P a g e 6 P o r t la n d O b s e r v e r M a r c h 3 0 , 1 98 9
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ENTERTAINMENT
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* * * * * i P l ^ l F * ^ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ^ F J ï O
l F O ^ P * * * * À * i ^ n ^ F ^ ^ ' * * * ’
B E H IN D T H E J
SCENES
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IB C L M D
ILIEIPCICT
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te-Lisa Collins
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No R ape C h a rg e s W ill Be F iled A gainst Al B. S ure: The Los Angeles
District A ttorney’s office says it will not press charges o f gang rape against
W arner Bros recording artist Al B. Sure, his bodyguard Solom an Miller, and
triend, C hristopher W illiams. All three had been arrested on charges o f rape
by force. But according to an LA County sh e riffs detective, authorities
aren ’t sure w hat happened. Sure admits to having sex with Edwards, but
says it was with her consent, and that he was the only one o f the three to have
sex with her. It also seem s that allegations made by both 23-year old
M onique Edw ards and her brother, actor Stoney Jackson, did not check out.
Edw ards claim ed to have never dated Sure before the incident. Reliable
sources say Edwards became angered when Sure allegedly extended her
sexual favors to the others.
D eB arge B ack O n T ra c k : El DeBarge writes and sings about love. He says
he can ’t help it. It’s how he is. So then no one should be surprised that his
newest LP, G em ini, is about ju st th at,-lo v e. H e’s proud o f his latest work,
and music he says reveals that h e’s “ willing to give love as much as I want
to receive it. ’ ’ Up til now , the 27 year-old singer says his career has suffered
from com plications. “ I had a lot o f com plications here at Motown,
careerw ise. I never really got to where I w anted to be. But M otow n,-before
M CA took over, had a lot o f problem s... N obody ever got to where they
should have been, and the success we did achieve could have been even
better, but now that 1 have a new chance, I know that 1 will soar with eagles.
I ’m going to the top.” DeBarge was in Los Angeles to prom ote “ G em ini” ,
which is slated for release next month. O f course, most took the opportunity
to ask him about the drug scandal his brothers were involved in. Said
DeBarge: “ I d o n ’t feel bad about it. My brothers are men and they can
handle the consequences, and basically I think it worked out just fine. My
oldest brother, Bobby, has gone to a correctional camp, and h e’s the only one
w h o ’s been sentenced. ” For the record, El says he doesn’t mess with drugs.
S u p e rsta r M ichael Jack so n will be on h a n d to pick up the third annual
H eritage A w ard at the 1989 “ Soul Train M usic A w ards” to be held in Los
Angeles on April 12. A ccording to executive producer Don Cornelius,
Jackson will be presented the award by Sammy Davis, Jr., and Eddie
M urphy. Along with Jackson, Anita Baker, Bobby Brown and Guy led in
nom inations. Others capping top nom inations include Bobby M cFerrin,
V anessa W illiam s, New Edition, Karyn W hite and Al. B. Sure. The two-
hour prim etim e award show will air live (via syndication).
M u rp h y O n T h e L ookout: Eddie M urphy is scouting around for a
gorgeous, light-skinned, black female for the female lead in “ Harlem
N ights’ ’ , his next feature film, according to a Las Vegas talent agent, w ho’s
reportedly been com m issioned by the superstar’s LA production company
to find one such talent. In the film, which will co-star Richard Pryor,
Murphy will portray a very cool, “ Mr. Q uick” . “ Harlem N ights” is set in
the Harlem nightclub scene, circa 1938.
R ip erto n R em em b ered : M innie Riperton was rem em bered in a very
special way in a concert dubbed “ A Very Special Evening With Stevie
W onder & Friends” . Funds made from the extravaganza went to benefit the
M innie Riperton Fund For Cancer Research. It’s been nearly a decade since
the R&B singer died o f breast cancer in 1979,at the age o f31. Quincy Jones,
w ho announced that he recently underw ent a m asectom y after having been
diagnosed with breast cancer, served as honorary chairperson. S h o rt
T akes: Natalie Cole is off to the Bay area to record a duet with Freddie
Jackson called “ I D o.” Cole, who is excited about her upcoming LP, has
also announced plans to record a tribute to her father with Linda Ronstadt...An
attorney for Kenneth Clay, who was shot by Todd Bridges on February 2,
has filed a $20 million law suit against the 32-year old actor...N ext w eek: A
look into re p o rte d suicide a tte m p ts by a c to r T odd B ridges.
M IC H A E L
GRANT RE­
S C H E D U L E S H IS
N E W PLA Y AT
IFC C
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On The Money
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T opping O ff In TV: “ Never let anybody tell you that you c a n ’t" , are words
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from one o f T V ’s most successful blacks. A nd as co-creator and executive
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producer o f the Fox-TV netw ork’s smash hit and m ost controversial show,
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“ M arried W ith C hildren” , Michael Moye should know. Moye got into the
business in 1977, when while studying marine biology in college, he entered
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an Am erican College Theater Festival playw righting contest on a lark, and
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won first prize. The chance to w rite an episode o f the Norman Lear/Tandem
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show o f his choice, came with it. He chose “ G ood T im es” , and some
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months later got an offer to work on the show full-time. Before moving to
the Fox Network, Moye worked with “ The Jefferson’s,” “ D iff rent Strokes” , *
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“ Sanford & S o n ” , and was a cocreator o f “ 2 2 7 ” . (He doesn’t like to talk
about m oney, but conservative sources put him at well over $500,000 per *
year). Tw o and a half years ago. Fox netw ork execs ignored an in-house *
testing analysis o f the show suggesting that major script changes be made to
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insure the show ’s success, and instead gave M oye and his jew ish partner the
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green light to m ove ahead. Moye recalled, “ it was the best moment o f my
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career.”
O n the Rise A t C a rn a tio n C om pany: Upon graduating from business *
school som e fifteen years ago, John Harris saw him self running a large *
corporation. Today, at 37, Harris is a vice-president and general m anager
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at C arnation Com pany. He is the com pany’s first black vice-president, and
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with a m ulti-m illion dollar budget. Harris m anages one o f the firm ’s m ost
profitable divisions, boasting such product lines as C arnation’s Evaporated *
M ilk, Instant Breakfast, Carnation Breakfast Bars, Hot C ocoa Mix, and *
Coffeem ate. He took over the somewhat stagnant division a year and a half *
ago. Since, sales and profit dollars have increased, but Harris w on’t lake all
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the credit. Said Harris, “ the key thing is moving the business ahead. I can
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take all the credit, or I can take all the blam e. It doesn’t really matter. In
reality, I ’m ju st part o f a team, and the team is what will m ove the business *
ahead .” Does being black make it more difficult? “ In som e ways, yes, but *
I d o n ’t deal with it. W hat’s more important is to com m unicate to people *
w hat’s possible. I don’t have any special, unique talents...It’s just a m atter
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o f finding an opportunity or situation where they can do w ell.”
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Llew ellyn Sets New Sights: J. Bruce Llew ellyn, new ow ner of the New
York Tim es Co. cablc-TV operations (at pricetage o f $420 m illion), is *
quoted in a recent USA Today piece as saying he plans one day to pass along *
his Coca-Cola bottling plant to his partner “ Dr. J ” --Julius Erving.
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Som e g ift,-la s t year alone, the p la n t-th e Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling *
Co., ranked as the third-largest, black-ow ned business, posted annual sales
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o f S 165 million. M eanwhile, Llew ellyn has announced that h e’s now in the
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m a rk e t to buy a p ro team .
NMBC H onors T op Ten C orporate S upporters of Black-Owned Business: *
The National M inority Business Council recently paid tribute to ten major *
American Corporations for their support of black-owned businesses. Dubbed *
the “ best o f the b e st” , the firms were specifically honored for their efforts
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to attract, recruit and or help develop m inority suppliers. The top ten were
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American Express, Frito Lay, G eneral M otors, JC Penney, Pepsi-Cola,
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Philip Morris, Pfizer, NYNEX Enterprises, M cGraw-Hill and Time, Inc.
5
by Garland Lee Thompson
L IST O F S U G G E ST E D REA D IN G
M A T E R IA L
1. BLACK THEATER IN AM ERICA,
by Jam es Haskins, Publisher:
Thomas Y. Crow ell, New York
2. VOICE O F THE BLACK
TH EATRE, by Loften M itchell,
Publisher: James T. W hite & Co.,
Clifton, New Jersey
3. BLACK DRAM A, The Storey o f the
American N egro in the
Theatre, by Loften M itchell,
Publisher: Leswing Press,
San Francisco, California
4. DRUM BEATS, M ASKS, &
M ETAPHOR, Contem porary Afro-
American Theatre, by Genevieve
Fabre (translated by M elvin Dixon),
Publisher: Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, Mass, and London,
England
5. 9 PLAYS BY BLACK W OMEN,
The Black A m erican W oman as
Playwright - A Pow erful & Exciting
Force in T oday’s
Theater, by M argaret B. W ilkerson (
edited & with an introduction),
<1>
Passinarts Theatre Company is re­
scheduling the opening Michael Grant’s
new play, “ Escape by L and,” at the
Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, to
this week, Friday, March 31, 1989, for
a tryout, the first in the new year and
season o f 1989. W rite on, M ichael and
Passinarts!
IN SE A R C H O F A FR IC A N
THEATRE
The Title o f Scott Kennedy’s book, “ In
Search o f African T heatre,” aftly puts
the focus o f the new Spring Term Black
Studies’ course on African-American
playw rights and Black Theatre in
America, being planned by Chairm an,
Dr. Darrell M illner. (Scott Kennedy is
a Black Tenured professor at Brooklyn
College in New York.)
To survey the scope o f the books and
text available on Black Theatre, in our
local M ultnomah County Library and
book stores, since I will be the guest
instructor for the new course, I visited
the North Killingsworth branch (which
has the Black Resource Center Section),
the Central Library dow ntow n and
Pow ell’s Books Store and of course, the
Library o f Portland State University.
At the Black Research Center at the
North Killingsworth Branch, I was
shocked and am azed to find among
other books, The Directory of Blacks in
the Perform ing Arts, edited by Edward
Mapp, that listed myself, your Broadway
Bound Reporter. The book m entioned
my birth, career data, theatre and honors.
M Y H O N O RS!
I never fully realized until I read it that
I had won the 42nd Annual One Act
Tournament (1973) in Washington, D.C.
“ S isy p h u s A nd T he B lu e-E y ed
C yclops,” was being perform ed at
H oward University by the Howard
Players, whom had played it well
“ som ew here off-cam pus’ ’ to win some
acting prizes. But I w asn’t invited to
D.C., and d id n ’t understand that the
play had won too. I think the Howard
company was shocked too, and it never
occurred to them that they should invite
me, working in New Yoik (as production
stage m anager for the Broadway play,
“ The River N iger,” 1973).
The Theatre D epartm ent o f Howard
University, never sent me any press
mention, reviews or releases on the
production, doing that entire period,
leaving me pretty much “ in the dark.”
Do you believe it? I had to read about
it, years later here at our local county
library, in the block o f my old high
school, Jefferson. It a good reason and
appropriate right here to promote
applying for “ your own library card”
and the regular use of our Multnomah
County Library. You never know just
what secrets you might discover there.
W rite on, Easy Readers!
(Signet Book), New York
6. BLACK DRAM A ANTHOLOGY,
edited by W oodie King Jr. & Ron
Milner, Publisher: New American
Library (Signet Book), New York
7. BLACK TH EATER, by Lindsay
Patterson (compiled with an
introduction), Publisher Plume Book
- New American
Library, New York
8. NEW BLACK PLAYW RIGHTS,
edited and introduction by W illiam
Couch, Jr., Publisher: Bard Books/
Avon, New York
9. THE NEW LA FAYETTE
THEATRE PRESEN TS, Plays with
Aesthetic Com m ents by 6 Black
Playw rights, edited by Ed Bullins,
Publisher: Anchor Books - Anchor
Press/D oubleday, G arden City, New
York
10. CONTEM PORARY BLACK
DRAMA from “ A R aisin in th e S u n ,”
to “ No Place to Be Somebody, edited
and introduction by Clinton F. Oliver,
Publisher: Charles Scribner’s Sons
New York
11. BLACK DRAM A IN AMERICA:
AN ANTHOLOGY, edited and a
critical introduction by Darwin T.
Turner, Publisher: Faw cett Prem ier
book, Faw cett Publications, Inc.,
Greenwich, Conn.
"A F R IC A N -A M E R IC A N
P L A Y W R IG H T S , T H E IR C R A F T
AND L E G A C Y ”
‘ ‘ African-American Play wrights, Their
Craft and L egacy,” is the formation of
the special new 10 w eek-course at
Portland State University. Dr. Darrell
M illner, Chairman o f the Black Studies
Department at PSU, announces the new
course to be held weekly, starting on
March 29th, W ednesday, 6:40PM -
9:20PM , in Lincoln Hall, Room 319.
For further information and enrollm ent,
contact the Black Studies Dept.,
Neuberger Hall 308, (503) 464-3472
J
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TK H » *
SEOUCUO*
8 8 / ’M
Sponsored by
PORTLAND
CHAPTER
TH E LIN K S, IN C .
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FRIDAY
April ?l. 1989
8:00 p.m.
Univcrwty of Portland
Earle A- Chile« C enter
5 0 0 0 N. W illamette Bv
Portland. O regon
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BENEFITING
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Links E d u c atio n al
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& S cholarship Fund
Tickets: $ 2 0 . & $25.
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707 N.E. Fremont
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Route ot Sound
J6O6 N. William* Ave
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The African American Contemporary Theatre Project
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A T h e a tre
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C om pany
Presents:
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MRS C’S WIGS
Ticket prices include one year
subscription to EBONY or six m onths to
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WHOLESALE & RETAIL
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PORTLAND OBSERVER
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M ichael J . G ra n t
sensitive and h um orous loo k al ic la iio n s h ip s between the lines.
Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center
5340 N. Interstate Avenue
March 31 - April 9, 1989
F ri/S at - 8:00 p.m. -57.00
Sun - 3:00 p.m. - 55.00
Reservations 284-4108 or 243-7930
I p e ri h i M e t r o p o lit « « k rt« ( o m m is .io n
“T h e E y e s a n d E ars of th e C o m m u n ity "
-¿¿M
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w ritten and directed by
A O re g o n Krts t n m m m i« n
A
Pmwe* 4e«.«n
la« mil «» I o ' * '
tsfwwtttnc
Pnwtmg to 1) P Prm nni
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ApecMt » dMion In* I’M