LOS ANGELES (AP) — As “The Young and the Restless” head writer Josh Griffith screened the episode in which Neil Winters’ family learns of his death, the tears began to flow.
Viewers might brace for a similar reaction when the CBS daytime serial says farewell to Neil and to Kristoff St. John, the actor who played the character for nearly three decades. St. John, who died at age 52 in February of heart disease, helped cement the prominence of major African-American characters in the traditionally white soap opera world.
During a four-episode story arc airing Tuesday through Friday, Neil’s friends and family gather in fictional Genoa City to remember the businessman whose full life included complicated relationships and a battle with alcoholism.
People need “to prepare themselves for a very profoundly emotional journey over those four days, and have lots of boxes of Kleenex right by,” Griffith said. “But in the end, as we knew that Kristoff would want it, it goes from being a passing of him to a celebration of his life.”
Shemar Moore, star of CBS’ prime-time series “S.W.A.T.,” returns to what fans know as “Y&R” for two episodes as Malcolm Winters, Neil’s brother. Other returning alumni include Christel Khalil and Eileen Davidson, while Stan Shaw, St. John’s longtime friend and co-star in “Roots: The Next Generations,” appears as the reverend at Neil’s funeral.
A special airing April 29 (12:30 p.m. EDT) will pay tribute to St. John and his nearly 28-year tenure on “Y&R” with clips from the show and current and former cast member sharing memories of him, including Victoria Rowell, who played Neil’s wife Drucilla for a number of years.
It was six years ago that the serial honored another beloved star, Jeanne Cooper, who died at 84 in 2013 after playing Katherine Chancellor for nearly 40 years. “Y&R” owed the same to St. John, said Griffith, co-executive producer of the serial.
“We had to, for his sake, for his legacy. He was so important to the show, so important to daytime television,” he said. “To television, period.”
The actor didn’t trumpet his part in advancing on-screen inclusivity, even if others did.
“He was too humble and grounded to consider himself someone who had broken any ground. He was just an actor who came to work doing something he loved, and he never really approached it any other way,” Griffith said.
Bryton James, who played opposite St. John as Neil’s son, Devon, agreed.
St. John knew he was lucky to be a working actor and always “did the craft and the job with the respect it deserved,” James said.
Putting race aside, “he valued being a good human being in a position of influence with the entertainment industry. And that’s what I took from him — not just the kind of black man he was, but the kind of man he was in general.”
James said he learned by example how to be a “gracious co-worker.”
Although St. John suffered personal setbacks and tragedies, including the death of his son Julian in 2014, he “always made it a point to come to work and not only be the most professional you could be, but to bring a levity and a true joy to the work environment,” James said.
The possibility of casting another actor as Neil was never considered, said producer Griffith.
St. John gave the character “his humanity, his joy of life,” Griffith said. And as a “strong African-American character — successful, powerful, passionate — he opened the doors for so many actors. He was just a wonderful human being.”
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According to reports, comedian, actress, and host of The Real, Loni Love has been tapped to host the upcoming 2019 Essence Festival that is in New Orleans July 5-7th, 2019.
As it turns out, Love will be the first ever female host of the event, which is shocking because Essence is a Women’s magazine. Anyway, musical guests at this year’s festival include Mary J Blige, H.E.R., Pharrell Williams and Missy Elliott just to name a few of the star-studded event.
Watch the video below as Love discusses the gig with ABC;
“Coming 2 America”. Big sequel. Highly anticipated. One of the few Eddie Murphy-headlined sequels they have been able to get off the ground – looking at you “Beverly Hills Cop 4”– and rather quickly. It’s headed towards the cameras soon, with both Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall reprising their roles from John Landis’s timeless 1988 comedy. The casting folks behind “Empire” are casting this, slotting the supports into place as we speak.
There’s little Paramount have released about the movie, only that it somehow involves a ‘son character’ – but you know what? I have more! (courtesy the same Paramount insider that tipped us off to the “Grease” prequel plans for the original leads last week) I have the plot.. and it promises to be as welcomingly humorous as it does hearty.
In it, Akeem’s long-lost son LaVelle is essentially living the flip side life to his father – he’s permanently ‘trapped’ in Queens, he is broke, he is working at a burger place just to make ends meet, and his boss (Big Reem, guy that lives at home with his mom) is no McDowell. It’s on his 30th birthday that LaVelle starts to get a deeper itch to do more and be more.
He gets that wish when he discovers he’s heir to the throne of Zamunda – where the father he never knew, Akeem is a prince – and is soon about to be King. Cue the airplane!
And yes, there’s a girl – – Zamundan Mirembe, whose parents have disowned her for becoming a ‘groomer’ – – but knowing she won’t pass muster with the royals, LaVelle doesn’t initially give it a thought. LaVelle has to first stop chasing gold and stop trying to be someone he’s not (and it’s Mirembe that ends up being the voice of reason), and realize he’s already got plenty. Maybe she’s his calling… and maybe royalty isn’t? Yep, that old nugget.
A better match for the throne might be Akeem’s eldest daughter, Meeka, an intelligent leader whose theories and suggestions for her future ‘King’ father are right on the money (though he and Semi dismiss her ideas).
You can see where this is going….
Meantime, Dave Chappelle is rumored to be reuniting with Murphy for the flick.
According to That Hashtag Show, Murphy’s “Nutty Professor” co-star would play Babe, an old shaman from Zamunda that advises King Jaffe (James Earl Jones) and later Prince Akeem (Murphy), in the Craig Brewer-directed sequel.
Production kicks off on the film, which will also star Arsenio Hall, Shari Headley and John Amos, later this year.
Source: Moviehole
We just discovered the news that filmmaker and director John Singleton has suffered a stroke, and was rushed to intensive care.
We hear that his friends and family were alerted to his condition and rushed to the hospital yesterday. Singleton was working on several upcoming projects, including the upcoming season of FX’s Snowfall, and Till, the project about Emmett Till.
We will keep you posted on his condition as we hear.
Eddie Murphy is no stranger to playing multiple roles in his movies and Coming To America 2 will be no different. According to a source, Murphy is set to debut his latest character, General Izzi, in the upcoming sequel to the 1988 comedy classic.
General Izzi is the warlike ruler of “Nextdoooria”, an adjacent nation suffering from extreme poverty. He wants to gain power in Zamunda and will do almost anything to achieve it.
General Izzi will likely be a threatening, yet very funny foil, to Murphy’s Prince Akeem. And given the current global political climate, Coming To America 2 will be Eddie Murphy’s chance to say what he wants to say.
The sequel has hired Craig Brewer to helm the project whose credits include Hustle & Flow, Black Snack Moan, the 2011 Footlose remake, and some episodes of the Fox series Empire. Black-ish creator Kenya Barris has been brought on board to help rewrite Coming To America 2’s script penned by the original film’s screenwriters Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield.
Brewer just wrapped up working with Murphy on Dolemite Is My Name, a biographical film on comedian Rudy Ray Moore that will be released later this year on Netflix.In a statement, Murphy said, “After many years of anticipation, I’m thrilled that Coming to America 2 is officially moving forward. We’ve assembled a great team that will be led by Craig Brewer, who just did an amazing job on Dolemite, and I’m looking forward to bringing all these classic and beloved characters back to the big screen.”
Last March, it was reported that Netflix was in development on Tuca & Bertie, an animated series starring comedians Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong.
Netflix released the first trailer for the upcoming animated series. Per usual, the clip comes equipped with a heavy dose of humor. Created by BoJack Horseman creator Lisa Hanawalt, the series revolves around Tuca (Tiffany Haddish) and Bertie (Ali Wong), an eclectic duo of 30-something bird-women who live in the same apartment. While Haddish’s Tuca is a free-spirited toucan with a taste for adventure, Wong’s Bertie is a neurotic songbird who has a habit of daydreaming.
In the trailer, the contrast is evident in scenes where Tuca laments that Bertie doesn’t want to have fun adventures anymore. The contrast is further evident when Bertie learns Tuca owns a pet jaguar.
Aside from Haddish and Wong, Tuca & Bertie will also feature voice-over work from Steven Yeun, Nicole Byer and Tessa Thompson.
Tuca & Bertie premieres on Netflix May 3.
Watch the first trailer below.
Source: Shadow & Act
In this clip, DL Hughley shares his thoughts on the loss of Nipsey Hussle, speaking to his unmatched potential by stating that “it’s not what he was but what he could’ve been.” From there, he talks about how street gangs live next to each other like Israel and Palestine, all the while fighting over corners that they don’t actually own.
Elsewhere, he mentions how he used to not care about death unless it occurred in his neighborhood, with the thought in mind that just surviving through a day was an accomplishment. Additionally, he also mentions there was a time where he would’ve wanted to be like Nipsey’s killer, a mindset that he’s ashamed of as a grown man.
Source: Vlad