Whats Buzzing in the Streets – Page 75

The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem

This photo was taken on September 4, 1940 outside the Savoy Ballroom.

On this date in 1926, the Savoy Ballroom opened in Harlem, New York. Called the “Home of Happy Feet,” it was Harlem’s first and greatest Swig Era dance palace.

It was opened by Moe Gale (Moses Galewski), Charles Galewski, and Harlem real-estate businessman Charles Buchanan, who functioned as the ballroom’s manager. The Savoy was billed as the world’s most beautiful ballroom; it occupied the second floor of a building that extended along the whole block between 140th and 141st streets, and featured a large dance floor (200 feet by 50 feet), two bandstands, and a retractable stage. Except on special occasions, the ballroom engaged two bands, which played alternate sets, and this policy led to it’s becoming a famous venue for battles of bands.

It swiftly became the most popular dance venue in Harlem, and many of the jazz dance crazes of the 1920s and 1930s originated there. The ballroom was the center for the development of lindyhopping. Dancers such as Leon James, Leroy Jones, Shirley “Snowball” Jordan and couples George “Shorty” Snowden and “Big Bea” and Sketch Jones with “Little Bea” created perfect patterns on the floor such as the “Itch” and the “Big Apple.” During its thirty-two year existence, the Savoy represented a remarkably successful example of an interracial cultural meeting place, and embodiment of wide scale acceptance of Black urban culture by whites in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

The Savoy enjoyed a long and glittering career that lasted well into the 1950s, before a decline in its fortunes set in. The Savoy was torn down in 1958 to make way for a housing project.

Written by Dianne Washington

Hi I’m Buckwheat

William Thomas Jr. (March 12, 1931 – October 10, 1980), known as Billie Thomas, was an American child actor best remembered for portraying the character of Buckwheat in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) short films from 1934 until the series’ end in 1944. He was a native of Los Angeles, California.

William “Billie” Thomas, Jr. was a native of Los Angeles, California. In 1934 his mother brought him to audition at the Hal Roach Studios, he worked in the series until the series’ end in 1944. Billie Thomas first appeared in the 1934 Our Gang shorts For Pete’s Sake!, The First Round-Up, and Washee Ironee as a background player. The “Buckwheat” character was a female at this time, portrayed by Our Gang kid Matthew “Stymie” Beard’s younger sister Carlena in For Pete’s Sake!, and by Willie Mae Taylor in three other episodes. Thomas began appearing as “Buckwheat” with 1935’s Mama’s Little Pirate.

Despite Thomas being a male, the Buckwheat character remained a female dressed as a Topsy-esque image of the African American “pickaninny” stereotype with bowed pigtails, a large hand-me-down sweater and oversized boots. After Stymie’s departure from the series later in 1935, the Buckwheat character slowly morphed into a boy, first referred to definitively as a “he” in 1936’s The Pinch Singer. This is similar to the initial handling of another African American Our Gang member, Allen “Farina” Hoskins, who worked in the series during the silent and early sound eras.

Thomas always defended the stereotype critique of his work in the series, pointing out that Buckwheat and the rest of the black Our Gang kids were treated as equals to the white kids in the series. Despite the change in the Buckwheat character’s gender, Billie Thomas’s genderless costuming was not changed until his appearance as a runaway slave in the 1936 Our Gang feature film General Spanky. This new costuming overalls, striped shirt, oversized shoes, and a large unkempt Afro—was retained for the series proper from late 1936’s Pay as You Exit on. Thomas remained in Our Gang for ten years, appearing in all but one of the episodes made from Washee Ironee in 1934 through the series’ end in 1944. During the first half of his Our Gang tenure, Thomas’ Buckwheat character was often paired with Eugene “Porky” Lee as a tag-along team of “little kids” rallying against (and often outsmarting) the “big kids,” George “Spanky” McFarland and Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer. Thomas had a speech impediment as a young child, as did Lee, who became Thomas’ friend both on the set and off. The “Buckwheat” and “Porky” characters both became known for their collective garbled dialogue, in particular their catchphrase, “O-tay!” originally uttered by Porky, but soon shared by both characters.

Thomas remained in Our Gang when the series changed production from Hal Roach Studios to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938 and was the only Our Gang cast member to appear in all 52 MGM Our Gang shorts. Thomas was also the only holdover from the Hal Roach era to remain in the series until its end in 1944. By 1940, Thomas had grown out of his speech impediment, and with Lee having been replaced by Robert Blake; Thomas’s Buckwheat character was written as an archetypal black youth. He was twelve years old when the final Our Gang film, Dancing Romeo, was completed in November 1943.

After Our Gang was discontinued, Thomas enlisted in the US Army in 1954, and was released from active military service in 1956 decorated with a National Defense Service Medal and a Good Conduct Medal. After returning to civilian life, Thomas though offered many film and stage roles, he had no desire to return to Hollywood as an actor. However, Thomas still enjoyed the film industry at large, and became a successful film lab technician with the Technicolor Corporation. He took his experience in film work and learned the trade of film editing and cutting.

In 1980, the Second International Convention of The Sons of the Desert took place at the Los Angeles Hilton Hotel, with more than 500 fans in attendance. Several days were spent touring famous Hollywood attractions, and then the highlight of the gathering took place in the hotel ballroom. Among those honored were fellow Our Gangers Spanky MacFarland, Dorothy DeBorba, Tommy Bond and Joe Cobb. When Thomas was brought out, he received a spontaneous standing ovation, and was moved to tears.

William “Billie” Thomas, Jr. died of a heart attack in his Los Angeles apartment on October 10, 1980. Coincidentally, exactly 46 years to the day after his mother brought him to audition at the Hal Roach Studios. He is interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.

Written by Dianne Washington

Malcolm X

Malcolm X planed to create Black Nationalist party that would cooperate with local civil rights actions in order to heighten political consciousness of Negroes. The week before he had an unplanned meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a hallway after they both observed Senate filibuster on the Civil Rights Bill. Soon after his announcement, a meeting with Malcolm X, E. Grant, and J. Warden to discuss incorporation of MMI (Muslim Mosque Incorporated) took place.

Later an informant reports that Elijah Muhammad has ordered Malcolm X to surrender his home and car, both of which are owned by the NOI. On March 10th Malcolm tells Ebony magazine that the Black Muslim leaders have “got to kill me. They can’t afford to let me live. . . I know where the bodies are buried and if they press me, I’ll exhume some.”

Leon

Leon Preston Robinson IV (born March 8, 1962) usually credited as simply Leon, is an American actor and singer, who began his professional career as a film actor in the early-1980s. Robinson is best known for his roles as David Ruffin in the TV Movie The Temptations (1998), J.T. Matthews in the 1991 Robert Townsend film, The Five Heartbeats, Derice Bannock in the 1993 film, Cool Runnings, and as Shep in the 1994 basketball drama film, Above the Rim.

Robinson appeared in a 1989 episode of the NBC series Midnight Caller, in which he played an athlete who falls victim to crack cocaine. He also co-starred in the 1989 ABC miniseries The Women of Brewster Place, as the boyfriend of a suburbanite (played by Robin Givens). He was cast as Saint Martin de Porres in Madonna’s controversial 1989 music video “Like a Prayer”.

Robinson’s early film roles included a football teammate of Tom Cruise in All the Right Moves (1983), as Shadow Nadeing, the Notre Dame-bound basketball playing co-worker of Matt Dillon, in The Flamingo Kid (1984). He costarred in the Michael Mann-produced Tri-Star Pictures film Band of The Hand, as well as the “Killer Bee” in the Dennis Hopper-directed gang film Colors, starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall. After his exposure in the 1989 video for the song “Like a Prayer” by Madonna, he played a leading role in the 1993 Disney film Cool Runnings. That same year, he co-starred as John Lithgow’s henchman in Renny Harlin’s Cliffhanger and followed with a turn as a disillusioned ex-jock in New Line Cinema’s Above the Rim (1994). Robinson also appeared as Lela Rochon’s married lover in 1995’s Waiting to Exhale directed by Forest Whitaker and starring Whitney Houston and a starring role in the Merchant/Ivory produced movie, Side Streets with Rosario Dawson. He produced as well as starred in the 1997 romantic drama The Price of Kissing with TV star Pauley Perrette. He also starred in the movie Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored, directed by Tim Reid and winner of Best Picture at the NAACP Image Awards.

Robinson has received critical acclaim[by whom?] for his portrayal of three singers: David Ruffin in the 1998 NBC miniseries The Temptations, Little Richard in the self-titled 2000 NBC movie biography, and JT in the 20th Century Fox movie,The Five Heartbeats directed by Robert Townsend. He received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Little Richard. During this period, Robinson joined the ensemble cast of two TV series, playing the popular Jefferson Keane on HBO’s first series, Oz and as Lawrence Hill on Showtime’s Resurrection Blvd., a costarring role as “Stoney” best friend of Joaquin Phoenix in Miramax’ military drama Buffalo Soldiers, an uncredited role as “Joseph 13 X” in Michael Mann’s award winning biopic, Ali starring Will Smith, in addition to briefly hosting his own late-night talk show, The L-Bow Room, on BET.

In 2008, Robinson starred in the 20th Century Fox thriller Cover, directed by Bill Duke, and starred alongside Danny Masterson and Dominique Swain in the indie comedy The Brooklyn Heist, directed by Julian Mark Kheel. In 2009, AOL Black Voices voted Robinson one of the Sexiest Actors of All-time. Between 2013 and 2014, he appeared in four movies, the romantic comedy I Really Hate My Ex, written and directed by Troy Beyer, the southern drama Soul Ties, based on the book by Tee Austin, the indie rock/drama 37 and the romantic drama, And Then There Was You with Garcelle Beauvais.

In theater, Robinson has headlined three national tours, with sold out performances at Hollywood’s Kodak Theater, NYC’s Beacon Theater, Detroit’s Fox Theater, Washington, DC’s Warner Theater and more in Friends and Lovers (2005), based on Eric Jerome Dickey’s NY Times bestselling book. In 2009 and 2010 as a soldier returning from Iraq in 3 Ways to Get A Husband co-starring Billy Dee Williams and in 2012, the revival of Why Do Good Girls Like Bad Boys.

Robinson is the lead vocalist and songwriter of the band, Leon and the Peoples. In 2007, he received an International Reggae and World Music Award nomination for the band’s debut CD The Road Less Traveled, winner of Best International Artist at the Joe Higgs Reggae Awards and completed a 36 city US tour with reggae greats Beres Hammond and Marcia Griffiths titled the “For The Love Of It Tour”. He was a frequent guest on Beres Hammond’s 2008 and 2010 North American tours. He head-lined NYC’s Central Park 2010 and 2013 AIDS Walk Concerts. Other performances include: 2011 Aspen Jazz Fest., 2012 Catalpa NYC Music Festival, New Orleans Music Festival, Chicago’s Festival Of Life, Reggae on River, Jamaica’s Rebel Salute, and BET’s popular 106 & Park.

Leon and The Peoples’ single, Love Is A Beautiful Thing was featured on the BET/Centric TV show Culture List, which premiered on July 21, 2013.

Written by Dianne Washington

Timbaland

Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter and DJ. Timbaland’s first full credit production work was in 1996 on Ginuwine…the Bachelor for R&B singer Ginuwine. After further work on Aaliyah’s 1996 album One in a Million and Missy Elliott’s 1997 album Supa Dupa Fly, Timbaland became a prominent producer for R&B and hip hop artists. As a rapper he initially released several albums with fellow rapper Magoo, followed by his debut solo album Tim’s Bio in 1998. In 2002, Timbaland produced the hit single “Cry Me a River” for Justin Timberlake, going on to produce most of Timberlake’s subsequent LPs such as FutureSex/LoveSounds and The 20/20 Experience and their respective hit singles. A Timbaland-owned imprint label, Mosley Music Group, featured artists such as Nelly Furtado, whose Timbaland-produced album Loose (2006) was a commercial and critical success. In 2007, Timbaland released a solo album, Shock Value, which was followed by Shock Value II in 2009.

Aside from the aforementioned artists, Timbaland’s production credits from the 2000s forward include work with Jay-Z, Nas, Ludacris, Bubba Sparxxx, Madonna, Rihanna, OneRepublic, Brandy, Drake, Rick Ross and others. As a songwriter he has written as of 2014, 85 UK hits and 99 hits Stateside. Timbaland has received widespread acclaim for his production style. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly stated that “just about every current pop trend can be traced back to him — from sultry, urban-edged R&B songstresses … to the art of incorporating avant-garde sounds into No. 1 hits.

Timothy Zachery Mosley was born on March 10, 1972 in Norfolk, Virginia, to Latrice, who ran a homeless shelter, and Garland Mosley, an Amtrak employee. He graduated from Salem High School of Virginia Beach, Virginia. During his time as a DJ, he was known as “DJ Tim” or “DJ Timmy Tim”. His brother, Sebastian, is reportedly around nine years younger. His sister Courtney Rashon is a makeup artist and author from New Jersey. While attending high school, Timbaland began a long-term collaboration with rapper Melvin (Magoo) Barcliff. The teenage Mosley also joined the production ensemble S.B.I. (which stood for ‘Surrounded By Idiots’) which also featured Neptunes producer Pharrell. Mosley was also high school friends with brothers Terrence and Gene Thornton, who would become known as Pusha T and Malice of the rap group Clipse, respectively. In 1986, when Timbaland was 14 years old, he was accidentally shot by a co-worker at a local Red Lobster restaurant and was partially paralyzed for nine months. During this time, he began to learn how to DJ using his left hand.

Singer and rapper Missy Elliott heard his material and began working with him. She and her R&B group, Sista, auditioned for DeVante Swing, a producer and member of the successful R&B act Jodeci. DeVante signed Sista to his Swing Mob record label and Elliott brought Mosley and Barcliff along with her to New York, where Swing Mob was based. It was DeVante who renamed the young producer Timbaland, after the Timberland brand of construction boots.[citation needed] He and Magoo became part of SCI Zakys School stable of Swing Mob signees known as “Da Bassment” crew, joining artists such as R&B singer Ginuwine, male vocal group Playa (Smoke E. Digglera, Static Major and Digital Black), and the girl group Sugah. Timbaland did production work on a number of projects with DeVante, including the 1995 Jodeci LP The Show, The After-Party, The Hotel, and Sista’s (unreleased) début LP 4 All the Sistas Around da World. Elliott began receiving recognition as a songwriter for artists such as R&B girl group 702 and MC Lyte. Due to Timbaland’s connection with her, he was often contacted to produce remixes of her songs.

Written by Dianne Washington

Magoo

Where the hell is Magoo?

Timbaland & Magoo are a rap duo consisting of producer and rapper Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley and rapper Melvin “Magoo” Barcliff. Originally from Norfolk, Virginia, the duo first met when they were teenagers. They later paired up as a duo and released their debut album Welcome to Our World, spawning their highest-charting single “Up Jumps da Boogie”. They would release two more studio albums as a group, Indecent Proposal in 2001 and Under Construction, Part II in 2003. The latter was meant as a sequel to Missy Elliott’s fourth album Under Construction.

Written by Dianne Washington

Vinnette Justine Carroll

Vinnette Justine Carroll (March 11, 1922 – November 5, 2002) was an American playwright and actress, and the first African-American woman to direct on Broadway, with the 1972 musical Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope.

Born Vinnette Justine Carroll in New York City, to Edgar Edgerton, a dentist, and Florence (Morris) Carroll. She and her family moved to Jamaica when she was three and she spent much of her childhood there as well as in the West Indies. She has two sisters in New York. Carroll was fortunate in having a great strong mother, now deceased, who raised her family on Toscanini and wise admonishment. Carroll’s father encouraged his daughters to become physicians, and as a compromise, she chose psychology. She left the field of psychology to study theater, and in 1948, she accepted a scholarship to attend Erwin Piscator’s Dramatic Workshop at the New School for Social Research and studied with Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Margaret Barker, and Susan Steele. Ms. Carroll remains the only African-American woman to have received a Tony nomination for Direction. She founded the Urban Arts Corps, a non-profit, interracial community theater where, as artistic director, she was able to provide a professional workshop for aspiring young actors in ghetto areas. She founded the Urban Arts Corps, a member of the Black Theater Alliance and the Off-Off Broadway Alliance, with support from the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment of the Arts, the Edward Noble Foundation, and CBS. Productions through the Urban Arts Corps include Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, The Flies, Slow Dance on a Killing Ground, and many others. The Urban Arts Corps Theater provided a space to foster participation by minority groups and “to nurture emerging playwrights and showcase their works.” Later on, Carroll would join the New York State Council on the Arts upon the request of the executive director, John B. Hightower, in 1968. She had been appointed director of the Ghetto Arts Program for the State of New York.

Vinnette Carroll attended an integrated high school in Washington Heights known as Wadleigh High School. Carroll received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Long Island University in 1944. In 1946, she received her Master of Arts from New York University. She was also a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University but later decided not to take the psychology degree in order to pursue a career in acting. By that time, as an actress she had been totally converted to theater, and psychology, while not a profession for her, was a tool, a part of the equipment she found invaluable in working with people. She began her study of theater at the New School of Social Research in 1946 where her aspirations were to become an actress. She studied rigorously in the fields of clinical and industrial psychology and was awarded a scholarship to do postgraduate work at the New School for Social Research in 1948. She studied clinical and industrial psychology and was awarded a scholarship to do postgraduate work at the New School for Social Research in 1948. Her philosophy of directing and her technique for creating her folk dramas, reflect many of the same theories, ideas, and aesthetic principles as expounded by Brecht. She also promoted the principles of Piscator’s “objective style of performance”. After working with Piscator, she studied at Lee Strasberg’s studio in New York City between 1948 and 1950. The juxtaposition of these two opposite styles is a technique that Carroll created in forming her new style of folk drama.

Carroll’s first stage appearance took place in New York at the New School for Social Research in 1948. She performed in many of the school’s productions, including roles as Clytemnestra in Agamemnon, the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, and the Duchess in Alice and Wonderland. Carroll made her first professional stage debut as a Christian in a summer stock production of Androcles and the Lion at the Southold Playhouse on Long Island. She played Addies in The Little Foxes and at the same place the following year (1949), Bella in Deep Are the Roots. In 1955, Carroll joined the faculty of the Performing Arts High School in New York City. For eleven years, she taught theater arts and directed productions as a faculty member of the high school. Later, in due to the shortage of roles, Carroll created a one-woman show and toured the United States and the West Indies. This show was on the road until 1957. At the end of 1958, she made her London debut at the Royal Court Theatre on December 4, 1958, as Sophia Adams in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. She won an Obie Award for her role in Errol John’s Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. In February 1963, she returned to London once again as the Narrator in Black Nativity at the Piccadilly Theatre. Carroll appeared in Up the Down Staircase (1967), Alice’s Restaurant (1969), and other films. She also worked in television, and in 1964 she received an Emmy Award for Beyond the Blues, which dramatized the works of Black poets. Eventually, Carroll went to London with her company and performed in The Prodigal Son.

During her era, Carroll was one of the few women directing in commercial theatre. She helped to develop a new form of theater, “the gospel song-play,” in order to capture the richness and variety of life through music, theater, and dance. The turning point for her was in 1957 when she formed her first all-black cast to present Dark of the Moon at the Harlem YMCA. The second production of Dark of the Moon also launched the careers of several young African-American actors – James Earl Jones, Shauneille Perry, and Harold Scott. In 1972 she became the first African-American woman to direct on Broadway with her staging of Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope. This hit gospel revue was conceived by Carroll, with music and lyrics by Micki Grant. It was nominated for four Tony Awards. Her success was repeated in 1976, collaborating with Micki Grant and Alex Bradford, with Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, which garnered three Tony nominations. This show was an adaptation of the Gospel According to Matthew. She appeared in The Last Home Run, which was filmed in 1996 and released in 1998. As the first successful African-American women playwright, Carroll’s work served as a stepping stone for future aspiring directors and attracted greater audiences. However, she did not dwell on her role as a woman director because she felt it would be self-defeating. Through her effort and talent, she provided communities with illustrations of unity through her theater productions. Too often, her contributions as successful artist and playwright are overlooked and unacknowledged. However, she is known for the reinvention of song-play, which has been revitalized in many of her theater works. The expression of identity through gospel music in the African-American theater experience is very clearly delineated in the development of the song-play, as shaped and realized by Carroll. She set the tone for professionalism in theatrical arts, especially for black professionals partaking in the theater industry. Carroll’s theater was about the reaffirmation of life and people. Common perceptions and stereotypes of African Americans led Carroll “into creating and directing new works that positively and artistically presented people of color in theater and art.” Her main interest was giving voice to African Americans or minority communities that have been culturally and artistically silent.

In the 1980’s, Carroll moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There she would found the Vinnette Carroll Repertory Company where she remained an artistic director and producer until her failing health forced her retirement in 2001. She died of heart disease and diabetes in Lauderhill, Florida, on November 5, 2002, at the age of 80.

Written by Dianne Washington

Lorraine Hansberry

On this day, in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York City with Sidney Poitier and Claudia McNeil in the lead roles. The play ran for 530 performances, becoming the longest running Broadway play written by an African-American. This was also the first Broadway drama written and directed by an African-American woman. In 1961 ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ was made into a movie, again starring Sidney Poitier as the chauffeur Walter Younger. Hansberry’s landmark career was cut short when she died of cancer in 1965 at the age of 34.

Written by Dianne Washington

Old Harlem

This is picture is of Old Harlem. The year was 1932,location 27 West 124th Street, across from Mt. Morris Park, now Marcus Garvey Park next to the library.

Notorious B.I.G

On this date in 1997 rap artist the Notorious B.I.G. is killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. He was 24. It’s been 21 years. He would have made 45 years old on May 21. SIP Biggie, you are damn sure missed.

Written by Dianne Washington