Skip to main content

Debbie Allen discusses why Lisa Bonet left "A Different World"



In Archive interview, Debbie Allen discusses her beginnings in the entertainment industry. She talks of dancing and her Tony nomination for her role as "Anita" in West Side Story and winning the Drama Desk Award. She recounts her various roles on television, including an appearance on Good Times and Captain Kangaroo, as well as her role in Roots: The Next Generation as "Nan."

 She then speaks about her part in the film "Fame" and how that lead to one of the most famous roles of her television career, playing "Lydia Grant" on the TV version of Fame. She elaborates on wearing many hats on the show - as an actress, choreographer, and eventually director and co-executive producer.
She also discusses its deep resonance with audiences and how the show inspired and encouraged the creation of dance schools all over the world. Allen then describes how she was brought on to the show A Different World as the director and how she made the show more relevant to the times by covering topics pertinent to young adults, and tackling such subjects as AIDS and the Gulf War.

 She also mentions her involvement as a director on the shows Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Grey's Anatomy, and Everybody Hates Chris and describes what it was like choreographing sequences for the Academy Awards for ten years. Allen discusses her Emmy win for her choreography on the dance number, "African American Odyssey" for the special, Motown 30, What's Going On? and then elaborates on producing "Amistad," a film project near and dear to her heart.

 She shares her views on the current popularity of reality dance TV shows and also recalls working with her sister, Phylicia Rashad, on the TV movies Old Settler and Polly. Stephen J. Abramson conducted the interview at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy on April 15, 2011 in Los Angeles, CA.

 See her full interview at: https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/debbie-allen#about
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Christopher Reeve's ''Superman' Is So Hard to Leave in the Past

#ChristopherReeve #Clarkkent #DCcomics #LoisLane #RichardDonner #Superman Forty years ago, Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve made a Superhero film that directors have been chasing for years, depicting who America was then — or at least who we wished to be Superman. It’s now easy to believe a man can fly. It wasn’t in 1978, but today, in midst of an explosion of superhero movies, it’s a belief we give into with relative ease. Flight is most often the bare minimum of what we expect from heroes and villains who can perform any feat limited only by the human imagination. It’s not simply special effects that permit our belief, but rather an overall acceptance that these costume-clad characters are a defining part of our culture, modern myths at their best and populist cinematic staples akin to the 20th century western at their lowest form. There have been a record nine theatrically released superhero movies based on comic books this year alone, each claiming a major piece of the glo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stevie Wonder, his Musicality, and his Humanity.

#Humanity #Music #SongsintheKeyofLife #StevieWonder " Songs in the Key of Life " To say this Album means Everything to me is an understatement. Throughout his conceptual album, Stevie both sings and writes of Peace, Love, Identity, Faith, Environmental Consciousness, and Cultural Awareness , to name a few. When the album was released, I was ten years old. I spent countless hours reading the liner notes—the lyrics for all the songs. I wanted to know all the people who wrote, sang, played on the album. Much of the album's depth was far too over my head as a ten-year-old, and only a few years later (Lol) do I have a little more understanding of what he was giving us. I've seen Stevie Wonder three times in my life. The first was in church, not long after moving to Los Angeles. The second time while attending Oprah's Farwell show (thanks to my brother Corey & sister in law Carrie), the third time was when my sister Sharon (R.I.P.) bought tickets for all of us ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The most popular animated series, by state

#Animation #Cartoon #FamilyGuy #Sitcoms #RickandMorty #SouthPark #Archer #TheSimpsons  As  The Simpsons  heads into their 31st  season—further cementing itself as the longest-running primetime scripted series in the US—the Data Team at All Home Connections thought it would be interesting to find out your state’s favorite animated sitcom. Using a list of the top 15 most popular animated sitcoms, our analysts then used Google Trends to identify the most popular shows by comparing those with the highest search volume in each state. Take a look at our map to find out what your state’s favorite animated sitcom is and what other states like to watch across the country. Interesting Findings Here are some interesting findings that the data team came across when they started digging a little deeper into the results. Colorado’s favorite animated sitcom is  South Park . This could be because the town of Fairplay, Colorado is the childhood home of creator Matt ...
Post a Comment
Read more