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Page 5 Portland Observer AUGUST 31,1989
i Af
Lisa Collins
ENTERTAINMENT
BEHIND THE
SCENES
“ Lonesome Dove” Leads In E m m y N om inations: M oto w n ’s Produc­
tions Lonesome Dove m ini-series led the pack o f recently announced emmy
nominees w ith a grand total o f 18, including that o f Danny G lover in the
category o f best supporting actor. ‘ ‘Lonesome Dove’ ’ w ill face o ff against
Oprah W infrey ’ s “ Women O f B re ws ter Place ” in the category o f best m i n i-
series, at the annually televised awards, w hich w ill be broadcast live from
Los Angeles on September 17. Gregory Hines also scored high marks w ith
five nominations for his PBS “ Dance In Am erica” special. Speaking o f
dance, Debbie A llen w ill square o ff against Paula A bdul (Tracey Ullm an
Show ” ) for her choreography o f “ The Debbie A llen Special” . A llen also
capped a nomination fo r best directing (variety or music program) in her
A B C special. Other blacks nabbing nominations were Paula K e lly fo r her
part in Woman o f Brewster Place” , Cleavon L ittle fo ra guest-starring nod
on “ Dear John” , and talk show newcomer Arsenio H all beat out his
com petition, w hile nabbing three emmy nominations. (Johnny Carson only
got tw o)...M eanwhile, i f H a ll’ s ongoing feud w ith Spike Lee appears to be
cooling o ff, his ongoing la w su it w ith B everly H ills N A A C P president
W illis E dw ards is heating up. Edwards filed suit against Hall in January
charging that H all defamed him w hile accusing him o f extortion during a
radio show. A ll this stemming from charges on the part o f Edwards that H all
practiced racism in fa ilin g to hire blacks in key positions on his nationally
syndicated talk show. According to H all, the ordeal has caused him a great
deal o f pain. Said H a ll,” as long as we (blacks) are fighting each other, we
are missing the true enemy, which is oppression...and I don’ t mean ncces-
■ sarily the w hite man, but there are all kinds o f oppression...even blacks
against blacks.”
B illy Dee Comes U nder A tta c k : “ I think people are getting a little
ridiculous , said actor B illy Dee W illiam s, who believes the criticism o f
liqu or advertisement targeting blacks is overblow n.” The whole focus
should be not so much on the beer but on how you lead your life ” . W illiam s
made the statements in response to some black leaders in Detroit, who w hile
c itin g recent studies (that reveal more alcohol and tobacco-related health
problems among blacks than among whites), have become outw ardly
critica l o f such advertisements. “ I think a lo t o f people are overreacting,”
said W illiam s, who is a spokesman for C o lt.” You can’t legislate m o ra lity ” .
Three m em bers o f L L Cool J ’ s Road Show W ill Stand T r ia l: A singer,
band technician and bodyguard were charged w ith raping a 15-year old g irl
who wound up backstage at a post-concert party after w inning a local radio
contest. L L C ool J (aka James Todd Sm ith) was not involved and has
resumed his three-month long national tour...O n the home fro n t, Jasmine
Guy kept a low p ro file as she strolled hand-in-hand w ith her longtim e steady
at a recent outdoor restaurant festival in Los Angeles. The pair reportedly
ju s t bought a home together.
S h o rtT a ke s: A ctor Danny G lover has just wrapped his part in “ ToSleep
W ith A nger” , the story o f three co nflicting generations o f a modem black
fa m ily pulled into the beliefs and influences o f the past when a mysterious
old friend from the Deep South pays a visit. So impressed was G lover w ith
the script that he bypassed his normal fee and was first to com m it to the low -
budget film at equity wages. The m ovie also stars M ary A lice , Sheryl Lee
Ralph. Vonetta McGee, and her actor-hubby Carl Lum bly (form erly o f
“ Cagney & Lacey” )...M eanwhile, L ionel Richie has completed his latest
LP, though M otow n execs have not yet announced when it w ill be released
The problem seems to be that Richie submitted so much good material, they
are having a hard time determ ining ju st what w ill be release
'
¡leased...Next
week:
M illie Jackson’ s daughter signs a recording contract
ON THE M ONEY
P ro m ine n t Black Businesswoman Dies Suddenly: On The M oney had
hoped to lead in w ith a feature on how the women at the reins o f the nation’ s
top 100 black businesses were faring,but instead there is sad news to share.
The Atlanta business and social com m unity is s till in shock and m ourning
over the death o f 48-yearold Sandra Thacker, ch ie f executive o f the Thacker
Corporation, w hich is ranked as the nation’s 20th largest black business by
Black Enterprise Magazine. Thacker, who had recently returned from
vacation, drowned in her backyard sw im m ing pool, w hile at home by
herself. The accidental drowning took place when she h it her head after
slipping into the pool. The Thacker Corporation was founded in 1970 by
Floyd Thacker who won the distinction o f being the first black in the United
States to get a federal contract in highway construction. Thacker took
control o f the firm , which is headquartered in A tlanta, after her 53-year old
husband died in 1986 from a heart attack and com plications due to
diabetes.While Thacker d id n ’t take the risks her husband did, she was
known to be an astute businesswoman, and upon inheriting the ch ie f role,
actively went after new accounts. Last year’s sales topped $30 m illio n . Prior
to her husband’s death, she served as personnel director o f the firm which
specialized in construction and engineering projects. Reginald Vachon, the
company’ s CEO w ill act in her stead. No form al statement from the
company has as yet been given. Company spokesman, Robert Z im lic h ,
“ says he s till can’t quite believe it. “ I keep w alking to her o ffice, expecting
her to be there” . Thacker is survived by four stepchildren and the couple’ s
teenaged son, Russell.
Ja ckpo t F o r M in o rity -O w n e d H igh-T ech F irm s: The value o f
government contract awarded to m in ority firm s through the Small Business
A d m inistration’s 8 A program is expected to mushroom , according to an
independent consulting firm. Last year alone, over $3.4 billion in government
contracts went to econom ically disadvantaged firm s, w ith computer and
telecommunications firm s leading the pack. According to one expert,
inform ation technology and computer firm s arc expected to get an even
bigger piece o f the pic in years to come...M eanwhile, Joshua Smith at
M axim a who spent six years in the 8 A program and now heads M axim a
Corp., the nation’ s ninth-largest black-owned business recalls his 8A
graduation as “ gra du atio n w ith tw o fo o tp rin ts on y o u r b u tt” . Smith
recently addressed some program negatives, as w ell as his frustration w ith
the perception that SB A participants shouldn’t drive nice cars, make a lot o f
money or be allowed to sell their businesses w ithout a lot o f talk. Said Smith,
“ i t ’ s interesting that only in m in ority economic development did these
discussions take place” . Smith also addressed the often fierce com petition
and backbiting among program participants, adding that he was told that
’everytime M axim a’s name came up they received 10-15 protests from
other 8A companies.’ Said Smith, “ w e’re only getting two percent o f the pic
now. W hy arc we steppingon each other’s shoulders? We haven’ t yet gained
confidence in our own success and portrayed that to the black consumer.
That is a 250 b illio n -d o lla r marketplace o f black income out there annually
, o f which we are getting less than six cents on the d o lla r” .
In S hort: Don Anderson, senior vice-president o f H BO , Inc. was
recently named top man in the new marketing e ffo rt to promote its new
Comedy Channel, debuting this fall...Danny G lo ve r’s latest starring role
comes in a f i l m - ” To Sleep W ith Anger” , whose budget o f just under $2
m illio n almost equals his estimated salary fo r his current hit, “ Lethal
Weapon I I ” . G lover is said to be w orking fo r scale on this pic lure. W hat’ s
scale? W ell, according to the LA-based Screen A cto r’ s G uild, that’s $414
per day...Next week: fin d out w ha t the next generations home technology
is going to cost you.
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IBCUMD
IRIEIPCICT
GEORGE CLINTON
By Garland Lee Thompson
T H E A M E R IC A N B L A C K T H E -
A T R E M O V E M E N T G O ES
N A T IO N A L
I t ’ s been a “ long time since yes­
terday,” as the P.J. Gibson black
w om an’s play slates in its title. And
now the first National B lack Theatre
festival is history, and like I said to
D elle Chatman, executive story edi­
tor fo r T im R eid’s series “ Frank’ s
Place,” (and now she’ s w orking on
the R eid’s new series for CBS), the
Am erican Black Theatre M ovement
has to go “ national” i f it is to grow
and survive in this country.
Delle Chatman and I sat having
brunch at the Winston-Salem Stouffer
Hotel on the closing m orning (A u ­
gust 20th, 1989) o f the firs t bi-annual
National Black Threatre Festival. The
scheduled Festival “ rap-up” session
had just been canceled, due to some
comm unication problems (perhaps
too much “ p a rty " every night dur­
ing the week o f the festival and at the
last late night pool party that black
theatre director o f Bates College,
Buddy Bulterand I threw (Aug. 20th,
1989,2 :00A M T O 4:00 A M , Sunday)
fo r a ll o f our old and new theatre
friends and “ fa m ily .” The pool was
packed and SRO (standing room
only) on the poolside, so poor Her­
man Jones, assistant to the Festival
producer, Larry Leon H am lin, good-
naturedly, “ went w ith the flo w ,”
when we “ invited” him into the hotel
pool, w hite tux, tails, red bow tie and
a ll! The crow d loved it, so we “ in ­
v ite d ” in a few more poolside fans.
R ick Kahn, producer o f one o f the
“ hottest” black theatres in the coun­
try, Crossroads Theatre Company o f
Brunsw ick, New Jersey, gave his
“ body” fo r “ the loving cause,” and
went in for the fun and games.
I have never seen so many people
from d ifferent parts o f the country in
one space come together, so quickly,
to act like “ one big happy fa m ily .”
The latest number count Ls that 25,000
to 30,000 people attended the festi­
val during the course o f the week o f
theatre productions and black theatre
panel discussions (I sat on tw o pan-
els-’ Playwrightson P layw righting,”
Thurs., 8/17/89 and "D ire c to rs in­
terpreting and developing new and
original scripts,” Sat. 8/19/89.
The im portant thing that we all
have come away from the festival
(that is the “ b ra in -child ” o f Larry
Leon H am lin, founder/artistic direc­
tor o f the North Carolina B lack Rep­
ertory o f Winston-Salem), is the urgent
need “ to network: nationally as a
liv in g , grow ing body o f hundreds o f
black theatre artists.Yes,they live from
the Pacific Northwest (Interstate Fire­
house C ultural Center and PassinArt
Theatre o f Portland, Oregon, the
Northeast (where Buddy B ulter is d i­
recting his touring ensemble at Bates
C ollege), Southern C alifornia (Inner
C ity C ultural Center o f L .A .) and
Northern C alifornia (Benny Sato
Am bush’ s Oakland Ensemble The­
atre and Ed B u llin s ’ B M T Theatre
Company o f Oakland, Ca.), the South­
i
west (Debi M ason’s Black Theatre
Troupe o f Phoenis, Arizona) to the
Southeast (Marsha Jackson and
Thomas Jones’ Jomandi Productions
o f Atlanta, Ga., and Linda Parris-
B ailey’ s Carpetbag Threatre o f K n ­
oxville, Tenn.)
T H E P R O D U C T IO N S O F T H E
N A T IO N A L B L A C K F E S T IV A L
These are the play productions
that I had the chance to see during the
festival in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Aug
14-20, 1989)
Tuesday night - August 15, 1989
* ‘ M alcolm X ,’ ’ by August W ilson
(Pulitzer Prize Playwright, “ Fences” ).
Penumbra Theatre o f Minnesota ( A
one-man show about the life o f M a l­
colm X )
Wednesday night - August 16,
1989
“ Dark C ow girls and Prairie
Queens,” by Linda Parris-Bailey. The
Carpetbag Theatre Company o f K n ­
oxville, Tenn (An adventure into yes-
tervears w ith the unusual stories o f
pioneer black women o f the Old West)
It was b rillia n t! I loved it.
Thursday night - August 17,1989
“ A in ’t No Use In Going Home,
Jody’ s got Y o ur Gal A nd Gone,” by
John O ’ Neal. The Oakland Ensemble
o f Oakland Ca. and Junebug Produc­
tions. (V iv id ly dramatizes black ex­
periences in the Am erican m ilita ry,
w ith music and comedy.) It was too
long, but fu ll o f good ‘ ‘John O ’ N eal’ ’
rich w ritin g and I loved the classic
asian mask sequence.)
Friday night - August 18, 1989
“ Sisters,” by Marsha A. Jackson,
who is co-founder o f Jomandi Pro­
ductions o f Atlanta.Ga., and directed
by Thomas W . Jones, II. He is also a
co-founder o f the company. (Its a
“ conversation at M idnight,” between
two black women, who have only
white athletic shoes in common, a
night cleaning woman and an upper-
m iddle class black woman, “ a Bup-
pie,” or black upper m obile Urban
woman executive are stuck in the o f­
fice building where they work, and
have to communicate throughout the
n ig h t M y problem w ith the piece is
that it lacks “ an event” or clear se­
ries o f action to “ d riv e ” the play
forward. But it has great streams
“ one-liners” and endless insight into
modem black womanhood.)
Saturday, August 19, 1989
“ From The M ississippi Delta, “
Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland, whose -
earlier, first play was o rig in a lly pre­
sented (in a reading & critique) by
m yself, as founding director o f the
1989 New Y o rk O B IE A w a rd -w in ­
ning p layw rights’ theatre; the Frank
Silvera W riters’ W orkshop o f New
Y ork. The original director o f “ M is ­
sissippi D elta,” is Ed Smith, staged
at the Negro Ensemble Company o f
New Y ork. This N.E.C. touring com ­
pany was mounted for the National
Black Theatre Festival,by La Tanya
Richardson, who plays several roles
that are presented by the three black
actresses. Brenda Denmark and Elain
Graham jo in La Tanya in the hurting,
soulful tale o f a young black woman’s
struggle to survive in a racist w orld.
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