#Alvin Theatre

[hyperfixationtimego]

I just watched a chipmunk celebration for the first time ever I think, and can I just say that the concept of theatre kid Simon is SO important to me

#afaik I’ve already counted three instances where he’s made to act #and every single time he ends up being phenomenal #(the three times i’m thinking of are the tour bus scene in meet frankenstein - a chipmunk celebration as I mentioned above - #and in an episode of alvinnn where he gets a bunch of love confessions after performing in the school play (tho tbf I haven’t actually #been able to watch that one yet - I’ve just seen the description) #BUT STILL……….closet gay theatre kid Simon is going to make me go insane I’m so right about it #simon seville #alvin and the chipmunks #aatc

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Samuel Lee Roberts, wearing Miyake.

* * * *

Design is not for philosophy, it's for life.

~Issey Miyake (Japanese, 1938 -2022), fashion designer

[The Owl Report]

#design #fashion #dance #dancers #movement #Issey Miyake #Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre #Samuel Lee Roberts #Miyake

[unwelcome-ephestion]

I'm going feral about this song so you all have to too. Pacific Overtures is probably the hardest Sondheim to get into for me, and that's probably a sign that it's doing what it's supposed to. Pacific Overtures is about the opening of Japan to Westerners after the long period of isolationism. It's unfamiliar both in history and in musical style to most westerners. Sondheim consciously imitated the haiku as he was writing - although there is only one actual haiku in the show. He was inspired by its sparseness, its ability to locate meaning in what was not said, just like he was inspired by Japanese screen paintings, in which two-thirds are typically blank, letting the blankness speak for itself. This is very unlike the OTT reputation that musicals have, and is extreme even for Sondheim, whose mantra was less is more.

Chrysanthemum Tea, though - that's the song to hook you in. A whole mystery tied up in it - I won't spoil it, as the story is full of twists! And each day and its omens is historically and culturally accurate - the only thing that isn't is the intrigue that I won't spoil. But as well as some very funny rhymes (tangled and strangled is a hilarious bolt from the blue; drank will and tranquil is just stylish) it tells its story with real dramatic flair. A strong contender for Spotify Unwrapped top 10 at the moment!

#stephen sondheim #pacific overtures #chrysanthemum tea #hal prince #musical theatre #Spotify #alvin ing

[chassewright]

And we’re back! Yay!

#alvin ailey #fox theatre #feb23

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

I am FINALLY getting to see Alvin Ailey this upcoming February!!!!  We had tickets for March 2020 and, of course, it was canceled, but now they’re coming back and I have tickets!

I’ll also be seeing the United Ukrainian Ballet’s new production of Giselle.  UUB is really cool because it’s a company made of dancers who fled Ukraine/Ukrainian dancers.  They’ve done Swan Lake and even a new production of Giselle by Ratmansky.  I’m stuck seeing the Giselle (ugh Ratmansky), but it’s such a cool company and I’m thrilled to support these dancers!

And then ABT is bringing Romeo and Juliet.  I can’t wait to see the casting!

I bought tickets to all three of these shows for my mom and me.  Fucking expensive, I swear.  

#ballet text post #ballet #alvin ailey american dance theater #united ukrainian ballet #giselle #american ballet theatre #romeo and juliet

[mrsm-h]

Good morning 💜

Jacqueline Green from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.

https://www.nycdanceproject.com/#/jacqueline-green/

#good morning #black art #positive vibes #dance #Jacqueline Green #Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

[lenbryant]

#LongPost - Awesome news! The Geffen Playhouse now has a new Artistic Director. Great choice!

(LATimes) Playwright and ‘Moonlight’ screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney to lead Geffen Playhouse By Charles McNulty, Jessica Gelt Sept. 12, 2023 Photo: Tarell Alvin McCraney photographed on the stage of the Geffen Playhouse.

Playwright and Oscar-winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney is the new artistic director of Geffen Playhouse, and is photographed on the stage of the theater. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Playwright and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney has been named artistic director of the Geffen Playhouse. The appointment, which is effective immediately, places one of the most accomplished dramatists of his generation at the helm of the city’s most prominent Westside theater.

McCraney is best known for the Oscar-winning film “Moonlight,” which was adapted from his drama “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” His hire represents the second major appointment of an artistic director of color in Los Angeles in recent months, following the announcement in April of Snehal Desai as the new leader of Center Theatre Group.

Filling the Geffen Playhouse’s top artistic job with a 42-year-old Black queer playwright is part of the epochal shift that has gained momentum in the American theater since the murder of George Floyd prompted a national reckoning on race. Theater companies have been taking a closer look at long-standing biases that have limited the range of their artistic programming and curtailed diversity in their executive ranks.

“There’s something happening right now where the folks who are leading the institutions are friends and colleagues, people I look up to,” McCraney said in an interview at the Geffen Playhouse, naming Desai and former Baltimore Center Stage artistic director Stephanie Ybarra, both of whom were his classmates at the Yale School of Drama. “It just felt selfish, sitting on the sidelines. I felt like you need to get in there to make a difference.”

McCraney has long made a difference in American theater, said friend and collaborator Oskar Eustis, artistic director of New York’s Public Theater. Eustis met McCraney after seeing his play “The Brothers Size” when McCraney was still a student at Yale School of Drama.

“It was just beautiful,” recalled Eustis. “We did something we’ve never done before or since. It was his thesis production, and we just picked up the entire production and brought it to the Public.”

“The Brothers Size” was part of autobiographically resonant trilogy “The Brother/Sister Plays,” co-produced by the McCarter Theatre and New York Public Theater in 2009, and marked McCraney’s entrance into the theater scene. Since then, said Eustis, McCraney has been a force of nature, making a name for himself not only as a playwright but as a screenwriter, actor, director and teacher.

His appointment comes at an inflection point for American theater, when organizations across the country are facing extreme financial, cultural and political headwinds, and leaders are struggling to find ways to build and maintain robust audiences and theatergoing communities.

A Black man dressed in black sits in front of red drapes. Playwright and Oscar-winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney is the new artistic director of Westwood’s Geffen Playhouse, where he was photographed on Sept. 1, 2023. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) McCraney is fully cognizant of the multiple crises he will be asked to manage. The news of late has gone from bad to worse, with the temporary suspension of programming at the Mark Taper Forum, theater closures throughout the nation and widespread layoffs affecting even such premier venues as the Public Theater and Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where McCraney is an ensemble member.

The Geffen Playhouse hasn’t been impervious to the financial shocks that have battered the field — a combination of declining post-pandemic attendance, rising costs and the withdrawal of emergency government funding. But according to Gil Cates Jr., the Geffen’s executive director and chief executive, the theater has been able to weather the storm nonetheless. A consensus has arisen that the nonprofit theater business model is broken, but McCraney isn’t walking into an emergency situation — a rare luxury for a newly appointed artistic director.

“This is a very tough time,” Cates Jr. said in a conversation in the courtyard of the Geffen Playhouse, which was founded by his father, Gil Cates, in 1994. “I don’t take anything for granted. Looking around you see how you could get to a place with show cancellations and staff layoffs real quick. But we’re in a healthy place at the moment in large part because of the choices we made.”

The board of directors, Cates Jr. said, has encouraged an atmosphere of “healthy risk.” And that artistic investment has apparently paid off. The Geffen Stayhouse, the digital theater initiative that flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic, maintained a vital connection with existing audiences during the period of closure while expanding visibility for the Playhouse far beyond its usual radius.

Last season’s production of “The Inheritance,” the two-part Tony-winning gay epic drama by Matthew López, was one of the largest undertakings in Geffen Playhouse history — a sign that the theater was not allowing industry headwinds to deter its ambition. Audiences have appreciated the boldness. Cates Jr. said the Playhouse was already on the verge of meeting its subscription goal for the new fiscal year that began Sept. 1. He attributed this success to the investment in artistic programming made last season.

McCraney’s experience with Hollywood makes him uniquely poised to helm an L.A.-based institution, allowing him to tap into the riches of both the theater and the screen. “Moonlight” was directed by Barry Jenkins and earned Jenkins and McCraney an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. While not strictly autobiographical, the film reflects aspects of the playwright’s own story.

Like Chiron in “Moonlight,” McCraney grew up in the rough and tumble of Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood, a queer Black youth struggling to survive with his dignity intact. His mother suffered from addiction and died from AIDS-related complications when McCraney was 22.

The arts were more than recreation to him as a young man — they were his salvation. He attended New World School of the Arts in Miami and found an early mentor in Teo Castellanos, who directed an improv troupe that McCraney joined as a teen. Castellanos later welcomed him into D-Projects, a contemporary dance and theater company that looks at social issues through the lens of intercultural performance. McCraney remains a member of the company.

A graduate of the Theater School at DePaul University and the Yale School of Drama, where he received his M.F.A. in playwriting, McCraney has made teaching an integral part of his artistic life. He stepped down as co-chair of Yale’s playwriting program but maintains his title of Eugene O’Neill Professor in the Practice of Playwriting at what is now called the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University.

James Bundy, dean of the David Geffen School of Drama and artistic director of Yale Repertory Theatre, praised McCraney by email: “Tarell is a world-class artist and a most inspiring collaborator. Having known him as a student, a field leader, and colleague, I have long recognized him as an exemplar of everything that is both wonderful and promising about the American theater. Like so many great writers, he is a deep listener and brilliant speaker. He is also a courageous and compassionate visionary, who will change Los Angeles artists and audiences just as he has changed so many of us who have been fortunate enough to know him and his work well. Lucky L.A.!”

McCraney, whom Eustis described as “one of the most important, talented and ambitious theater makers of the last 50 years,” initially captivated the theater world with the free-form lyricism and raw courage of “The Brother/Sister Plays.” His play “Choir Boy,” the story of a gifted queer Black youth finding his voice in a bullying prep-school environment, was produced at the Geffen Playhouse in 2014.

His association with the Playhouse continued with the announcement in February 2020 that a residency would be established for Cast Iron Entertainment, a cohort of artists that includes McCraney, Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”), Glenn Davis (“Billions”), Brian Tyree Henry (“Atlanta”), Jon Michael Hill (“Widows”) and André Holland (“Moonlight”). Plans were waylaid by the pandemic, but McCraney is intent on fulfilling the promise of this Geffen Playhouse-Cast Iron Entertainment union.

Miami is still McCraney’s spiritual home. He is looking for a place to live in Los Angeles, a city he knows well from his work as a screenwriter, and is expected to be full-time at the Geffen Playhouse by Dec. 1.

The creator of the coming-of-age TV drama series “David Makes Man,” McCraney calls himself a theater artist first, but one who enjoys extending his imagination into film and television. He was attracted to the Geffen Playhouse in part because of the unique place it occupies in Los Angeles’ cultural landscape.

Gil Cates, who died in 2011, founded the Geffen Playhouse in the backyard of the entertainment industry. A Hollywood macher who long served as a producer of the Academy Awards broadcast, he wanted the theater to be a place where movie and television artists with stage backgrounds could work alongside dedicated theater professionals. And this mission has been carried forward by his successors.

McCraney hopes to make this nexus available to a new generation of artists who feel a deep affinity for the stage and would like to be able to commute regularly between mediums in their hometown. He wants Los Angeles-based talent working in film and television not to feel as if they have to fly to New York to do a play or musical.

Saddened by the talent drain in his own town, he reflected, “I wish someone had said, ‘Hey, Miami artists, come home and do this work.’ Folks born and raised in L.A. shouldn’t have to go elsewhere to be theater artists.”

McCraney’s application was both surprising and alluring. Directors and creative producers, more than playwrights, are the go-to candidates for these positions. The reason for this isn’t rooted in ability so much as sensibility. Artistic director is to a large extent a management job. Writers can manage as well as anyone, but directors have experience running the show.

“This is a moment to be bold, inventive, to take risks, to have vision — and Tarell has all of that,” Cates Jr. said. “And it’s not like he’s coming in just looking for an artistic director job. This was the only artistic director job he applied for. That intrigued me.”

Matt Shakman, the Geffen Playhouse’s last artistic director, who succeeded Randall Arney in the role, had a burgeoning film career that inevitably divided his attention. Being an artistic director is an all-consuming responsibility, even more so in these straitened times. Signs of strain were apparent at the Geffen Playhouse in 2021 when playwright Dominique Morisseau pulled her play “Paradise Blue” a week after its West Coast premiere, stating that the Geffen had failed to act after learning of a situation in which Black women artists were being verbally abused and diminished.”

“The more hands-on a person can be in this job, the better it is for the theater,” Cates Jr. acknowledged. “Tarell knows that this isn’t a part-time gig at the Geffen. He’s committed to being here, to being in Los Angeles. He’s in tune with what the Geffen Playhouse needs and what the American theater needs.”

This passion to serve the American theater as it moves uncertainly through this difficult post-pandemic period while striving to fulfill its democratic promise has clearly inspired McCraney to redirect his focus.

“Democracy exists not so that we all feel the same about something but so that we can feel differently about something but choose to live together anyway,” he said. “I always thought that the theater should do that.”

#geffen playhouse #artistic director #theater #theatre #stages #stage #legit #tarell alvin mccraney #moonlight #oscar winner #playwrights #playwright #refrigerator magnet

[markagorman]

Edinburgh International Festival Review: Day 18

The day started at the Amplify Festival event by the Marketing Society at Assembly where the main speaker was Frank Cottrell Boyce. He of children’s book writing, the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony and The Queen x Paddington fame. He gave a talk about humour and its values that was interesting, seemingly pretty spontaneous, totally self effacing and utterly charming. His best line, being a…

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#Alvin Ailey #Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater of New York review #Edinburgh #edinburgh fringe #edinburgh international festival #Festival Theatre Edinburgh #music #Revelations review #theatre

[don-lichterman]

Here and Now with Sandra Bookman: 'A Strange Loop' star talks about the Tony Award-winning musical

Here and Now with Sandra Bookman: ‘A Strange Loop’ star talks about the Tony Award-winning musical

NEW YORK (WABC) — On this episode of Here and Now, we have a conversation with the star of this year’s Tony Award winner for best musical, ‘A Strange Loop.’ It’s the compelling and hilarious story of a Black, queer writer wrestling with issues of identity and perception. We welcome the musical’s lead star, Tony-nominated actor Jaquel Spivey. Also ahead, we talk to Martha Williams, an organic…

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#a strange loop #alvin ailey american dance theatre #black farmers #farming #here and now #Jaquel Spivey #Lisa Ascolese #new york farming #robert battle #sandra bookman #the inventress #tony awards

[willstafford]

Hooray! Henry!

HENRY VI: REBELLION Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon, Saturday 7th May 2022 Shakespeare’s history plays – dramatized and fictionalised versions of real events involving real monarchs – inevitably these days draw comparisons with Game of Thrones.  Here there be no dragons, but there’s pretty much everything you’d expect in terms of loyalty and betrayal, honour and dishonour,…

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#Aaron Sidwell #Ben Hall #Henry VI: Rebellion #Lucy Benjamin #Mark Quartley #Minnie Gale #Oliver Alvin-Wilson #Owen Horsley #Paola Dionisotti #Paul Englishby #Richard Kant #Royal Shakespeare Theatre #RSC #William Shakespeare

[fragrantblossoms]

Jack Mitchell. "Gazelle",  Donna Wood (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre), 1977. 

#Jack Mitchell #photography #Donna Wood #Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre #fragrantblossoms

[eyesfullofmoon]

Ingrid Bergman as Joan of Arc while holding a miniature Joan of Arc statue.

Photo taken backstage at the Alvin Theatre in New York after Bergman's opening night performance in the play Joan of Lorraine. November 1946.

#1940s #ingrid bergman #* #joan of arc #jeanne d'arc #old hollywood #40s #1940s vintage #theatre #old hollywood actors #classic hollywood #vintage style #vintage #vintage fashion #old movie stars #1940s style #1940s movies #1940s cinema #40s movies #40s fashion #old movies #black and white #b&w #new york #classic film stars #old hollywood glamour

[citizenscreen]

George and Ira Gershwin's musical “Girl Crazy” opened at the Alvin Theatre in New York on October 14, 1930. The show starred Ginger Rogers and Ethel Merman in her stage debut. The two are pictured with George Gershwin.

#ginger rogers #george gershwin #ethel merman

[evolvingsidekick]

BD - winners where are they now (incomplete)

I think someone requested this somewhere

Most females and recent males because there are just too many to do rn

At companies:

Miriam Gittens (s2013): Gibney Company

Alyssa Allen (s2014): Ballets Jazz Montreal

Brianne Sellars (s2014): Dallas Black Dance Theatre

Ashley Green (s2015): Alvin Ailey American dance Theater

Payton Johnson (j2012, t2015, s2017): L.A. Dance Project

Vivian Ruiz (s2019): Ballet BC

Kelis Robinson (t2018, s2020): The Batsheva Dance Company; The Juilliard School

Kiarra Waidelich (m2016, j2018, t2020): Royal Flux Company

Quinn Starner (t2017): New York City Ballet Corps de Ballet

Emma Sutherland (j2014, t2016): MashUp Contemporary Dance Co.

Sarah Pippin (t2011): Ballet BC

Timmy Blankenship (s2017): Sydney Dance Company; choreographer

Brady Farrar (m2014, j2017, t2021): ABT Junior Company

Easton Magliarditi (t2020): Royal Flux Company

Graham Feeny (t2015): Artistic associate at Gibney Company

Logan Hernandez (t2015): Göteborgs Operans Danskompani

Zenon Zubyk (t2013): Nederlands Dans Theater

Jonathan Wade (j2011, s2016): Rambert Dance Company

Wyeth Walker (s2017): Rubberband Dance Company

Faculty/teacher/choreography:

Lucy Vallely (t2015, s2018): Broadway Dance Center, freelance choreographer

Jayci Kalb ( j2011, t2014, s2016): The Dance Centre; Radio City Clara 2010

Taylor Sieve (s2016): Jump Dance Convention

Jenna Johnson (s2012): DWTS pro, 24 Seven Dance Convention

Jazzmin James (t2012, s2015): faculty several intensives

Jaycee Wilkins (j2015): Club Dance Studio

Sophia Lucia (j2014): Dancelab OC

Brynn Rumfallo (m2014): Strive Dance Workshop (own project)

Talia Seitel (m2012): Project 21 (part-time)

Lex Ishimoto (t2014, s2016): Jump Dance Convention

at University/college:

Ellie Wagner (s2019): Ohio State University Dance Team

Ella Horan (s2021): USC Kaufman

Kayla Mak (m2014, s2021): The Juilliard School; Radio City Clara 2014, 2015

Brianna Keingatti (s2022): The Juilliard School

Julia Lowe (s2023): USC Kaufman

Ava Wagner (j2018): University of Minnesota Dance Team

Avery Gay (m2015, j2017): University of Arizona School of Dance

Leara Stanley (m2011): Duke University

Sam Fine (s2023): USC Kaufman; Young Arts 2022

Seth Gibson: The Juilliard School

Alex Shulman (s2022): New York University Tisch Dance

Joziah German (m2014, t2018, s2020): The Juilliard School

Joey Gertin (t2018): The Juilliard School

Professional dancer/choreographer:

Simrin Player (t2014, s2017): The Voice, Missy Elliot, Justin Bieber, RBD

Jaxon Williard (s2021): Rihanna, Madonna, Lil Nas X

D'Angelo Castro (j2012, t2016, s2019): DWTS troupe

Findlay Mcconnell (t2017, s2019): Tate McRace

Christian Smith (s2018): Tate McRae, NBC's Saved by the Bell

Keanu Uchida (s2014): Dancer the Musical; also a big advocate for protecting dancers and calling out inappropriate behaviour

Eric Schloesser (s2014): Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, J Balvin; choreographer, creative director, designer; Dana Foglia Dance Company

Other/a combo of things:

Bianca Melchior (s2011): actor, dancer, singer; Nick Jonas, Alessia Cara, own music; faculty at On The Floor dance competition

Tate McRae (m2013, j2015, t2018): singer/songwriter

Bostyn Brown (j2016, t2019): Professional assistant at DanceOne

Megan Goldstein (t2017); dancer, photographer

Christina Ricucci (t2013): actor, musician, dancer

Bella Klassen (j2017): The Space, vlogger

Kalani Hilliker (j2013): influencer, teaching at several places (Danceplex, MBA)

Elliana Walmsley (m2018): influencer, DWTS Junior, Radio City Clara 2019

Diana Pombo (m2016): singer/songwriter, dancer, actor; Young Arts voice 2023+2024

Morgan Higgins (t2016, s2018): dancer, aerialist

Zelig Williams (s2013):dancer/actor: MJ the Musical, Hamilton

Daniel Gaymon (s2011): dancer/actor; Broadway (Cats, The Lion King); Hamilton national tour, La La Land

Ricky Ubeda (t2011, s2012): choreographer, actor; Steven Spielberg's West Side Story

Michael Hall (s2015): Saturday Night Fever the Musical, tv dancer in Cairo, Egypt; teacher

Julian Elia (t2014): Steven Spielberg's Westside Story, working on the development of a new Broadway musical

Sage Rosen (t2016): influencer; DWTS Junior

Ryan Maw (j2015, t2017): choreographer, dancer, actor: High School Musical: The Musical - The Series

Holden Maples (j2016, t2019): dancer, teacher, choreographer

Competing/not graduated honorable mentions:

Cameron Voorhees (m2018, j2021, t2023): Evolve Dance Complex; starting career as a teacher/choreographer

Crystal Huang (m2019, j2021, t2023): The Rock Center for Dance, Bayer Ballet Academy; Prix De Lausanne 2024, Young Arts 2024, Radio City Clara 2021

Hailey Bills (m2017, t2022): Center Stage Performing Arts Studio, DWTS Junior

Brightyn Brems (m2017): DWTS Junior

Avery Hall (t2022): Danceology; Young Arts 2023

Savannah Kristich (t2021): The Rock Center For Dance; Twyla Now

Savannah Manzel (m2020): Larkin Dance Studio, Radio City Clara 2023

Kya Massimino (m2021): Radio City Clara 2023

Ian Stegeman (m2019, j2021, t2023): Woodbury Dance Center, Young Arts 2024

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Alvin Childress

Alvin Childress (September 15, 1907 – April 19, 1986) was an American actor, who is best known for playing the cabdriver Amos Jones in the 1950s television comedy series Amos 'n' Andy.

Alvin Childress was born in Meridian, Mississippi. He was educated at Rust College, from which he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. When he initially entered college, Childress intended to become a doctor, enrolling in typical pre-med courses. He had no thoughts of becoming involved in acting, but became involved in theater outside of classes. Childress and Rex Ingram in the Federal Theatre Project production of Haiti (1938)

Childress's first wife was the former Alice Herndon, who established herself as a successful writer and actress under the name of Alice Childress (1916–1994); the couple was married from 1934 to 1957 and had a daughter, Jean Rosa. From 1961 to 1973, Childress worked as an unemployment interviewer for the Los Angeles Department of Personnel and in the Civil Service Commission of Los Angeles County.

Childress moved to New York City and became an actor with Harlem's Lafayette Players, a troupe of stock players associated with the Lafayette Theatre. Soon, he was engaged as an actor in the Federal Theater Project, the American Negro Theater, and in all-black race film productions such as Keep Punching (1939). His greatest success on the stage was his performance as Noah in the popular drama, Anna Lucasta, which ran for 957 performances. He also worked at Teachers College of Columbia University. Childress also operated his own radio and record store in New York City. When he learned about casting for the Amos 'n' Andy television series, Childress decided to audition for a role. He was hired a year before the show went on the air.

In 1951, he was cast as the level-headed, hard-working and honest Amos Jones in the popular television series, The Amos 'n' Andy Show, which ran for two years on CBS. Childress originally tried out for the role of The Kingfish, but Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden cast him as Amos. Since he had been hired a year before the show began, Gosden and Correll turned the search for an actor to play "The Kingfish" over to Childress. In a 1979 interview, Childress shared information about some of the candidates. Cab Calloway was considered but found wanting by Gosden because of his straight hair. Childress said there were many famous men, with and without actual acting experience, who wanted to play the role. Eventually, old-time vaudeville comedian Tim Moore was cast as the Kingfish.

Shortly after the television show had ended, plans to turn it into a vaudeville act were announced in 1953, with Childress, Williams and Moore playing the same roles as they had in the television series. It is not known if there were any performances. In 1956, after the television show was no longer in production, Childress and some of his fellow cast members: Tim Moore, Spencer Williams, and Lillian Randolph along with her choir, began a tour of the US as "The TV Stars of Amos 'n' Andy". The tour was halted by CBS as the network considered this an infringement of their rights to the program and its cast of characters. Despite the threats which ended the 1956 tour, Childress, along with Moore, Williams and Johnny Lee were able to perform one night in 1957 in Windsor, Ontario, apparently without legal action. When he tried for work as an actor, Childress found none as he was typecast as Amos Jones. For a short time, Childress found himself parking cars for an upscale Beverly Hills restaurant.

Childress also appeared in roles on the television series Perry Mason, Sanford and Son, Good Times and The Jeffersons and in the films Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) and The Day of the Locust (1975). When Childress appeared as a minister in a 1972 episode of Sanford and Son, he was reunited with two former cast members: Lillian Randolph of Amos 'n' Andy in the role of Aunt Hazel and Lance Taylor, Jr. of Anna Lucasta, with the role of Uncle Edgar.

Childress suffered from diabetes and other ailments. He died at age 78 on April 19, 1986, in Inglewood, California. He was buried at National Memorial Harmony Park in Landover, Maryland.

#historical #black history month #actor

[mybeingthere]

Samuel Lee Roberts, NYC dance project.

"I began my dance training under the direction of Kathleen Johnston. I attended The Juilliard School. I have worked with Corbin Dances and Keigwin + Company, and was a founding member of Battleworks Dance Company. In May 2006 I was named Dance Magazine’s “On the Rise” dancer. From 2000-2004 I was a cast member of “The Radio City Christmas Spectacular”. I recently retired from a decade of being a Principal Dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Theatre."