Summer light fades to gold in Malibu. Surfers carve tasty waves just down the road. A beautiful woman wanders toward the pool house. She crosses paths with a sweet dog heading the opposite way looking for an ear rub.
Diet Cokes are poured at Sean Penn’s house. Small talk is made about how the coffee table in his living room looks like a junk drawer just exploded on it. There are sunglasses, prescription bottles and a device that shoots salt at mosquitoes. Nearby are photos of famous people, all smoking. They are opposite a poster for “A Man Called Adam,” a Sammy Davis Jr. film directed by Leo Penn, Sean’s father.
Another wall holds a frame containing a Ukraine Order of Merit medal. Penn is 63 and dressed in a simple T-shirt and blue jeans. His hair is now a shock of white. He speaks of the United Nations,...
Diet Cokes are poured at Sean Penn’s house. Small talk is made about how the coffee table in his living room looks like a junk drawer just exploded on it. There are sunglasses, prescription bottles and a device that shoots salt at mosquitoes. Nearby are photos of famous people, all smoking. They are opposite a poster for “A Man Called Adam,” a Sammy Davis Jr. film directed by Leo Penn, Sean’s father.
Another wall holds a frame containing a Ukraine Order of Merit medal. Penn is 63 and dressed in a simple T-shirt and blue jeans. His hair is now a shock of white. He speaks of the United Nations,...
- 9/13/2023
- by Stephen Rodrick
- Variety Film + TV
Johnny Brown, the actor, comedian and singer best known for his role as superintendent Nathan Bookman on the popular 70s sitcom “Good Times,” died Wednesday. He was 84 years old.
Brown’s death was confirmed by his daughter, Broadway actress Sharon Catherine Brown, through a post shared on her Instagram. No further details on Brown’s death are available at this time.
“He was literally snatched out of our lives. It’s not real for us yet,” Sharon Catherine Brown wrote. “So there will be more to say but not now. Dad was the absolute best. We love him so very much.”
Prior to his sitcom stardom, Brown was a seasoned entertainment veteran, regularly performing in nightclub acts with his future wife, June Russell. Early in his career he dabbled in recording music, releasing the single “Walkin’, Talkin’, Kissin’ Doll” for Columbia Records in 1961 and “You’re Too Much in Love...
Brown’s death was confirmed by his daughter, Broadway actress Sharon Catherine Brown, through a post shared on her Instagram. No further details on Brown’s death are available at this time.
“He was literally snatched out of our lives. It’s not real for us yet,” Sharon Catherine Brown wrote. “So there will be more to say but not now. Dad was the absolute best. We love him so very much.”
Prior to his sitcom stardom, Brown was a seasoned entertainment veteran, regularly performing in nightclub acts with his future wife, June Russell. Early in his career he dabbled in recording music, releasing the single “Walkin’, Talkin’, Kissin’ Doll” for Columbia Records in 1961 and “You’re Too Much in Love...
- 3/5/2022
- by Wilson Chapman
- Variety Film + TV
Johnny Brown, best known for his role as the housing project superintendent Nathan Bookman on the TV show Good Times and a Laugh-In regular, has died at 84. No cause of death was given by his family, who announced his March 2 death on Instagram.
Daughter and actress Sharon Catherine Brown wrote on Instagram. “Our family is devastated. Devastated. Devastated. Beyond heartbroken. Barely able to breathe.”
Brown had a multi-facted career. He recorded songs and played in a band, appeared on Broadway, and was a television regular, including three seasons as part of the ensemble on the hit show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. That appearance was a double-edged sword, as his contractual commitments to the show prevented him from taking the role of Red Foxx’s son on Sanford and Son.
Former Laugh-In writer-turned-producer Allan Manings brought Brown to Good Times in 1975, midway through its second season.
Born on June 11, 1937, in St.
Daughter and actress Sharon Catherine Brown wrote on Instagram. “Our family is devastated. Devastated. Devastated. Beyond heartbroken. Barely able to breathe.”
Brown had a multi-facted career. He recorded songs and played in a band, appeared on Broadway, and was a television regular, including three seasons as part of the ensemble on the hit show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. That appearance was a double-edged sword, as his contractual commitments to the show prevented him from taking the role of Red Foxx’s son on Sanford and Son.
Former Laugh-In writer-turned-producer Allan Manings brought Brown to Good Times in 1975, midway through its second season.
Born on June 11, 1937, in St.
- 3/5/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Cicely Tyson, the trailblazing actress died whose career spanned more than six decades, died Thursday afternoon, her manager Larry Thompson confirmed. She was 96.
From the start of her career, Tyson resolved to portray strong, positive, and realistic images of black women onscreen, and for many, she represented an enduring strength. Tyson received an Oscar nomination in 1973 for Martin Ritt’s drama Sounder (and was finally given an honorary Oscar in 2018), and became famous to a wider audience for her starring role in the 1974 TV movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,...
From the start of her career, Tyson resolved to portray strong, positive, and realistic images of black women onscreen, and for many, she represented an enduring strength. Tyson received an Oscar nomination in 1973 for Martin Ritt’s drama Sounder (and was finally given an honorary Oscar in 2018), and became famous to a wider audience for her starring role in the 1974 TV movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,...
- 1/29/2021
- by Jerry Portwood
- Rollingstone.com
America doesn’t have a system of knights or dames, as Britain, Australia and New Zealand do. If there were such a system, Cicely Tyson would have undoubtedly been honored. But Tyson, who died on Thursday, a month after her 96th birthday, didn’t need any government-sanctioned titles: Admirers such as Ava DuVernay, Tyler Perry and Shonda Rhimes call her Queen Cicely, which was much more appropriate for her.
Her 70-year career was filled with landmark works, including the film “Sounder” (1972) and TV’s “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” (1974), “Roots” (1977), “A Woman Called Moses”, and “The Trip to Bountiful” (2014), among many others. There was also her recurring role in “How to Get Away With Murder,” in which she was Emmy-nominated five times, most recently in 2020, for playing the mother of lead character Annalise Keating (Viola Davis).
In 2018, Whoopi Goldberg told Variety, “When you think about artistry and elegance in acting,...
Her 70-year career was filled with landmark works, including the film “Sounder” (1972) and TV’s “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” (1974), “Roots” (1977), “A Woman Called Moses”, and “The Trip to Bountiful” (2014), among many others. There was also her recurring role in “How to Get Away With Murder,” in which she was Emmy-nominated five times, most recently in 2020, for playing the mother of lead character Annalise Keating (Viola Davis).
In 2018, Whoopi Goldberg told Variety, “When you think about artistry and elegance in acting,...
- 1/29/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Emmy- and Tony-winning actress Cicely Tyson, who distinguished herself in theater, film and television, died on Thursday afternoon. She was 96.
“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” her manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement. “Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree.”
Her memoir “Just As I Am” was published on Tuesday.
Tyson broke into movies with the 1959 Harry Belafonte film “Odds Against Tomorrow,” followed by “The Comedians,” “The Last Angry Man,” “A Man Called Adam” and “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.” Refusing to participate in the blaxploitation movies that became popular in the late ’60s, she waited until 1972 to return to the screen in the drama “Sounder,” which captured several...
“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” her manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement. “Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree.”
Her memoir “Just As I Am” was published on Tuesday.
Tyson broke into movies with the 1959 Harry Belafonte film “Odds Against Tomorrow,” followed by “The Comedians,” “The Last Angry Man,” “A Man Called Adam” and “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.” Refusing to participate in the blaxploitation movies that became popular in the late ’60s, she waited until 1972 to return to the screen in the drama “Sounder,” which captured several...
- 1/29/2021
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Sadly there aren’t many all around talents like Sammy Davis Jr. anymore. He could do anything and out perform anybody. Sing, dance, act, play several instruments, comedian, impressionist… You name it. he could do it, brilliantly. The entertainer’s entertainer.
Though his film and TV acting career was pretty spotty in terms of quality, he appeared in over 300 films and guest appearances on TV series, movies, variety shows and sit-coms during his career. Yet few have seen what could be one of his shining moments in the 1966 independently made film A Man Called Adam, which is actually a rather downbeat drama about an unsympathetic, self-centered, self-destructive, jazz musician.
Directed by TV director Leo Penn (Sean’s father), the film also features some absolutely great music and a black romance between Davis and the lovely dark-skinned Cicely Tyson, wearing her, back then, trademark short afro that was considered pretty radical and daring back then.
Though his film and TV acting career was pretty spotty in terms of quality, he appeared in over 300 films and guest appearances on TV series, movies, variety shows and sit-coms during his career. Yet few have seen what could be one of his shining moments in the 1966 independently made film A Man Called Adam, which is actually a rather downbeat drama about an unsympathetic, self-centered, self-destructive, jazz musician.
Directed by TV director Leo Penn (Sean’s father), the film also features some absolutely great music and a black romance between Davis and the lovely dark-skinned Cicely Tyson, wearing her, back then, trademark short afro that was considered pretty radical and daring back then.
- 2/26/2010
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
Lionsgate has pulled a Paramount and decided to sell a bunch of DVDs using a retro touch. Just as Paramount released Top Secret, Naked Gun, Flashdance and others in an “I Love the 80s” series, Lionsgate has launched a “Music Makers” series, consisting of films about musicians. Three of those titles include Ballad in Blue, A Man Called Adam, Buena Vista Social Club, and Beyond the Sea. The selection of films is quite enjoyable, and each includes a CD featuring tracks by the artists showcased in the series. So how does it all play out?
Ballad in Blue
Remember how Jamie Foxx put out that exceptional Ray Charles biopic in 2004? People said his portrayal of Charles was top-notch and lavished him with all sorts of praise. The album, released with tracks by both Charles and Foxx, virtually jumped off the shelves. So why is it that the 1964 film about Ray Charles,...
Ballad in Blue
Remember how Jamie Foxx put out that exceptional Ray Charles biopic in 2004? People said his portrayal of Charles was top-notch and lavished him with all sorts of praise. The album, released with tracks by both Charles and Foxx, virtually jumped off the shelves. So why is it that the 1964 film about Ray Charles,...
- 1/18/2010
- by Lex Walker and Anders Nelson
- JustPressPlay.net
The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
Ignore all of the pale-wannabes and unfortunate attempts to adapt it for other markets, and stick with the original UK edition of Top Gear, hosted by the madman trinity of Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond. If you don’t like cars, don’t worry - I could care less about cars, but love this show something fierce, and it all comes down to the energy,...
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
Ignore all of the pale-wannabes and unfortunate attempts to adapt it for other markets, and stick with the original UK edition of Top Gear, hosted by the madman trinity of Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond. If you don’t like cars, don’t worry - I could care less about cars, but love this show something fierce, and it all comes down to the energy,...
- 1/15/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.