It's Black Entertainment
A star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa Williams traces the struggles and triumphs of the superstars of music and film. Among the many artists featured are: Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Little Richard, Also included are today's contemporary superstars: Snoop Dogg, Ice T, Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, Russell Simmons, and many, more! 80 minutes plus DVD bonus features.
Stan Lathan
John Davies
Casts & Crew
Vanessa Williams
Whitney Houston
Ella Fitzgerald
Snoop Dogg
Diana Ross
Spike Lee
Louis Armstrong
Little Richard
Debbie Allen
Carl Anderson
Josephine Baker
James Brown
Tisha Campbell-Martin
Nat King Cole
Sean Combs
Dorothy Dandridge
Sammy Davis Jr.
Rah Digga
Suzzanne Douglas
Dr. Dre
Billy Eckstine
Duke Ellington
Jamie Foxx
Aretha Franklin
Nelson George
Jasmine Guy
Jimi Hendrix
Gregory Hines
Billie Holiday
Lena Horne
Reginald Hudlin
Ice-T
Michael Jackson
James Harris III
Quincy Jones
A.J. Johnson
Eartha Kitt
John Landis
Stan Lathan
Terry Lewis
LL Cool J
Wynton Marsalis
Harold Nicholas
Alan Parker
Otis Redding
Christopher Reid
Busta Rhymes
Smokey Robinson
Russell Simmons
Bessie Smith
Tina Turner
Fats Waller
Billy Dee Williams
Donald Bogle
Kenny Burrell
James Cross
Suzanne de Passe
Berry Gordy
Eddie Hartman
'Crip' Heard
Rubberneck Holmes
Louis Jordan
Camille King
Kyme
Velma Middleton
Fayard Nicholas
The Notorious B.I.G.
Earl 'Snake Hips' Tucker
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Also Directed by Stan Lathan
Def Poetry, also known as Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry or Def Poetry Jam, which was co-founded by Bruce George, Danny Simmons and Deborah Pointer, is an HBO television series produced by hip-hop music entrepreneur Russell Simmons. The series presents performances by established spoken word poets, as well as up-and-coming ones. Well-known actors and musicians will often surprise the audience by showing up to recite their own original poems. The show is hosted by Mos Def. Def Poetry is a spin-off of Def Comedy Jam. As he did on Def Comedy, Simmons appears at the end of every episode to thank the audience. The series included historical legendary poets such as, The Last Poets, Nikki Giovanni, Amiri Baraka and Sonya Sanchez. It also featured poets, Saul Williams, Grammy Award Winning J. Ivy, Jessica Care-Moore and Lemon. Though technically not a poetry slam, Def Poetry has become heavily associated with the poetry slam movement, and utilizes many of poetry slam's best known poets, including National Poetry Slam champions such as Beau Sia, Taylor Mali, Big Poppa E, Mayda del Valle, Mike Mcgee, Alix Olson and Rives, among others. Even poets who are critical of the poetry slam, such as John S. Hall, have acknowledged slam's influence on the show. In a 2005 interview, Hall was quoted as saying,
Roc is an American comedy-drama television series which ran on Fox from August 1991 to May 1994. The series stars Charles S. Dutton as Baltimore garbage collector Roc Emerson and Ella Joyce as his wife Eleanor.
Comedy icon Dave Chappelle makes his triumphant return to the screen with a pair of blistering, fresh stand-up specials. Filmed at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, in April 2015.
Dave Chappelle takes on gun culture, the opioid crisis and the tidal wave of celebrity scandals in this defiant stand-up special.
He launched a host of today’s comedy superstars in the ‘90s on the HBO series Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam. Now, Russell Simmons returns to the network for All Def Comedy, taped before a live audience Sept. 7 at the Avalon Theatre in Los Angeles. Hosted by Tony Rock, with DJ Drama, the uncensored special features stand-up performances in a variety of styles from up-and-coming comics, discovered at ADD’s weekly comedy showcase: Chris Powell, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Tate, and Robert Powell, as well as HBO’s Def Comedy Jam veteran Tony Roberts.
A comedy series about what really happens behind the scenes of a massive stand-up comedy tour.
Def Comedy Jam played host to some of the greatest comedians of the 1990s, many of whom went on to greater fame, due in part to the exposure they received on the program. Here, Mark Curry and Steve Harvey both show off some comic chops that that could never air on their respective network TV shows, though Harvey has shown this side of himself in Spike Lee's excellent THE ORIGINAL KINGS OF COMEDY. Rounding out the performers are Don "D.C." Curry (NEXT FRIDAY) and Arnez J. Contains two episodes.
Behind the scenes and Q&A from the audience following the Sticks and Stones special.
Amazing Grace is a 1974 light comedy featuring black comedienne Moms Mabley as a widow who tries to influence the local mayoral election in Baltimore, Maryland, after she discovers that a black candidate is being used by the incumbent mayor to further his own reelection efforts. Mabley appeared in the film, along with veteran actors Butterfly McQueen and Stepin Fetchit, only a year before her death at the age of 81. The film does not deal with the popular Christian hymn (with words by John Newton) but is a play on Mabley's character, who happens to be named Grace. It has been released on home video.