Latest news with #SidneyPoitier
Boston Globe
13-04-2025
- Boston Globe
Today in History: April 13, Tiger Woods wins first Masters by record margin
In 1861, Fort Sumter in South Carolina fell to Confederate forces in the first battle of the Civil War. In 1873, members of the pro-white, paramilitary White League attacked Black state militia members defending a courthouse in Colfax, La. Three white men and as many as 150 Black men were killed in what is known as the Colfax Massacre, one of the worst acts of Reconstruction-era violence. In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial in Washington on the 200th anniversary of his birth. Advertisement In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first Black performer to win an Academy Award for acting in a leading role for his performance in 'Lilies of the Field.' In 1997, 21-year-old Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Ga., finishing a record 12 strokes ahead of Tom Kite in second place. In 1999, right-to-die advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Mich., to 10 to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a patient with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. (Kevorkian ultimately served eight years before being paroled.) Advertisement In 2005, a defiant Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and three other attacks in back-to-back court appearances in Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta. In 2009, at his second trial, music producer Phil Spector was found guilty by a Los Angeles jury of second-degree murder in the shooting of actor Lana Clarkson. (Later sentenced to 19 years to life, Spector died in prison in January 2021.) In 2011, a federal jury in San Francisco convicted baseball slugger Barry Bonds of a single charge of obstruction of justice, but failed to reach a verdict on the three counts at the heart of allegations that he knowingly used steroids and human growth hormone and lied to a grand jury about it. (Bonds' conviction for obstruction was overturned in 2015.) In 2016, the Golden State Warriors became the NBA's first 73-win team, by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 125-104, breaking the 72-win record set by the Chicago Bulls in 1996. In 2017, Pentagon officials said US forces struck a tunnel complex of the Islamic State group in eastern Afghanistan with the GBU-43/B MOAB 'mother of all bombs,' the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the military.
Khaleej Times
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Eddie Murphy recalls how Sidney Poitier advised him not to star in 'Malcolm X'
"Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy opened up about some advice Sidney Poitier once gave him that left him surprised. In Apple TV+'s new documentary, Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood, he said the Oscar winner advised him not to join the cast of 1992's Malcom X. The film was first directed by Norman Jewison, the director of Poitier's In the Heat of the Night, who cast Denzel Washington in the starring role before Spike Lee took over as director. "They were talking about doing Malcolm X," Murphy recalled. "Norman Jewison was putting it together. They were gonna use Th e Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley. And they approached me about playing Alex Haley. Around that same time, I bumped into Sidney Poitier at something, and I asked him, 'Yeah, I'm thinking about playing Alex Haley!' And Sidney Poitier said, 'You are not Denzel [Washington], and you are not Morgan [Freeman]. You are a breath of fresh air, and don't [mess] with that!'." Murphy admitted he "didn't know" if Poitier's advice "was an insult or a compliment", but was just shocked to be compared to Washington and Freeman. "I was like, 'What?'" he added. In the documentary, Murphy also spoke about being different from the leading black men on the big screen. "I was in uncharted waters. For Sidney and all those guys, when I showed up, it was something kinda new," Murphy said, adding, "They didn't have a reference for me, they couldn't give me advice, 'cause I was 20, 21 years old, and my audience was the mainstream, all of everywhere. My movies [were] all around the world, and they had never had that with a young Black person. So nobody could give me advice, really. Everything broke really big and really fast." While Lee's Malcom X didn't include Haley as a character, the film ended up being a huge critical success, earning two Oscar nominations: best actor for Washington and best costume design for Ruth E. Carter, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Eddie Murphy Says Sidney Poitier Advised Him Not to Star in ‘Malcolm X'
Eddie Murphy is opening up about some advice Sidney Poitier once gave him that left him surprised. In Apple TV+'s new documentary, Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood, the Beverly Hills Cop actor shared that the Oscar winner told him not to star in 1992's Malcom X. At the time, the film was initially being helmed by Norman Jewison, Poitier's In the Heat of the Night director, who cast Denzel Washington in the lead role before Spike Lee took over as director. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'American Gangster' Drug Kingpin Frank Lucas to Be Focus of Documentary (Exclusive) George Clooney's 'Good Night and Good Luck' Sets New Record Weekly Gross for a Broadway Play 'Othello' Director Kenny Leon and Denzel Washington Are "Absolutely" Discussing a Potential Film Adaptation 'They were talking about doing Malcolm X,' Murphy recalled. 'Norman Jewison was putting it together. They were gonna use The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley. And they approached me about playing Alex Haley. Around that same time, I bumped into Sidney Poitier at something, and I asked him, 'Yeah, I'm thinking about playing Alex Haley!' And Sidney Poitier said, 'You are not Denzel [Washington], and you are not Morgan [Freeman]. You are a breath of fresh air, and don't fuck with that!'' Murphy admitted he 'didn't know' if Poitier's advice 'was an insult or a compliment,' but was just shocked to be compared to Washington and Freeman. 'I was like, 'What?'' he added. Elsewhere in Black Leading Men in Hollywood, Murphy speculated as to why Poitier didn't put him in the same group as Washington and Freeman. 'I was in uncharted waters. For Sidney and all those guys, when I showed up, it was something kinda new,' the Dreamgirls actor said. 'They didn't have a reference for me, they couldn't give me advice, 'cause I was 20, 21 years old, and my audience was the mainstream — all of everywhere. My movies [were] all around the world, and they had never had that with a young Black person. So nobody could give me advice, really. Everything broke really big and really fast.' While Lee's Malcom X didn't include Haley as a character, the film ended up being a huge critical success, earning two Oscar nominations: best actor for Washington and best costume design for Ruth E. Carter. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked 20 Times the Oscars Got It Wrong The Best Anti-Fascist Films of All Time
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Eddie Murphy reveals early advice he received from legends in ‘Number One on the Call Sheet' doc: ‘You should stop that cursing'
Comedic legend Eddie Murphy shares some of the early career advice he received in the new Apple TV+ documentary about Black Hollywood. Eddie Murphy is a legend in comedy circles and in Hollywood, having delivered several iconic performances on the stage and on the big screen. That wasn't always the case, though. While Murphy's star power was obvious, there was a time when he was new on the acting scene, and the elder statesmen in the business provided him with some interesting nuggets of advice that he remembers vividly to this day. Did any of that advice change the trajectory of his career? One may never know, but the 63-year-old star is ready to share some of those conversations. According to People, in the upcoming Apple TV+ two-part series, 'Number One on the Call Sheet,' Murphy sat down and shared some of the advice he received while he was a young, up-and-coming comic and actor in Hollywood. 'Number One on the Call Sheet' is a documentary about the experiences of Black actors in Hollywood, and Murphy has a lot to share. In recounting a conversation with Sidney Poitier, he remembers being advised to stick to comedy, something that has fared Murphy very well throughout his career. 'Early on, Sidney said — I don't know if it was an insult or a compliment, or something. …They were talking about doing Malcolm X. Norman Jewison was putting it together, and they were gonna use 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X' by Alex Haley. And they approached me about playing Alex Haley,' he shared. As a point of note, in 1992, Spike Lee co-wrote and directed 'Malcolm X,' starring Denzel Washington and based on Haley's best-selling 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X' — no person plays Haley in Lee's film. Murphy continued, 'And some-kind-of-where around that same time, I bumped into Sidney Poitier at something. And I asked him, 'Yeah, I'm thinking about playing Alex Haley.' And Sidney Poitier said, uh, 'You are not Denzel, and you are not Morgan. You are a breath of fresh air. And don't f— with that.' And I was like, 'What?'' It would seem that Murphy took Poitier's advice, but again, in the version of the film eventually released by Spike Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule Production company, there is no representation of Haley in the film. Murphy also shared some interesting advice he received from James Brown, the 'Godfather of Soul.' In 2006, Murphy played James 'Thunder' Early in the film 'Dreamgirls' — he was nominated for an Oscar for his performance — in a role loosely based on Brown. Brown thought that Murphy could tone down the language. 'James Brown told me, he asked me, he told me I should stop cursing. He said, 'You want to be in this business for a long time, you should stop that cursing,'' Murphy recalled. Brown also provided some financial advice for Murphy, though Murphy did not disclose if he used it. 'You think you got a million dollars?' I said, 'Yeah, I do.' And he said, 'You ain't got no million dollars.' He said, 'If you do got a million dollars, you take it and bury it in the woods,'' he remembered. 'And I said, 'Why bury my money in the woods?' He said, 'The government will take it from you. So bury it.' And I said, 'But can't the government take your land?' And he said, 'But they won't know where the money is.' That's a true story. That's the kind of advice I used to get.' Murphy pointed out that he also received advice from the likes of Marlon Brando and Larry Holmes. The comedy and film legend took it all in stride, acknowledging that he wasn't sure if the folks who came before him had any idea what kind of advice to really give him to succeed. Along with Murphy, other participants in the two-part series include Washington, Angela Bassett, Whoopi Goldberg, Viola Davis, and Will Smith. 'Number One on the Call Sheet' premiers on Apple TV+ on March 28. More must-reads: There's less March Madness chaos this year in Spokane, with fewer teams and lessons learned Bravo announces new reality dating show — 'Love Hotel' — with 'Real Housewives of Potomac' stars Gizelle Bryant and Ashley Darby The viral 'Pop the Balloon' series is headed to Netflix as a live show, hosted by Yvonne Orji
Chicago Tribune
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: ‘A Raisin in the Sun' gets an extraordinary, close-to-home production at Court Theatre
The boy named Travis is asleep on the couch. Bodies occupy almost every available space in the cramped apartment. The bathroom is way down the hall. The sound and sights of Chicago's roiling South Side, circa the late 1950s, can be heard and felt outside. Even as you walk into the Court Theatre, you know that the director Gabrielle Randle-Bent and her designer, Andrew Boyce, understand 'A Raisin in the Sun,' the greatest play ever written by a Chicagoan about the city of her youth. This cannot be taken for granted. Many productions, including the most recent Broadway revival, have shorn this play from its Chicago roots, seemingly forgetting the references to Walter Lee Younger standing at the corner of 39th and South Park, or even that it was based on Lorraine Hansberry's own father's decision to try and move his family into Washington Park, a white neighborhood in 1938. Carl Augustus Hansberry's act of rebellion had a lot to do with a subsequent 1940 Supreme Court decision involving a covenant restricting Black families from purchasing or leasing land in a particular Chicago neighborhood such as the one to which the elder Hansberry aspired. When his daughter Lorraine, as formidable an artist and intellectual as Chicago ever produced, wrote 'Raisin,' her dad, who became so disillusioned with America he had gone to Mexico, already was dead. Maybe that is how she injected so much passion and intensity into her masterpiece about an ordinary, hard-working Black family who just want to move to an affordable home that just happens to be in a white neighborhood. To my mind, 'Raisin' is the poetic and structural equal of any American play of the 20th century. 'A Raisin in the Sun' was first seen in Chicago (prior to New York) at the Blackstone Theatre in 1959 with Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeill and Sidney Poitier. This newspaper's Claudia Cassidy called it 'a remarkable play' with a 'proud backbone' and sent it on its way, even though Hansberry's diaries indicate she had been terrified of the Tribune review. Court Theatre is the closest professional American theater to the setting of 'A Raisin in the Sun,' and one of this Hyde Park theater's most memorable moments came when a 2006 staging of the musical version, 'Raisin,' intersected with the rise of Barack Obama, something Hansberry certainly could not have anticipated. So there is a lot of local history. 'A Raisin in the Sun' is best known as a play about the characters' desire to move to a white neighborhood and, indeed, that's the choice around which Hansberry structured her work. But one of the great pleasures of this revival is now well it teases out the other aspects of a work that offered an incomparably rich portrait of Black life in Chicago in the middle of the 20th century. Hansberry once told Chicago's Studs Terkel she split herself in two in the play: one half of her is Ruth Younger (here, the magnificent Kierra Bunch, body pulsing with stress and empathy), the wife of Walter Lee Younger (Brian Keys, like a coiled spring) who wants nothing so much as air to breathe for her family and who understands that holding that together is what matters most in the world. Hansberry's other, more radical side is found in the 'college girl' Beneatha (Martasia Jones, whose live-wire performance peers forward to the 1960s), torn between two lovers, Joseph Asagai (Eliott Johnson) and George (a droll Charles Gardner), one offering African rebirth, the other a pathway to Chicago's Black middle class. Simply put, Hansberry baked into her play most of the concerns of Black Chicago at the time, whether that was fighting off Chicago-style racism, often most perniciously expressed through real estate restrictions; the struggles of Black men to assert themselves within matriarchal families; economic repression all around and even the glimmers of a nascent civil rights movement. It's all here and, in this production, all living and breathing before your eyes in the home of Lena Younger, played by Shanésia Davis, who understands the demands of this role because she understands Mama is the flawed but resilient leader of a roiling ensemble, a Chicago family, ordinary, extraordinary. Randle-Bent has choreographed this production with great style. Pacing sags a little toward the end, which is generally less detailed than the near-flawless Act 1 (I suspect rehearsal time got shorter) and occasionally she goes a little far, adding to the running time of what already is a substantial work. But those are very minor quibbles in what is the best show of the young year here so far, a richly staged, moving and superbly cast, designed, and acted rendition of an incomparably precious work to Chicago. It's not to be missed, even if you think you already know the play. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@ Review: 'A Raisin in the Sun' (4 stars) When: Through March 9 Where: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes Tickets: at $58-$100 at 773-753-4472 and
