The Nicholas Brothers in “Stormy Weather”
This is the dance sequence that Fred Astaire famously called, “the greatest dance number ever filmed.” I tore my ACL just watching this. In my mind, Harold and Fayard Nicholas are far and away the greatest dancers to ever walk the earth; with Fred “Rerun” Berry a distant third.
Bonus comedy: Here’s Harold hamming it up with Bill Cosby and Sydney Poitier thirty years later in “Uptown Saturday Night.”
Mini Black Power
Tim Jumper, Nick Adams and Mike Jumper. Not as politically relevant or as emotionally stirring as Mexico City in 1968, but still pretty damn sweet.
Miscegenation FTW!
I celebrate the night that Tommy and Gail made sweet, sweet love both as a fellow race-mixer and a basketball fan. I’m usually not one to believe in omens, but when he scored his first ever NBA points on a one-handed, fast break alley-oop, you had to know he was going to live up to the hype. I, for one, welcome our mulatto overlords.
Sydney puts the smack down
Staying true to the book, the screenplay had Tibbs not reacting to the slap from Endicott. Poitier was not having it. “I said, ‘I’ll tell you what, I’ll make this movie for you if you give me your absolute guarantee when he slaps me I slap him right back and you guarantee that it will play in every version of this movie.”
Bonus cinematic awesomeness: The butler’s reaction at the very end of the scene. Bonus cinematic awesomeness trivia: The butler is played by Jester Hairston. Hairston was a Tufts and Juilliard trained actor who had a long career in radio, TV and film. You might remember him from his role as Rolly Forbes on the 80s sitcom “Amen.”
You think you’re a great wing man? Fuck you. Al Cowlings is a great wing man.
Shirley Chisholm declares presidential bid, January 25, 1972
When I wear my “Shirley Chisholm for President” button, I get two reactions. The first–usually from someone over the age of 50–is an enthusiastic smile before they ask where I got it. The second, more common reaction is, “Who’s Shirley Chisholm?” After I sigh and hang my head briefly–especially when asked that by a person of color–I explain that she was the first Black woman elected to Congress, and the first Black person to seek a major-party’s Presidential nomination.
I could tell you about how kick-ass Ms. Shirley was, but instead I’ll direct you to Chisholm ’72: Unbought & Unbossed, so you can see for yourself.
George Benson-Give Me The Night
So much to love about this one. The collar. The Carl Weathers mini-fro. The…wait a fucking minute. George Benson is roller-skating and playing the guitar at the same time! A classic example of something that I’ve stated numerous times: Rock Star trumps everything. Everything about George Benson in this video should, at the very least, feel dated and cheesy. But it doesn’t. It just feels fucking great.This is why—try as I might—I can’t really hate on smooth jazz radio stations. Because, I know that if I listen for more than a few songs, they’re gonna play something like this and make me want to fucking hug someone.
In celebration of Black History Month–sorry, Morgan Freeman–I will be posting 28 of the greatest moments in this history of my people. First up, Malice in the Palace. No, that’s not a typo. No, I’m not being ironic. This is legitimately a great moment in Black History because from now until the end of time white people will not throw shit at NBA players or set foot on an NBA court in anything other than a celebratory fashion.
Dear everyone with eyes,
As some of you may know, I spent the last six months of 2010 working as a staff writer on a new NBC sitcom, Perfect Couples. Unlike most of the things that I’ve worked on during my career in television, I’m actually proud of my involvement with the show. Which is why I’m doing my part to promote the series premiere this Thursday, January 20th at 8:30 on NBC.
If audiences enjoy watching it half as much as I enjoyed working on it, we’ll be golden. So, if you like TV, laughing, and/or making sure my unborn child has diapers and food and stuff…maybe check it out?
