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Page 4 Portland Observer Mav 25, 1989
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Lisa Collins
BEHIND THE
SCENES
IBCLMD
CEIPCCT
P ry o r P uffs U p F ilm P ro file ; Richard Pry or seems to have had a change
o f heart toward the press. In fact, not only was he on hand for interviews to
promote h.s latest m ovie. “ Sec No E vil, Hear No E v il“ ,but he appeared to
open up O f course, noone was surprised. W ith his recent string o f box o il ice
failures, Pryor is looking for exposure and doing everything w ith his power
to insure that his most recent film release, teaming him once again w it
Gene W ild er, is a success. Said Pryor: ‘ 1 have to do good w o rk” However,
industry sources say that the upcoming “ Harlem N ights’ and teaming
Pryor with comedian-superstar Eddie M urphy is more lik e ly to be the
vehicle to turn things around for Pryor. Pryor, in fact, scratched plans to r a
concert tour, to begin work on the m ovie which is due to be released
sometime around Thanksgiving.
It's N ob od y’ s Business But...Reports are that the latest run-in between
heavyweight champion M ike Tyson and exw ife Robin Givens at the
Beverly H ills party o f a top entertainment lawyer, was fo r a change, withou
fanfare In fact, word is Givens abruptly left the party when she walked in
the room to find tw o lovelies on the lap o l her ex-hubby.
Lisa Bonet Heads H om e: D on’ t be surprised to see Lisa Bonet back at
home on “ The Cosby Show” fu ll tim e, next season. And w hile, NBC
o ffic ia lly has nothing to say on the matter, sources close to the show
indicate it’ s a sure bet. M eanwhile, B o n d ’ s musician-husband 24-year old
Lenny K ra vitz, expects a mid-summer release fo r his debut LP, Let Love
R ule’ ’ ...Speaking o f the Cosby Show, believe it or not, it served as
inspiration to the creators o f the Fox-TV N etw ork’ s most popular and highly
controversial show, “ Married W ith C hildren.” Said co-creator. M ike
M ove who is black, “ I ’d look at the show and everybody was always so
happy’. You say to yourself, ‘ where are these people? I ’ ve never been in a
house like this. Doesn’ t anyone speak to r the man who doesn t have th is .
It was then that he co-creator Ron Levin decided to show the other side.
“ N ow , w ith our s h o w - you watch the Bundy’ s,-you look at the horrors o f
their life and then you look at your w ife and kids and s a y - ” we don t have
11 A b du l & W a tle y Go Head T o Head F o r T o p Spot: Heavy rotation in
radioairplay has propelled “ Forever Y o u rG irl” by Paula Abdul to N o .l on
the nations’ s pop charts, surpassing Jody W atley s Real Love . And
w hile, W adey tends to have the lead in sales, A bdul is emerging as a majo
new artist o f 1989, w ith back-to-back smash singles fo r her th ird and f ourth
releases from the “ Forever Y our G ir l” album. Ironically enough, the
by G a rla n d Lee Thom pson
(FIRST YEAR ANNI
VERSARY MONTH)
NEW YO R K D ELTA A L U M
N A E C H A P T E R PRESENTS
“ H A R L E M F E S T IV A L O F
B L A C K W R IT E R S
I flew into New Y o rk C ity and
slipped into the Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, New Y o rk Alumnae Chap
ter’ s day-long, presentation o f ‘ ‘ M ay
Week (Saturday, M ay 20th, 1989,1 -
6 PM ), Harlem Festival o f B la ck,” at
the Adam Clayton Pow ell, Jr. State
O ffice B uilding, West 125 Street (at
Seventh Avenue). A b iola Sinclair,
w riter arid critic for the New Y o rk
Amsterdam Newspaper and I, had
arrived to witness and hear the w el
coming by Joyce Chapman, presi
dent o f the New York Alumnae Chap
ter, the literary readings by w riters,
Ronald Beau, Layding Kaliba and
Grace Edwards Yearwood (I intend
to review her new firs t novel, In
The Shadow O f The Peacock, pub
lished by Ballantine Books, that she
To K i l l ” ...Aretha Franklin is opening an art gallery in Detroit...Sugar Kay
Leonard is jo in in g the nation’ s je t set w ith his purchase o f a home in the posh
skiing resort o f Aspen, Colorado.
Is A l Green R e tu rn in g T o Secular M usic? No, was the w ord from
Green backstage at this year’ s Grammy Awards, but some industry sources
arc reporting that a restless Green, who defected from secular music in favor
o f a career in gospel music, misses the spotlighL His latest LP, 1 Get Joy.,
features a cut ( “ As Long As W e’ re Together” ) that was remixed and
produced by none other than A l B. Sure! In fact, A & M is playing down the
spiritual w hile beefing up its marketing efforts on this LP. N ext week: F in d
o ut w here A l Green is com ing fro m .
ON T H E M O N E Y
Toyota Takes The Lead in E ffo rts T o Soothe Tensions W ith The
M in o rity Business C o m m u n ity: The issue o f the recent tensions between
blacks and Japan was raised at the 20th Japan-American Conference o f
Mayors recently held in Los Angeles. Said Yukiyasu Togo, president and
ch ie f executive o f Toyota M otor Sales USA Inc., as we all know, there has
unfortunately been tension between the United States and Japan on m inority
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
gether.” starring Morgan freem an
and Beverly Todd at Joseph Papp’ s
Public Theatre in New Y o rk in 1971.
So Richard and I do go back a
long tim e w hile, “ Getting II T o
gether,” in the theatre in New Y ork,
as I presented the first fu ll New Y ork
production o f one o f his others pow
erful Black street play, ‘ ‘The M ig hty
Gents,” under a form er title , “ The
last Street Play,” produced by the
Frank Silvera W riters’ W orkshop at
the Urban Arts Coips Theatre in 1978.
The Wesley play was picked up
by the Manhattan Theatre C lub and
went on to Broadway, receiving Tony
nominations for my other good friends,
actors, Morgan Freeman and Star
is sending to me soon).
A M A J O R AD D R ESS BY
L E A D IN G N E W Y O R K B L A C K
T V J O U R N A L , G IL N O B E L
Everyone was waiting for the main
address by G il Nobel, one o f the
leading Black T V journalists for years
on New Y o rk C ity ’ s long-running,
Black com m unity affairs T V . His
theme was: “ images o f Black in
Media: Prototypes and Stereotypes.”
W ith him, was an impressive panel
o f know n w riters, producers and New
Y o rk journalists: Joseph Bragg (a in
cluding presidential campaigns, a
member o f Black Citizens fo r Fair
Media and is News Director at WRKS
- K1SS/FM radio station o f New York),
V ivian Grice is a television producer
fo r U S A N e tw o rk , produces,
“ C A L L IO P E ,” a film program for
issues. Considering this, Toyota has taken the lead among Japanese compa-
.n n rt r m to jo improve
ihf» c it n n the
iin n situation.”
” W it h th a W
t Toeo
said
that said
Toyota
nies :_____
in an e ¡ ffo
ith that
Togo
that Toyota
is providing scholarships to the United Negro College Fund as w ell as
beefing up its efforts to do more business w ith m inority suppliers. Summed
Togo, “ we recognize our responsibility to m inorities as an im portant part o f
Am erican society.”
L le w ellyn L in k s Up W ith C oors Beer: Top black businessman J. Bruce
Llew ellyn is making business news again w ith his most recent appointment
to the board o f directors o f Adolph Coors Co. Lle w ellyn, who was ju s t in the
news for his part in the $420 m illio n purchase o f the New Y o rk Times Cable
T V Network, owns the Philadelphia Coca-Cola B ottling Company (the
nation’ s third-largest black-owned firm ). Many saw the appointment as a
p olitical one on the part o f Coors, which has had its share o f problems w ith
the m in ority com m unity, dating back to 1984 when a boycott was called
after Chairman W illia m Coors made some statements the N A A C P deemed
racist. Despite this, a spokesman for the company contends that w hile they
arc receptive to the concerns o f the m inority com m unity, L le w e llyn was
chosen strictly fo r his credentials.
M a rs h a ll-P o o re s t H igh C o u rt .Justice: Financial disclosure form s re
leased by the Supreme Court reveal that black Justice Thurgood Marshall
had the least amount o f assets ol the high court justices. In fact, Marshall
listed his 1988 personal assets between $50,000 to $100,000. O f course, this
is aside from his annual salary o f more than $ 110,000. The reports reveal not
only their 1988 assets, but any outside income, as w ell as gifts. According
to the report, Marshall was advanced $100,000 to w rite his autobiography,
but returned the money upon his decision not to w rite the book. A lso noted
on the report was a g ift,- a $2,500 Steuben glass piece to M arshall from the
Judicial Friends o f New Y o rk C ity.
A m e rica 's fastest-rising black entrepreneurs: Black Enterprise’ s lat
est annual listing o f the top 100 black-owned industrial and service compa
nies reveals that blacks arc experiencing a notable success in non-traditional
business venues. In fact, a m ajority o f those companies appearing on the list
for the first tim e arc those branching out into high-technology fields.
Though Stanley Scott o f Crescent D istributing Company based in New
Orleans took the highest position o f any company appearing on the list for
the first time, bowing in at number 12, w ith annual sales topping $45
m illio n , many o f the black-owned companies recognized are competing in
non-traditional markets.
“ B lu ep rin t F or Success": The M inority Business Development Agency
is sponsoring its Annual National M B E Procurement C onference-M ar
ketplace ’89 in Las Vegas, from M ay 29 - June 1. This year’ s agenda centers
on prim ary areas o f procurement opportunities and clin ica l remedies to
support the continuation o f m inority small business programs. Speakers
include Joshua Smith, founder and CEO o f M axim a, the nations s 9th
largest black-owned firm , and C. M ichael Gooden whose Integrated Sys
tems Analysts, Inc. ranks in at number 14.
In S hort: I f you’re interested o r looking into investing in mutual funds,
the Investment Company Institute has just released an updated version o f its
“ Guide To M utual Funds” . The 180-pagc directory o f mutual funds also
provides some practical inform ation on how they operate. For a copy, w rite
to The Investment Company Institute, PO Box 66140, Washington, D.C.
20035-6140...Next week: D on’ t th ro w a n yth in g away u n til you read our
b
125 NE Killingsworth
289-6448
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BR O A D W A Y
BOUND
R EPO R T:
album ’s firs t tw o singles failed to reach the top 40.
S hort Takes: Run D .M .C . has added a new tw ist to Ray Parker s famed
“ Ghostbuster’s” theme which is being released in conjunction w ith the
opening o f “ Ghostbusters I I ” , which is set for June 16...Gladys K n igh t has
been tapped to do the theme song to the new James bond th rille r-- License
re p o rt on the value o f black m e m o ra b ilia .
GOLDEN HOUSE OF
STYLE
children, ages 5 - 12 years, she ac
quires film s from w orld-w ide dis
tributors and is a M edia/C om m unity
Service Librarian in New Y o rk), and
Joyce Hansen (a noted children/young
adult w riter, a creative w ritin g in
structor in the New Y o rk C ity Public
School System, and one o f her most
noted works is “ W hich W ay Free
dom, 1986).
A lso jo in in g the panel, was Utrice
Leid, the Managing Editor o f The
C ity Sun, the Brooklyn-based Black
newspaper o f metropolitan New
Y o rk), Elizabeth Nunez-Harrell
(Chairperson o f the Humanities D i
vision at Medgar Evers college o f the
C ity U niversity o f New Y o rk, a pub
lished scholar and who wrote her
first novel, “ Rock Dance” - 1986)
and my old friend, Richard Wesley
(who is a co-founding playw right
w ith me o f the Frank Silvera W riters
W orkshop o f New Y ork. He is a
noted screenwriter o f such film s as:
“ Uptown Saturday N ig h t,” “ L et’ s
do It A g ain ,” and “ Native Son,”
and his new play, “ The Talented
Tenth,” that w ill re-open fo r the rest
in the fa ll ’ 89 at the Manhattan The
atre C lub o f New Y ork).
I firs t stage managed one o f R ich
ard W esley’ s plays, “ Getting It To-
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Look your Best
Come to Golden’s
We provide complete hair care and design
Home of Wet Wave
Hair Designers Delores Alexander &
Jerry Duckett
letta DuPois.
I love it when friends “ get over!
Morgan Freeman is “ h ot” now after
a recent Academy Aw ard nom ina
tion fo r the film , “ Street Smarts
ana starred in “ Lean On M e,” the
Joe C lark story. And Starletta D u
Pois appeared b rillia n tly , recently in
the new T V film remake o f “ A R ai
sin In The Sun.”
S P R IN G T IM E IN H A R L E M
I t ’ s spring tim e in Harlem and
Saturday afternoon, M ay 20th, 1989.
It was warm on West 125th Street,
along the blocks, passing the famed
Apollo Theatre, the 125th Street Mart,
w ith scores o f street vendors and
teeming w ith people o f color. It
looks and resembles an independent
and vibrant T h ird W o rld country.
Yes, to me it truly feels like the
m iddle o f dow ntow n Kingston, the
capital o f Jamaica, w ith “ w a ll to
w a ll” Black people o f every size,
shape and shade o f complexion.
I f you’ ve never seen and experi
enced such a power and the m ight o f
so many people o f A frica n descent in
one place, one should do one’ s self a
favor and do what thousands o f Eu
ropean and Japanese tourists do yearly,
and travel to New Y o rk C ity ’ s H ar
lem, the u no fficia l capital o f Black
Am erica. W rite on, V ivia n R obin
son and the Harlem, Tourist Associa
tion!
I love to stand in front o f or inside
the Liberation Bookstore, now cele
brating its 22nd anniversary on L e
nox Avenue at 131st Street (accord
ing to manager, Una M ulzac), fu ll o f
the people that the late great poet/
playw right, Langston Hughes, v o l
ume I and II, by A rnold Rampersad.
A t the W rite rs’ Festival, I spoke
to New Y o rk Delta Alumnae Chap
ter president, Joyce Chapman, who
co-wrote the successful proposal for
the Festival, presented by the soror
ity ’ s ARTS & LETTER S C om m it
tee. We discussed with another friend
o f m y, New arts patron and teacher,
A lm a J. Goss, the merits o f the
“ Harlem Festival o f Black Filmmaker
Foundation, Epsilon Tau Chapter,
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.,
Harlem Writers Guild, Inc., New Ren
aissance Writers and New York Black
Librarians Caucus, Inc.
When I mentioned that my fa m ily
was a Delta fa m ily o f long-standing,
through one o f my sisters, Addic
Jean Haynes, she responded w arm ly
to me im m ediately, who was there
wearing a couple o f “ hats (a re
porter from the Portland Observer &
founder o f the Frank Silvera W riters
W orkshop). W rite on, Delta sister.
Now a t your local store!
JOHNNY
MATHIS
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