In its day, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson dominated ratings and garnered numerous awards. But one of its most overlooked achievements is the week when Johnny Carson gave up his chair to multi-hyphenate performer Harry Belafonte in February 1968.
The Sit-In, a documentary directed by Yoruba Richen, follows the first time an African-American hosted a late-night television show for an entire week.
Belafonte’s guests included such entertainment icons as Lena Horne, Paul Newman and Aretha Franklin, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, months before were assassinated. The docu features interviews with Belafonte, Whoopi Goldberg, Questlove and others who recount this historic achievement in television in the midst of political and social issues the country faced back then and continues to grapple with today.
Richen spoke withDeadline about the impact of Belafonte’s hosting gig and his activism,...
The Sit-In, a documentary directed by Yoruba Richen, follows the first time an African-American hosted a late-night television show for an entire week.
Belafonte’s guests included such entertainment icons as Lena Horne, Paul Newman and Aretha Franklin, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, months before were assassinated. The docu features interviews with Belafonte, Whoopi Goldberg, Questlove and others who recount this historic achievement in television in the midst of political and social issues the country faced back then and continues to grapple with today.
Richen spoke withDeadline about the impact of Belafonte’s hosting gig and his activism,...
- 5/22/2020
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
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