P orti and/observer
Thursday, December 21, 1972
Page 5
"Sounder” star announces retirement
13-year-old Kevin Hooka,
who playa the lead In 20th
Century - Fox’ e "Sounder,"
opening Dex. 20 at Broadway,
recently announced that he la
re tirin g .
Retiring, that la, until he
finishes high achool and then
college. And the declalon waa
hla own.
Kevin won the role In the
Robert B . Radnltz production
after he captured theheartaof
m llllona of televlalon vlewera
In the C B S -T V d ra m a tic spec­
ial " J .T . " F ir s t telecast In
1969, " J .T . ” has been re ­
peated every year at C h ris t­
mas time and la now regarded
as a aeaaonal classic.
The thought of growing up,
as a child actor scares Kevin,
a thoughtful boy who la mature
beyond hla years.
" I don't want to be like
some of those people I've
read about In the papers who
g.-ew up acting,” he says.
“ The trouble with them la,
they never really did grow up.
T h e ir careers as actors and
actresses spoiled them as
people."
When he finishes at the
Friends’ Central School In
Philadelphia, where he’ s now
an A and B student In the
eighth grade and plays guard
on hla division's basketball
team, Kevin wants to go to
UCLA and m ajor In Theater
A n s . But he says he won’ t
ever go to "acting school."
"People go into an acting
Clasa and they all come out
the sam e," he says, demon­
strating acute powers of ob­
servation, "1 don’t want to
be a carbon copy.”
Kevin Is the eldest son of
Robert
Hooks,
the noted
Broadway stage actorw hoco-
starred In the T V series
" N Y P D ,’*
In
the motion
picture " H u rry Sundown," and
founded the Negro Ensemble,
the foremost black repertory
I
and th eate r-a rts group In the
country.
A good deal of Kevin’ s boy­
hood was spent backstage In
New Y o rk theaters, at the
television studio, and at thea­
ters around the country while
he and his mother, Yvonne,
w ere travelling with his fa­
ther and the national company
of " A Taste of Honey."
Kevin used to Imitate the
actors, chiefly his father. And
then one day in 1968, play­
w righ t Lonne E ld e r III (who
Is Kevin’ s godfather) suggest­
ed Kevin fo r a part In an
episode 1« had written for
" N Y P D " - the part of a mes­
senger boy who Is tortured
by a k ille r. When the powers
at CBS saw Kevin’ s perform -
once In " N Y P D ,” they Im­
mediately signed him for the
focal role In " J .T . , ’ ’ the poi­
gnant story of a lonely Harlem
lad who adopts an abandoned
alley cat.
E ld e r,
who adapted the
screenplay of "Sounder" from
W illia m
H.
Armstrong’ s
award-winning
novel, also
suggested Kevin fo r the load
In the movie, which was pro
duced by Robert B . Radnitz
(" A Dog of Fland ers,” " Is ­
land of the Blue Dolphins,"
" M y Side of the Mountain")
and directed by M artin Ritt
(" T h e Long Hot Sum m er,”
"H u d ," "The Spy Who Came
In From the C o ld ").
But Kevin had to audition
fo r that part twice, and com­
peted against a good many
contenders. When Ritt finally
said, "W e ll, Kevin, w e’ve de­
cided on you," Kevin says it
was the biggest moment sofar
In
his rather astonishing
c a re e r.
In "Sounder,” which Is set
In the Deep South during the
Depression era, Kevin plays
a boy who sets out on a long
journey in search of his
sharecropper lather, who has
Soul Sounds
been arrested ana sent to
a labor camp fo r stealing food
fo r his fam ily. During his
travels, tie boy la awakened
to the great potential and dig­
nity of hla race by a com-
pasalonata black schoolteach­
e r.
Paul W infield plays Kevin's
father; Cicely Tyson, his
mother: T a jM a h a l. theirblues
singing frie id; Janet M ac-
Lachlan, the teacher; James
Best, the white sheriff; and
Carmen Mathews, a white
woman who befriends the boy
and his fam ily. In addition, a
combination
red bone-blue
tick hound called Swampy
playa thé dog afte r which the
picture la named.
Robert Hooka aaya he has
never coached Kevin in act­
ing. The only instruction the
boy has ev er received. In fact,
came from Robert Young, the
d irec to r of ‘J .T .,’ ’ and now
M a rtin Ritt who, unknown to
Kevin, once taught "acting
school." Paul Newman, Jo­
anne Woodward. Lee Remick
and Anthony Franciosa were
among R itt’ s pupils at New
Y o rk ’ s Actors' Studio.
Ritt can be proud of Kevin
Hooks, too.
EN GARDE, G H ETTO -STYLE - Ron O’Neal, with a garbage
can lid for a shield, engages in a Harlem fight in "S u perfly,”
the new warner Bros, release, produced by Sig Shore and
directed by Cordon Parks J r . O’Neal plays the principal
role, with Sheila F ra z ie r and Julius W . H a rris top-lined.
‘ ‘Superfly" is currently playing at the Alameda.
287 - 28 87
6th Smash week
held over — Exclusive
M e
Never a dude like this one!
He’s got a plan
to stick it to
SIGSHOK
k
The Man!
I
d y Joey Sasso
Rebecca (C ice ly Tyson) helps her eon David Lee (Kevin Hooks) get ready to leave home and
go off to a faraway school. "Sounder", s Radnltz/M attel Production, is showing at the Fox
Theatar. The film also s u re Paul W infield and T aj M ahal.
"SOUNDER”
a most unusual
motion picture, has opened
This is how
it was received
by the nations critics.
‘AT LAST, A COMPASSIONATE AND LOVING FILM
ABOUT BEING BLACK IN AMERICA.
It manages as no other movie has done to take the special pride
and trial of being black and work it into an experience
that can be shared and felt by anyone."
—JAY COCKS, Time Magazine
"SOUNDER should
get all the awards
that are out there"
--M. Cordell
Thompson, Jet
"You'll be m iss­
ing a truly
magnificent ex­
perience if you
don't see
SOUNDER".
--Soul
” A memorable
evening of
entertainment'*
-- Mrs. Martin
Luther King
"SOUNDER is
easily the best
of all the
Black films"
-- Black Stars
“ SOUNDER’ IS A MISSING CHAPTER FROM
THE GRAPES OF WRATH’AND OF EQUAL STATURE."
Tho story ol a family relationship, the commitment between man and wife,
of tho unspoken, rootod understanding between lather and son Cicely Tyson,
most exquisite ol actresses, Is superbly complemented by Paul Winfield.
Hereby our nominations tor their Oscars."
-JU D IT H CRIST, NBC-TV
.
/ MAfTLi
P r o d u c tio n *
"SOUNDER”
A R o b o rt H R a d n tta
M a r t in R itt F ilm
Marring CICELY TYSON PAUL WINFIELD KEVIN HO O KS co starring TAJ MAHAL
JANET M ACLACHLAN produced byHOBERT B RADNITZ Oracled by M ARTIN RITT
screenplay byLONNE ELDER HI based on the Newbery Award winning Nova* by WILLIAM H ARM STRO NG
songs and muse by TAJ MAHAL f ’ anavis » onbcol O«H t Of luxe ®
showing Broadway Theatre
g
E n terta in e r David Frost aaya
he and hla bride-to-be, aing-
e r-a c tre a a Dlahann C a rro ll,
are " e c s ta tic " about th eir
wedding plana, and th eir fans
seem to approve, too. " Peo­
p le’ s good wishes have been
w onderful," David told me,
conceding that he and M ias
C a rro ll had expected some
"h ale mall** because their
m arriage w ill be In te rra c ia l.
He la w hile. M iss C a rro ll la
black, " t t ’ e a great tribute
to Am erica that we didn’t
get that kind of m a ll," David
told me. "People feel that
lt ’ a just two of us and that's
about it .” This great event la
planned fo r E aster Sunday,
1973, and It w ill take place In
F ro s t’ s homeland, England.
The m arriage w ill not change
David's hectic transatlantic
lifestyle as a TV star and
producer both here and Eng­
land. But fo r Dlahann’ s T V
commitments. It may be very
lim ited because they plan to
travel together as much as
th e ir time w ill allow. "W e T l
probably make our permanent
home near the International
A irp o rt," he says. Aside from
his appearances on his talk
and variety shows, he’ s now
planning a two hour revival of
the form at that made him
famous — the satirical "T h a t
Was The Week That W as."
The original show, a caustic,
humorous view of the week’ s
news was a great big hit In
London way back in 1962,
David brought the show here.
But It had a short life after
one season . . . Now, this
time around says F ro st, he’ ll
do two specials — “ That Was
The Y e a r That W as" and
"T h is Is The Year That W ill
Be,” which w ill a ir In Jan­
u ary .
" S a tire ’ s time has
com e," says F ro st. "T h e re
Is a tremendously rich vein
of humor here, and A m er­
icans are probably more able
to laugh at themselves than
people think . . . There Is a
great lusting for satire right
Some newsy issues s a tiriz­
ed In tie shows may cause con­
tro versy. "Busing is one of
the great Issues fo r getting
the fan m a il. People can’t
even agree on how to spell It ."
F ro st told me.
The peripatetic Frost is
also planning to produce a
motion picture and starring
his
lovely
w ife, Dlahann
C a rro ll, which Is to be filmed
In Jam aica, " I f we can ever
find enough of time to do it."
David met C a rro ll when she
was Interviewed on his show
a few years ago. A t that time
she was a star in her own
right.
In the T V series
" J u lia ," the very firs t series
to star a black actress.
"Dlahann has decided not
to do another s e rie s ," says
F ro s t. He notes It would be
impossible fo r her to meet
dally shooting schedules In
Hollywood and travel with her
husband.
"W e have all the Intentions
to be in the same place at
the same time and as much
as possible," David told me.
The couple w ill maintain at
least three homes - a cottage
just
outside
of
London,
David's New York apartment
and Diahann’s Beverly H ills
home. Herdaughter by a fo rm ­
er m arriage w ill attend school
In Switzerland.
"A c tu a lly ,”
says Frost,
"w e feel that we w ill have
a permanent home everywhere
In the w o rld ." . , . "Golden
G ir l” Lola Falana, featured
as a perform ing regular on
" T h e New BUI Cosby Show”
on CBS, won her nickname
and h er fame from the Sammy
Davis, J r . vehicle "Golden
Boy," W hile the two perform ­
ers
were
sharing billing
(Davis was at the tip, she at
the bottom) at an Atlantic
C ity Club, Davis advised her
to audition fo r a part in this
then-up-comlng
New York
m usical. She did, got the role
and became lead dancer.
h
» m
and Happy
New Year
Saa md hoar
CURTIS HATFIELO
play his
Stipar Fly scora1
His own story., t
on the screen <
Tournament readied
The T h ird Annuel Bondu’ s
Bon-Advenrure Eastern A ir­
lines Golf Tournament has
been scheduled fo r February
14 - 18, at Paradise Island
Golf Club, Nassau. Bahamas.
Golfing activities w ill In­
clude 90 holes of "shot-gun"
play, an electric golf cart,
clo sert-to-th e-h o le,
Ph illip
M o rris ’ Putting Contests, long
d rive, medalists and best
dressed trophies, and other
prizes and awards.
F am ilies and guestscanen-
joy the beautiful Paradise la -
land Beach, ocean and pool
swimming, scuba diving, wat­
e r skiing, tennis, horsdwek
riding, sight-seeing, shopping
along quaint Bay Street, o r
cards and games at Holiday
Inn.
January 15th is deadline for
the $85. entry fee, which In­
cludes all golfing and social
activities.
F u rth e r information can be
obtained
by w riting Mayme
Bondu. Tournament D ire cto r,
1161 N . W . 57th Street, M iam i,
F lo rid a .
. is it really tvippened.
l i b a l i u p o n (lis t M -St Si <11 * 1 .¡I i t r l * » ¡CU/Ti,
MALCOLM
X A MARVIN WORTH RRO O UCTON Adapted »or * e server by ARNOLD PERL Produced by
and ARMOLO PERL * Bated on *«e AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X w«tn me essetence of ALE x mal E y - A WARNER BROS
wdh BETTY SHABAZZ • FROM WARNER BROS A WARNER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY '
«.
n < M H ie
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Fr¡c|a y _Saturday 7 0 0 pm
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