Cast (in order of appearance)
ST. CLAIR BOURNE
Documentary filmmaker Bourne has directed Paul
Robeson: Here I Stand and Making "Do the Right Thing" and produced Half
Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks, among many other
titles.
SPIKE LEE
The director of more than 20 films,
including Inside Man, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X and She's Gotta Have
It, Lee cites Melvin Van Peebles as one his primary inspirations for
becoming a filmmaker.
ELVIS MITCHELL
A former film critic for
The New York Times, Mitchell is the entertainment critic for NPR's
"Weekend Edition with Scott Simon" and has been the host of "The
Treatment" for KCRW radio in Santa Monica, CA, since 1985.
GORDON PARKS
A
renowned photographer, author, filmmaker and musician, Parks burst onto
the national stage as a photojournalist for Life magazine in the 1960s.
He later adapted for the screen and directed the film version of his
novel The Learning Tree in 1969 and went on to direct Shaft and Shaft's
Big Score. Parks passed away in March 2006.
MARIO VAN PEEBLES
Actor
and director Mario Van Peebles made an auspicious film debut as the
young Sweetback in his father Melvin Van Peebles's film, Sweet
Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. He has gone on to act in more than 50
movies, and has directed New Jack City, Panther, Posse and Baadasssss!, a
biographical account of his father's efforts to make Sweetback.
MELVIN VAN PEEBLES
MAX VAN PEEBLES
Melvin Van Peebles' youngest son; served as assistant director on his father's 2000 film, Le Conte du ventre plein.
MEGAN VAN PEEBLES
Melvin Van Peebles' only daughter (and Mario's sister), Megan is a former model and actor; she passed away in March 2006.
MARY MCCALL
Mary McCall was a high-school classmate of Melvin Van Peebles at Thornton High School, in the Chicago suburb of Harvey, IL.
GÉBÉ
The
late cartoon artist and illustrator Gébé (born Georges Blondeau) is one
of the founders of the legendary French satirical weekly Hara Kiri, and
was the publication's chief editor from 1969 to 1985.
GEORGES WOLINSKI
Another
of Hara Kiri's founders, Wolinski collaborated in 1965 with Melvin Van
Peebles on a graphic novel of Chester Himes's A Rage in Harlem (La Reine
des Pommes).
JANINE EUVRARD
French film critic and editor Euvrard is a longtime friend of Melvin Van Peebles.
CHRISTIAN THIVAT
French film producer Thivat produced Melvin Van Peebles's first feature film, La Permission, in 1967.
MADELEINE MARTINEAU
Along
with her husband Jerome, owned Martineau Press, a publishing house that
published Melvin Van Peebles's French novels in the 1960s.
TIMOTHY WHITE
The late author, journalist and magazine editor was the editor of Billboard magazine from 1985 to 2002.
GIL SCOTT-HERON
Music
legend Scott-Heron wrote and performed such classics as "The Revolution
Will Not Be Televised," "Johannesburg" and "Winter in America." He is
widely recognized as one of the forefathers of rap music.
HERSCHEL DWELLINGHAM
Composer,
arranger and producer Dwellingham is Melvin Van Peebles' longtime
musical collaborator, serving as the musical director of Roadkill, Van
Peebles' late-'90s cabaret act, as well as the touring company of Dont
Play Us Cheap.
BILLY "X" JENNINGS
Former Black Panther Billy Jennings served as the assistant to Panther cofounder Huey Lewis in the 1970s.
TEDDY STEWART
Casting director Stewart worked on Greased Lightning and is a longtime friend of Melvin Van Peebles.
EMANUEL AZENBERG
Legendary
theater producer Azenberg has produced more than 50 Broadway shows,
including Private Lives, Lost in Yonkers and Biloxi Blues. Has been
nominated for 23 Tony Awards (including for Aint Supposed to Die a
Natural Death, with Melvin Van Peebles), winning eight times.
SHELLEY BONUS
A longtime friend of Van Peebles, Bonus is an astronomer at the Mount Wilson Observatory outside Los Angeles.
MARVA ALLEN
A longtime friend of Van Peebles, Allen is the owner of the Hue-Man Bookstore in Harlem.
JERRY WEISSMAN
Weissman was the executive producer of the film version of Dont Play Us Cheap; he is a longtime friend of Van Peebles.
WOODIE KING, JR.
Playwright, director and producer King is the founder and director of NYC's New Federal Theatre.
RICHARD MILNER
Anthropologist
Milner, a longtime friend of Van Peebles, is one of the world's leading
authorities on Charles Darwin and the author of the Encyclopedia of
Evolution. Milner is a contributing editor at Natural History magazine.
BRENT NICHOLS
Nichols is a former Wall Street colleague of Melvin Van Peebles' on the American Stock Exchange.
HENRY JARECKI
Psychiatrist,
investment banker and Wall Street financier, Dr. Jarecki is a longtime
friend of Van Peebles' and is the founder of Mocatta Metals, Inc., and
the former Chairman of Moviefone.
JEFF SHAW
Shaw is a former Wall Street colleague of Van Peebles' on the American Stock Exchange.
GLORIA JARECKI
A former magazine editor at Time, Jarecki is a longtime friend of Van Peebles'.
JOHN ROLAND
A longtime fixture as a New York City newscaster, Roland recently retired as a news anchor at Fox News.
