Latest news with #GoodTimes
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Granderson: Malcolm-Jamal Warner carried a heavy load for Black America
There were three television characters who really mattered to me as a kid: Michael, Leroy and Theo. In elementary school, 'Good Times' was the television show that most closely resembled my family. And seeing reruns of Ralph David Carter's portrayal of a precocious young boy learning what it means to be poor, gifted and Black is what moved his Michael from fiction to family for me. By middle school, I was no longer wearing cornrows like Gene Anthony Ray, but I tried everything else to be like his character Leroy from the television show 'Fame.' For some of my classmates, the performing arts were a fun way to express themselves, and the show was inspirational. For me, it was my way out of the hood, and Leroy was the blueprint. Through the Detroit-Windsor Dance Academy, I was able to take professional dance lessons for free and ultimately earned a dance scholarship for college. But it wasn't a linear journey. Despite being gifted, I struggled academically and required summer classes to graduate from high school. That's why I connected with Theo, whose challenges in the classroom were one of the running jokes on 'The Cosby Show.' The family never gave up on him, and more importantly, he didn't stop trying. Through the jokes about his intelligence, the coming-of-age miscues (and the dyslexia diagnosis), the storylines of Theo — like those of Leroy and Michael — often reflected struggles I foolishly thought no one else was experiencing when I was growing up. It is only through distance and time are we able to see moments like those more clearly. In retrospect, the three of them were like knots I held onto on a rope I had no idea I was climbing. This is why the Black community's response to the death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner this week isn't solely rooted in nostalgia but also in gratitude. We recognize the burden he's been carrying, so that others could climb. When 'The Cosby Show' debuted in 1984, there were no other examples of a successful two-parent Black family on air. We were on television but often trauma and struggle — not love and support — were at the center of the narratives. So even though Black women had been earning law degrees since the 1800s — beginning with Charlotte E. Ray in 1872 — and Black men were becoming doctors before that, the initial response from critics was that the show's premise of a doctor-and-lawyer Black couple was not authentically Black. That narrow-minded worldview continued to hang over Hollywood despite the show's success. In 1992, after nearly 10 years of 'The Cosby Show' being No. 1 — and after the success of 'Beverly Hills Cop II' and 'Coming to America' — the Eddie Murphy-led project 'Boomerang' was panned as unrealistic because the main characters were all Black and successful. The great Murphy took on the Los Angeles Times directly in a letter for its critique on what Black excellence should look like. However, Black characters like Michael, Leroy and Theo had been taking on the media since the racist film 'The Birth of a Nation' painted all of us as threats in 1915. It could not have been easy for Warner, being the face of so much for so many at an age when a person is trying to figure out who he is. And because he was able to do so with such grace, Warner's Theo defined Blackness simply by being what the world said we were not. This sentiment is embodied in his last interview, when he answered the question of his legacy by saying: 'I will be able to leave this Earth knowing and people knowing that I was a good person.' In the end, that is ultimately what made his character, along with Leroy and Michael, so important to the Black community. It wasn't the economic circumstances or family structure of the sitcoms that they all had in common. It was their refusal to allow the ugliness of this world to tear them down. To change their hearts or turn their light into darkness. They maintained their humanity and in the process gave so many of us a foothold to keep climbing higher. YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Solve the daily Crossword
Leader Live
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Oscar-winning The Way We Were lyricist Alan Bergman dies aged 99
Bergman died on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, family spokesperson Ken Sunshine said in a statement. The statement said Bergman had, in recent months, suffered from respiratory issues 'but continued to write songs till the very end'. The Bergmans married in 1958 and remained together until her death, in 2022. With collaborators ranging from Marvin Hamlisch and Quincy Jones to Michel Legrand and Cy Coleman, they were among the most successful and prolific partnerships of their time, providing words and occasional music for hundreds of songs, including movie themes that became as famous as the films themselves. Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Tony Bennett and many other artists performed their material, and Barbra Streisand became a frequent collaborator and close friend. The Bergmans crafted lyrics known by millions, many of whom would not have recognised the writers had they walked right past them. Among their most famous works: the Streisand-Neil Diamond duet You Don't Bring Me Flowers, the well-named Sinatra favourite Nice 'n' Easy and the topical themes to the 1970s sitcoms Maude and Good Times. Their film compositions included Ray Charles' In The Heat Of The Night from the movie of the same name; Noel Harrison's The Windmills Of Your Mind, from The Thomas Crown Affair; and Stephen Bishop's It Might Be You, from Tootsie. The whole world seemed to sing and cry along to The Way We Were, an instant favourite recorded by Streisand for the 1973 romantic drama of the same name that co-starred Streisand and Robert Redford. Set to Hamlisch's tender, bittersweet melody, it was essentially a song about itself — a nostalgic ballad about nostalgia, an indelible ode to the uncertainty of the past, starting with one of history's most famous opening stanzas: Memories/light the corners of my mind/misty watercolour memories/of the way we were.' The Way We Were was the top-selling song of 1974 and brought the Bergmans one of their three Oscars, the others coming for Windmills Of Your Mind and the soundtrack to Yentl, the Streisand-directed movie from 1983. At times, the Academy Awards could be mistaken for a Bergman showcase. In 1983, three of the nominees for best song featured lyrics by the Bergmans, who received 16 nominations in all. The Bergmans also won two Grammys, four Emmys, were presented numerous lifetime achievement honours and received tributes from individual artists, including Streisand's 2011 album of Bergman songs, What Matters Most. Their very lives seemed to rhyme. They did not meet until they were adults, but were born in the same Brooklyn hospital, four years apart; raised in the same Brooklyn neighbourhood, attended the same children's concerts at Carnegie Hall and moved to California in the same year, 1950. They were introduced in Los Angeles while working for the same composer, but at different times of the day. Their actual courtship was in part a story of music. Fred Astaire was Marilyn's favourite singer at the time and Alan Bergman co-wrote a song, That Face, which Astaire agreed to record. Bergman rushed home to tell Marilyn the news, then proposed. Bergman is survived by a daughter, Julie Bergman, and granddaughter.
North Wales Chronicle
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
Oscar-winning The Way We Were lyricist Alan Bergman dies aged 99
Bergman died on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, family spokesperson Ken Sunshine said in a statement. The statement said Bergman had, in recent months, suffered from respiratory issues 'but continued to write songs till the very end'. The Bergmans married in 1958 and remained together until her death, in 2022. With collaborators ranging from Marvin Hamlisch and Quincy Jones to Michel Legrand and Cy Coleman, they were among the most successful and prolific partnerships of their time, providing words and occasional music for hundreds of songs, including movie themes that became as famous as the films themselves. Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Tony Bennett and many other artists performed their material, and Barbra Streisand became a frequent collaborator and close friend. The Bergmans crafted lyrics known by millions, many of whom would not have recognised the writers had they walked right past them. Among their most famous works: the Streisand-Neil Diamond duet You Don't Bring Me Flowers, the well-named Sinatra favourite Nice 'n' Easy and the topical themes to the 1970s sitcoms Maude and Good Times. Their film compositions included Ray Charles' In The Heat Of The Night from the movie of the same name; Noel Harrison's The Windmills Of Your Mind, from The Thomas Crown Affair; and Stephen Bishop's It Might Be You, from Tootsie. The whole world seemed to sing and cry along to The Way We Were, an instant favourite recorded by Streisand for the 1973 romantic drama of the same name that co-starred Streisand and Robert Redford. Set to Hamlisch's tender, bittersweet melody, it was essentially a song about itself — a nostalgic ballad about nostalgia, an indelible ode to the uncertainty of the past, starting with one of history's most famous opening stanzas: Memories/light the corners of my mind/misty watercolour memories/of the way we were.' The Way We Were was the top-selling song of 1974 and brought the Bergmans one of their three Oscars, the others coming for Windmills Of Your Mind and the soundtrack to Yentl, the Streisand-directed movie from 1983. At times, the Academy Awards could be mistaken for a Bergman showcase. In 1983, three of the nominees for best song featured lyrics by the Bergmans, who received 16 nominations in all. The Bergmans also won two Grammys, four Emmys, were presented numerous lifetime achievement honours and received tributes from individual artists, including Streisand's 2011 album of Bergman songs, What Matters Most. Their very lives seemed to rhyme. They did not meet until they were adults, but were born in the same Brooklyn hospital, four years apart; raised in the same Brooklyn neighbourhood, attended the same children's concerts at Carnegie Hall and moved to California in the same year, 1950. They were introduced in Los Angeles while working for the same composer, but at different times of the day. Their actual courtship was in part a story of music. Fred Astaire was Marilyn's favourite singer at the time and Alan Bergman co-wrote a song, That Face, which Astaire agreed to record. Bergman rushed home to tell Marilyn the news, then proposed. Bergman is survived by a daughter, Julie Bergman, and granddaughter.
Glasgow Times
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Oscar-winning The Way We Were lyricist Alan Bergman dies aged 99
Bergman died on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, family spokesperson Ken Sunshine said in a statement. The statement said Bergman had, in recent months, suffered from respiratory issues 'but continued to write songs till the very end'. The Bergmans married in 1958 and remained together until her death, in 2022. Marilyn and Alan Bergman pose at a piano in their home (AP) With collaborators ranging from Marvin Hamlisch and Quincy Jones to Michel Legrand and Cy Coleman, they were among the most successful and prolific partnerships of their time, providing words and occasional music for hundreds of songs, including movie themes that became as famous as the films themselves. Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Tony Bennett and many other artists performed their material, and Barbra Streisand became a frequent collaborator and close friend. The Bergmans crafted lyrics known by millions, many of whom would not have recognised the writers had they walked right past them. Among their most famous works: the Streisand-Neil Diamond duet You Don't Bring Me Flowers, the well-named Sinatra favourite Nice 'n' Easy and the topical themes to the 1970s sitcoms Maude and Good Times. Their film compositions included Ray Charles' In The Heat Of The Night from the movie of the same name; Noel Harrison's The Windmills Of Your Mind, from The Thomas Crown Affair; and Stephen Bishop's It Might Be You, from Tootsie. The whole world seemed to sing and cry along to The Way We Were, an instant favourite recorded by Streisand for the 1973 romantic drama of the same name that co-starred Streisand and Robert Redford. Barbra Streisand became a frequent collaborator and close friend (PA) Set to Hamlisch's tender, bittersweet melody, it was essentially a song about itself — a nostalgic ballad about nostalgia, an indelible ode to the uncertainty of the past, starting with one of history's most famous opening stanzas: Memories/light the corners of my mind/misty watercolour memories/of the way we were.' The Way We Were was the top-selling song of 1974 and brought the Bergmans one of their three Oscars, the others coming for Windmills Of Your Mind and the soundtrack to Yentl, the Streisand-directed movie from 1983. At times, the Academy Awards could be mistaken for a Bergman showcase. In 1983, three of the nominees for best song featured lyrics by the Bergmans, who received 16 nominations in all. The Bergmans also won two Grammys, four Emmys, were presented numerous lifetime achievement honours and received tributes from individual artists, including Streisand's 2011 album of Bergman songs, What Matters Most. Their very lives seemed to rhyme. They did not meet until they were adults, but were born in the same Brooklyn hospital, four years apart; raised in the same Brooklyn neighbourhood, attended the same children's concerts at Carnegie Hall and moved to California in the same year, 1950. They were introduced in Los Angeles while working for the same composer, but at different times of the day. Their actual courtship was in part a story of music. Fred Astaire was Marilyn's favourite singer at the time and Alan Bergman co-wrote a song, That Face, which Astaire agreed to record. Bergman rushed home to tell Marilyn the news, then proposed. Bergman is survived by a daughter, Julie Bergman, and granddaughter.
South Wales Guardian
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Oscar-winning The Way We Were lyricist Alan Bergman dies aged 99
Bergman died on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles, family spokesperson Ken Sunshine said in a statement. The statement said Bergman had, in recent months, suffered from respiratory issues 'but continued to write songs till the very end'. The Bergmans married in 1958 and remained together until her death, in 2022. With collaborators ranging from Marvin Hamlisch and Quincy Jones to Michel Legrand and Cy Coleman, they were among the most successful and prolific partnerships of their time, providing words and occasional music for hundreds of songs, including movie themes that became as famous as the films themselves. Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Tony Bennett and many other artists performed their material, and Barbra Streisand became a frequent collaborator and close friend. The Bergmans crafted lyrics known by millions, many of whom would not have recognised the writers had they walked right past them. Among their most famous works: the Streisand-Neil Diamond duet You Don't Bring Me Flowers, the well-named Sinatra favourite Nice 'n' Easy and the topical themes to the 1970s sitcoms Maude and Good Times. Their film compositions included Ray Charles' In The Heat Of The Night from the movie of the same name; Noel Harrison's The Windmills Of Your Mind, from The Thomas Crown Affair; and Stephen Bishop's It Might Be You, from Tootsie. The whole world seemed to sing and cry along to The Way We Were, an instant favourite recorded by Streisand for the 1973 romantic drama of the same name that co-starred Streisand and Robert Redford. Set to Hamlisch's tender, bittersweet melody, it was essentially a song about itself — a nostalgic ballad about nostalgia, an indelible ode to the uncertainty of the past, starting with one of history's most famous opening stanzas: Memories/light the corners of my mind/misty watercolour memories/of the way we were.' The Way We Were was the top-selling song of 1974 and brought the Bergmans one of their three Oscars, the others coming for Windmills Of Your Mind and the soundtrack to Yentl, the Streisand-directed movie from 1983. At times, the Academy Awards could be mistaken for a Bergman showcase. In 1983, three of the nominees for best song featured lyrics by the Bergmans, who received 16 nominations in all. The Bergmans also won two Grammys, four Emmys, were presented numerous lifetime achievement honours and received tributes from individual artists, including Streisand's 2011 album of Bergman songs, What Matters Most. Their very lives seemed to rhyme. They did not meet until they were adults, but were born in the same Brooklyn hospital, four years apart; raised in the same Brooklyn neighbourhood, attended the same children's concerts at Carnegie Hall and moved to California in the same year, 1950. They were introduced in Los Angeles while working for the same composer, but at different times of the day. Their actual courtship was in part a story of music. Fred Astaire was Marilyn's favourite singer at the time and Alan Bergman co-wrote a song, That Face, which Astaire agreed to record. Bergman rushed home to tell Marilyn the news, then proposed. Bergman is survived by a daughter, Julie Bergman, and granddaughter.
