the only black thespians to win this category; Goldberg took home the award for “The Color Purple” (1985).
A former nominee for “The Help” (2011), Davis would also be the second black actress to receive multiple nominations in the category following Halle Berry, who contended for “Monster’s Ball” (2001) and “Frankie and Alice” (2010). Davis, Berry and Goldberg are just three of eight black actresses who’ve been shortlisted in Best Film Drama Actress, along with Claudia McNeil, Diana Ross, Cicely Tyson, Gabourey Sidibe and Ruth Negga.
See London Film Festival 2018: Viola Davis steals scenes in Steve McQueen...
The actress is currently in second place in our odds, behind just Glenn Close (“The Wife”), to join Whoopi Goldberg as the only black thespians to win this category; Goldberg took home the award for “The Color Purple” (1985).
A former nominee for “The Help” (2011), Davis would also be the second black actress to receive multiple nominations in the category following Halle Berry, who contended for “Monster’s Ball” (2001) and “Frankie and Alice” (2010). Davis, Berry and Goldberg are just three of eight black actresses who’ve been shortlisted in Best Film Drama Actress, along with Claudia McNeil, Diana Ross, Cicely Tyson, Gabourey Sidibe and Ruth Negga.
See London Film Festival 2018: Viola Davis steals scenes in Steve McQueen...
- 10/17/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
1965: Four new daytime soap operas premiered: Morning
Star and Paradise Bay on NBC, along with The Nurses and
Never Too Young on ABC."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1962: Primetime serial The Nurses premiered on CBS. The was titled was changed to The Doctors and The Nurses a year later.
1965: Two new Ted Corday daytime soap operas, Morning Star and Paradise Bay, premiered on NBC. Both shows lasted less than a year, with the final episodes airing on July 1, 1966.
1965: The Nurses premiered on ABC. The show, set at Alden General Hospital, was a daytime continuation...
Star and Paradise Bay on NBC, along with The Nurses and
Never Too Young on ABC."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1962: Primetime serial The Nurses premiered on CBS. The was titled was changed to The Doctors and The Nurses a year later.
1965: Two new Ted Corday daytime soap operas, Morning Star and Paradise Bay, premiered on NBC. Both shows lasted less than a year, with the final episodes airing on July 1, 1966.
1965: The Nurses premiered on ABC. The show, set at Alden General Hospital, was a daytime continuation...
- 10/3/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Stars: Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Louis Gossett Jr, Ivan Dixon | Written by Lorraine Hansberry | Directed by Daniel Petrie
In the early 1960s, in a Chicago ghetto apartment, a black family is on the cusp of great change. It’s all because of an insurance cheque that the grandmother is about to receive. Ten thousand dollars – but what to do with it? She wants to buy a bigger home to contain three generations of her family. Her son, Walt (Sidney Poitier), the passionate patriarch, is thinking bigger. He doesn’t want to hide in the suburbs; he wants to push forward the fate of the “coloured” man.
The arguments over the purpose of the windfall are the maguffin to the real regrets and resentments hiding just below the surface of this borderline impoverished family. Walt’s wife, Ruth (Ruby Dee), is caught between two worlds: the hope...
In the early 1960s, in a Chicago ghetto apartment, a black family is on the cusp of great change. It’s all because of an insurance cheque that the grandmother is about to receive. Ten thousand dollars – but what to do with it? She wants to buy a bigger home to contain three generations of her family. Her son, Walt (Sidney Poitier), the passionate patriarch, is thinking bigger. He doesn’t want to hide in the suburbs; he wants to push forward the fate of the “coloured” man.
The arguments over the purpose of the windfall are the maguffin to the real regrets and resentments hiding just below the surface of this borderline impoverished family. Walt’s wife, Ruth (Ruby Dee), is caught between two worlds: the hope...
- 10/2/2018
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
Lorraine Hansberry’s play has been given a masterful film adaptation, with the emotional truth of her words left intact. We’re told of some superficial compromises, but they do not diminish the play’s powerful clash between old and new ideas in a Southside Chicago family struggling to escape poverty. This may be Sidney Poitier’s best screen performance, but the honors are shared with a superlative cast.
A Raisin in the Sun
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 945
1961 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 128 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 25, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Ivan Dixon, John Fiedler, Louis Gossett Jr., Stephen Perry, Joel Fluellen, Louis Terrel, Roy Glenn.
Cinematography: Charles Lawton Jr.
Film Editors: William A. Lyon, Paul Weatherwax
Original Music: Laurence Rosenthal
Written by Lorraine Hansberry, from her play
Produced by David Susskind, Philip Rose
Directed by Daniel Petrie
In more than...
A Raisin in the Sun
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 945
1961 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 128 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 25, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Ivan Dixon, John Fiedler, Louis Gossett Jr., Stephen Perry, Joel Fluellen, Louis Terrel, Roy Glenn.
Cinematography: Charles Lawton Jr.
Film Editors: William A. Lyon, Paul Weatherwax
Original Music: Laurence Rosenthal
Written by Lorraine Hansberry, from her play
Produced by David Susskind, Philip Rose
Directed by Daniel Petrie
In more than...
- 9/29/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In October, the entertainment industry lost a powerful friend, Richard Barclay, a celebrated singer/actor and producer/director who passed away after an eight-month battle with pancreatic cancer. On May 26, Richard Skipper is presenting a celebration of Barclay's life and reuniting two soap opera legends in the progress. The Richard Barclay Memorial show will feature Frank Basile, Julie Budd, Eileen Fulton, Richard Holbrook, Ilene Kristen sharing memories and musical entertainment, led by musical director Rolf Barnes.
The Saturday night show will start at 8 p.m. at Don't Tell Mama in New York (343 W 46th St). There is a $25.00 cover charge and a 2 drink minimum per person. Proceeds will benefit Career Bridges. Reservations can by made after 4 p.m. daily at (212) 757-0788 after 4 Pm or online at donttellmamanyc.com.
Barclay was more than a great artist ... he was a kind, compassionate, and generous mentor.
Richard Barclay started his long career in...
The Saturday night show will start at 8 p.m. at Don't Tell Mama in New York (343 W 46th St). There is a $25.00 cover charge and a 2 drink minimum per person. Proceeds will benefit Career Bridges. Reservations can by made after 4 p.m. daily at (212) 757-0788 after 4 Pm or online at donttellmamanyc.com.
Barclay was more than a great artist ... he was a kind, compassionate, and generous mentor.
Richard Barclay started his long career in...
- 5/3/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
My mother would have preferred a mother more like Beulah Bondi in "It’s a Wonderful Life." My daughters would have preferred a mother more like Susan Sarandon in "Little Women" or Natasha Richardson in "The Parent Trap." Much as I love Barbara Stanwyck in "Stella Dallas" and Claudia McNeil in "Raisin in the Sun," I would have preferred a mother more like Frances McDormand in "Almost Famous" or like Marcia Gay Harden in "Whip It" than the one I had and loved and was more like Debbie Reynolds in Albert Brooks’ "Mother." I’ve been reading Richard Corliss’ "Mom in the Movies," a sprightly survey of cinemamas, as though it were a catalogue of mail-order moms. Read more here.
- 5/10/2014
- by Carrie Rickey
- Thompson on Hollywood
The folks behind the St. Louis Black Film Festival Presents a Classic Black Film Double Feature for Black History Month at Landmark’s Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar in St. Louis’ Loop) each Thursday in February. Last year the St. Louis Black Film Festival presented a series of new films by black filmmakers, but this year are going back into the vaults and digging out some vintage cinema for audiences with an interest in black history to enjoy on the big screen.
The final offerings for festival are screened this Thursday, February 23rd. The movies are A Raisin In The Sun at 5pm and Super Fly at 7pm.
A Raisin In The Sun (1961) is based on the first play on Broadway ever written by a black woman, Lorraine Hansberry and some of the events written in A Raisin In The Sun were experienced by her personally, most particularly her own family’s...
The final offerings for festival are screened this Thursday, February 23rd. The movies are A Raisin In The Sun at 5pm and Super Fly at 7pm.
A Raisin In The Sun (1961) is based on the first play on Broadway ever written by a black woman, Lorraine Hansberry and some of the events written in A Raisin In The Sun were experienced by her personally, most particularly her own family’s...
- 2/21/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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