.4 lm anni
Entertainment Guide
Th« Outrageous
557 Michael
St.John
SP E C TR U M IN H I T - T H E O R IG IN A L S
F ro m H o lly w o o d
H elio People . . ,
There was something called the Black FUaiaaiiers
Hall o f Fame held recently in San Francisco, and it
turned out to be worse than a bad case o f sickle cell
and a six-month-old taco combined. It was the pits.
The whole mess came out o f the fevered head o f
Margo smith Hicks. Now , she's not related 10 that
Boston Hicks, but she shares a whole mess o f dumb
ideas with her Margo Smith Hicks is some kind o f
minor flunky at the Kaiser Chemical Corporation. M y
guess is she’s in charge o f screaming, steaming, itching
and bitching She knows as much about motion
pictures as 1 know about Yugoslavian chicken pluck
ing That didn't stop her from mouthing o ff, though.
The word got out, though' Sidney Pother, who was
supposed to open the show, cancelled at the last
minute, closely followed by both Ella Fitzgerald and
ouat Basie. Not only did loudmouth Hicks louse up
sot*
jucr pact
ko to
rather" b
inf the
F ram left to rig h t are boat Aina Haley. prndacers David Evan»
u i
by W Q E D Pittsburgh with • g
ur> April 18th at
p.m.. C
It.
Haley hosts documentary
In the 17th century, hundreds of slaves
shipped from Africa to South America
rebelled and began a lOOvear guerilla
war that gained them freedom from their
Dutch masters
In the 1970’s, two American Blacks
from Harvard University. Dr. S Allen
Counter and David Evans, visited and
filmed the descendants of these rebel
slaves in the remote jungle of Surinam,
formerly Dutch Guiana. Counter and
Evans received partial funding for pro
ducing their Surinam film from Alcoa
Foundation and Roy E. Larsen. Yiee
Chairman of the Board of Time Inc.
Public television will present a remark
able documentary about the journeys and
discoveries of Counter and Evans. Titled
"I Sought My Brother." the 90-minute
documentary airs April 18th at S.-00 p.m.
an Channel 10.
Alex Haley, author of the widely
acclaimed “Boots." hosts the program
which includes Counter and Evans' film
and their in-studio discussion with Haley.
James Earl Jones narrates “I Sought My
Brother." 1 Sought My Brother" is
presented 00 PBS by WQED Pittsburgh
with a grant from the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting
In 1972, Counter, a professor of neuro-
biology. and Evans, a senior admissions
officer, penetrated the bush to visit the
descendants of the rebel slaves The pair
was aided by the government of Surinam,
which provided an interprets and trans
portation for the 250-mile trek deep into
the forest.
What they found in the South Amen
can jungle was an African culture that
had been preserved nearly intact for 300
eauthawtt
the show, she forgot to tell anybody in the San Fran
cisco press that it was going on. The whole thing was
dreamed up by some far-out S .F. church.
f-artha k m has never been a lady who likes to do
things the easy way Remember how she got uninvited
from Lyndon Johnson's W hite House when she told
Lady Bird exactly how she felt about the Vietnam
M ar'1 She's the same lady who agreed to stop playing
house with the son o f A n b a r (his family owns the
theaters) Loew, after receiving a very hefty payoff.
VKell, this same Ezrtha k itt has a beautiful, but
B E A U T IF U L daughter named k itt M cD onald Jimmy
W alker of Good Times took one look at K in and
yelled D i S O M I T E so loud that he broke windows
for three blocks. A couple o f dates later, though.
Mam a Eartha called the whole thing o ff.
Beautiful Judy Pace was in the hospital awaiung the
birth o f her second child. When a nurse brought in a
tray load or food that was colder than a landlord’s
heart. Judy objected politely The nurse just went on
fluffing up pillows and sharpening thermometers.
Judy tried again. ' When I told her what was wrong,
she just looked at me like I was crazy.” Judy told me.
So Judy, smiling that beautiful smile o f hers,
up the tray o f cold, greasy food and launched it into
orbit. Being very pregnant spmled her atm. and she
missed the nurse.
You're going to hear a lot more about Janet Jack-
son. The prettiest member o f the Jack—a Family
startled a lot o f cool cats this summer wnen she did her
Mae West impersonation 0 0 the Jackson Fem iiy
Shot». Now she’s making her solo acting debut cm
Good Times. As good as her brothers are . . . and they
are
. the St. John prediction k that they will ail have
to take a back seat to this little girl. Janet Jackson is a
sure winner.
tr^ ria v e n i«
The people of the bush travel almost
exclusively by dugout canoe, since
streams and rivers are their only high
wavs Each village has a medicine man.
who in addition to his curative duties
performs ritual dramas that remind the
people of the victory over the Dutch.
Counter and Evans were the first
North American Blacks ever seen in the
bush, and it was only in their third
summer there that they felt close enough
to the villagers to bnng in a camera crew
and begin shooting.
Also shown are the purification ritual
that the two Americans must undergo
before entering a village, and an exciting
funeral in which everyone in the village
participates.
The funeral, and what U reveals about
the society, is a highlight of the film. In
the ceremony, the corpse is borne
throughout the village, supposedly indi
cating villagers w ho are not sufficiently
remorseful. A villager so identdied must
contribute gifts to satisfy the spirit of the
departed. This rite selves as catharsis,
ventilating all the repressed ill will in the
village.
A Unit oral F irh a a g e
“Brother" also features the exchange of
medical knowledge between Counter and
the bush people. When Counter develops
tendonitis, he is cured by a medicine man
using only roots and his own system of
touching the sore area.
In return. Counter, with more rigorous
testing and modern equipment, is able to
trace hearing loss in residents of one
village to the eating of the bitter manioc,
a plant that contains cyanide.
In all, the Harvard pair spent five
summers in the Surinam bush, and they
came away with a new appreciation of the
heritage of Afro-Americans.
T h ey are a proud and beautiful chap
ter of African and Afro American history
which we felt compelled to share with
everyone - especially with people of
African origin." Counter said.
T h e s e people are living proof that you
can't break the spirit of people who yearn
to be free Through them. Africa lives in
the New World."
The film will also be shown on Channel
7 iCorvallis) and Channel 13 tLa Grande1
on April 18th. It will appear on Channel 3
(Salem! on April 20th.
THE ORIGINALS
One of the most impressive things about the Originals is their incredible knack for
writing good, lop selling songs. Freddie Gorman, for instance, has written ¡either
alone, with other Originals, or with other Motown writers) tunes recorded by the
Marvelettes. the Supreme». Martha and the Vandellas. Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops.
Lamont Dozier. Eddie Holland, the Reflections, and Sha Na Na. And the Carpenters
and the Beatles dio "Please. Mr Postman " Likewise. Ty Hunter has written a batch of
real winners!
Over the years, the Originals have appeared on an infinite number of television
shows. “I think we've done them all," laughs Gorman. "All of 'em." The latest TV
appearance was on the new "Rah Rah Show." hosted by Gong Show zanv Chuck
Harris The program aired on February 28th. and the Originals will no doubt be his
guests in the future. They have, in fact, a full schedule of TV appearances planned. a>-
well as a complete tour.
CENTURIES-OLD AFRICAN TRADITION
ALIVE IN SOUTH AMERICA
Observer signs St. John
The San Francisco Mime Troupe
Presents
Hotel Universe
At Portland Dance Theatre. I S S S .W .
'’U m w ie April 21st and 22nd at S p.m. and
ApnJ 23rd at 2 and 6 p j t Tickets are *3-56
eve*. S3 mauaee Tickets at Arbuckle Flat.
1532 S.W. Momaoc.
» eeeee—nnn—
—e non—
a
■ s ta d i af 5.660 Sooth,
The word “original“ nuans "fresh, inventive, and unique." and perfectly fits this
four man vocal group, the Originals. Marvin Ga.ve wrote their first big hit “Raby I'm
for Real* - and until they signed «nth Fantasy Records late in *77. their entire
professional career was spent at Motown
The Originals are Freddie Gorman ¡spokesman for ihe group and its primary
writing force!, Ty Hunter. Hank Dixon, and Walter Gaines. Together, they come up
with the kind of sweet harmonies that made Motown such a musical force in the
Sixties
The Original story began when Walter Gaines and Hank Dixon started the group in
1966. They soon hooked up with Freddie Gorman, another extremely talented young
songwriter and singer, and quickly added Ty Hunter
The Originals began as background voralisls at Motown, and have worked with
virtually every act on the label. “It was a small label then, and everybody worked with
everybody else "
Naturally a contract with Motown under their own name was inevitable. "Our first
record came out in 1966." remembers Dixon. "It was Goodnight Irene.' believe it or
not! Our first big hit was 'Baby I'm for Real.' a tune written for us by Marvin Gaye and
his then wife. Anna Gordy Of course, we all knew Marvin personally, had worked 00
lots of his records, and he called us up one day and said he had a song he thought we'd
like We did. and so did a million other people'"
I
»—»—a——» s u ssss ss
Michael St. John will write a weekly
column for the Observer and other
selected Black newspapers
Michael St. John made his actual show
business debut in London on the BBC as a
singer.
He was eleven.
When he
returned to the LJ.S. at age thirteen he
was immediately signed by station WEIL
in Philadelphia to appear on T h e Uncle
Wip Show " There was another budding
talent 00 the show; his name was Eddie
Fisher.
He made his professional acting debut
in a show called “De Adamses" at the
PIMRS
ONE OF THE WORLD'S
GREAT MEN S MAGAZINES
TH E B R IG H T N E W M O N T H L Y
N E W S F E A T U R E M A G A Z IN E
Nayc
WasKsiflTut
Heady i
Nimm/’
The
Macht Test
Takelt
fftbjDare
Hedged™ Theatre under the direction of
Jasper [>eeder Then Broadway beckon
ed. Michael was signed to appear in
"Four Saints in Three Acts." The show
only lasted a short time but it represent
ed the U.S. at the annual drama festival
in Pans.
During his years studying at The
University of Southern California. Mi
chaei appeared in motion pictures and on
television He also began his supper club
act which debuted at the famed Purple
Onion on the Sunset Strip.
The film "Carmen Jones" brought
Michael together with such superstars as
Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll. Pearl
Bailey and Dorothy Dandridge.
He
played the character of T-Bone." Mem
her of the Wedding" followed with Ethel
Water», then "Finian's Rainbow" with
David Wayne and "The Desk Set" with
Shirley Booth, to name a few.
Michael was also selected to be the first
Black Associate Director at NBC. After
leaving NBC. he became editor of a lew
entertainment magazines and began his
syndicated Hollywood column for World
Wide News Syndicate. His short stones
have appeared in such magazines as
Silver Foxes. Encore. Plavgirl and Ver
tex. In 1974. Michael won an award for
his short story entitled "Reflections of
Another Time He »as presented the
coveted award by the National Asaocia
tion of American Writers.
In 1976. Michael cut his first record A
Christmas record called “Christinas is
Christmas."
The recording will be
released annually by Sterling Records.
Michael is currently the Editor In
Chief of Players, Now and Inside Gossip
magazines He has also been signed to do
a five minute gossip spot, five times
weekly, on The Mutual Black Network.
/ ■»
I Sought My Brother
Television!
I a Surinamese bush tribe
bring in sell imposed isoiati— lor tea generati— s
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