Ron Thompson, a veteran character actor best known for his role in Ralph Bakshi’s rotoscope film American Pop and his 1970s TV series portrayal of Detective Nopke in Baretta, died Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 83. No cause was given by his friend Professor Rel Dowdell of Hampton University, who confirmed the death.
Thompson had a brief career as a rock singer in the 1960s and wrote and recorded a number of singles as Ronnie Thompson.
He also originated the role of Shanty Mulligan in the Pulitzer Prize winning play No Place to Be Somebody by Charles Gordone. He also won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his 1973 lead performance in the play Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?
Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1941, Ron, his older brother, and parents moved to Miami, Florida in ’45. Ron began to show talents as a singer/performer at an early age,...
Thompson had a brief career as a rock singer in the 1960s and wrote and recorded a number of singles as Ronnie Thompson.
He also originated the role of Shanty Mulligan in the Pulitzer Prize winning play No Place to Be Somebody by Charles Gordone. He also won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his 1973 lead performance in the play Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?
Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1941, Ron, his older brother, and parents moved to Miami, Florida in ’45. Ron began to show talents as a singer/performer at an early age,...
- 4/14/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
David McKnight, who portrayed the title character in the cult blaxploitation horror classic J.D.’s Revenge and appeared in Hollywood Shuffle and The Five Heartbeats for Robert Townsend, has died. He was 87.
McKnight died Sunday of cancer in Las Vegas, his friend and publicist Cynthia Busby told The Hollywood Reporter.
McKnight also showed up on dozens of TV shows, from Kojak, Hill Street Blues, The Incredible Hulk, Dynasty and Benson to Moonlighting, 227, Roc, L.A. Law and The District.
In the New Orleans-set J.D.’s Revenge (1976), directed by Arthur Marks, McKnight played a deceased hustler who takes over the body of a college student (Glynn Turman) and goes after the man who murdered him and his sister 30 years earlier.
In a 2018 interview, McKnight said that he first met Townsend when the first-time feature filmmaker was putting together Hollywood Shuffle (1987) and offered him advice.
He was then hired to play Uncle Ray,...
McKnight died Sunday of cancer in Las Vegas, his friend and publicist Cynthia Busby told The Hollywood Reporter.
McKnight also showed up on dozens of TV shows, from Kojak, Hill Street Blues, The Incredible Hulk, Dynasty and Benson to Moonlighting, 227, Roc, L.A. Law and The District.
In the New Orleans-set J.D.’s Revenge (1976), directed by Arthur Marks, McKnight played a deceased hustler who takes over the body of a college student (Glynn Turman) and goes after the man who murdered him and his sister 30 years earlier.
In a 2018 interview, McKnight said that he first met Townsend when the first-time feature filmmaker was putting together Hollywood Shuffle (1987) and offered him advice.
He was then hired to play Uncle Ray,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For you folks in Philly, an event you may be interested in, taking place on Mondayt, April 22, at 7Pm:cinedelphia Film Festival & Reelblack present Early Work A compilation of student films by Philly-based filmmakers of color, curated by Reelblack at PhilaMOCA 531 N. 12th Street, Philadelphia, Pa 19123 Advance tix are $8: http://cffreelblack.brownpapertickets.com || Facebook event page. Early Work features films by Reelblack Founder Mike D (Philly Boy), Chinonye Chukwu (AlaskaLand), Rel Dowdell (Changing The Game), Tanya Hamilton (Night Catches Us) and Nadine Patterson (Tango Macbeth). All have gone on to make feature films and will be on hand to discuss how...
- 4/19/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Tony Todd's resume is extensive and diverse. He's credited with everything from gruesome horror films to voiceover work in children's cartoons and appearances in video games. His 20+-year career has been incredible, and he recently sat down with Dread Central to talk about his newest project, Sushi Girl.
Sushi Girl (review) is a unique horror-flavored heist-gone-wrong film directed by Kern Saxton that stars Todd along with Mark Hamill, Noah Hathaway, James Duval, Andy Mackenzie and Cortney Palm. When asked what audiences should expect when sitting down to watch Sushi Girl, Todd said, "I don't want to compare it to any other film because I think it's unique unto itself. Basically my character, Duke, is the leader of this particular crew and I invite a group of people back to see each other six years from the last time we met. Ostensibly, it's a dinner, but it turns out to...
Sushi Girl (review) is a unique horror-flavored heist-gone-wrong film directed by Kern Saxton that stars Todd along with Mark Hamill, Noah Hathaway, James Duval, Andy Mackenzie and Cortney Palm. When asked what audiences should expect when sitting down to watch Sushi Girl, Todd said, "I don't want to compare it to any other film because I think it's unique unto itself. Basically my character, Duke, is the leader of this particular crew and I invite a group of people back to see each other six years from the last time we met. Ostensibly, it's a dinner, but it turns out to...
- 11/17/2012
- by Doctor Gash
- DreadCentral.com
Rel Dowdell's 2nd feature film, Changing The Game, which stars Tony Todd (Candyman, 24, The Event); Sean Riggs (Stomp the Yard), actor/rapper Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” Jones (A Day in the Life, Blade: The Series, Law & Order, NCIS: La) and Irma P. Hall (Soul Food) is heading to DVD on August 28. The film had a limited theatrical release back in May of this year. To recap, here's the full synopsis: An epic tale about a supremely intelligent young African-American male who rises from the ferocious and oppressive streets of North Philadelphia to being a shining star in the lucrative world of high finance at Wall Street's most prestigious firm....
- 7/31/2012
- by Vanessa Martinez
- ShadowAndAct
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