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| Little Richard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Biography, drama |
| Written by | Bill Kerby Daniel Taplitz |
| Directed by | Robert Townsend |
| Starring | Leon Jenifer Lewis Carl Lumbly Tamala Jones Mel Jackson Garrett Morris |
| Theme music composer | Velton Ray Bunch |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Iain Peterson |
| Editors | Sabrina Plisco Marcelo Sansevieri |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | February 20, 2000 (2000-02-20) |
Little Richard is a 2000 biographical NBC television film written by Bill Kerby and Daniel Taplitz and directed by Robert Townsend. Based on the 1984 book, Quasar of Rock: The Life and Times of Little Richard, it chronicles the rise of American musical icon Little Richard from his poor upbringing in Macon, Georgia to achieving superstardom as one of the pioneers of rock and roll music and his conflicts between his religion and secular lifestyle, which leads to an early retirement following a 1957 tour of Australia, and later a comeback to secular performing during a concert in London in 1962.
The cast includes Leon as Little Richard Penniman, Jenifer Lewis as Richard's mother Leva Mae, or as she's listed in the movie credits, Muh Penniman, Carl Lumbly as Richard's stern father, Charles "Bud" Penniman, Tamala Jones as Richard's girlfriend Lucille (actually Audrey Robinson), Garrett Morris as Richard's preacher Carl Rainey and Mel Jackson as producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell.
For his role as Penniman, Leon earned nominations for Best Actor in the Black Reel Awards and the NAACP Image Awards.
Awards and nominations
- Black Reel Awards
- Nominated (Network/Cable - Best Actor) - Leon
- NAACP Image Awards
- Nominated (Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special) - Leon
- Emmy Awards
- Nominated (Outstanding Music Direction) - David Sibley
References
- Otfinoski, Steven (2010). African Americans in the Performing Arts. Infobase Publishing. p. 153. ISBN 978-1-4381-2855-9.
- ^ "Little Richard (2000)". BFI. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
External links
| Films directed by Robert Townsend | |
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 | This article related to an American TV movie is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
- 2000 films
- American rock music films
- 2000 television films
- African-American biographical dramas
- 2000s English-language films
- Films based on biographies
- Films directed by Robert Townsend
- Films set in the 1930s
- Films set in the 1940s
- Films set in the 1950s
- Films set in 1956
- Films set in the 1960s
- NBC television specials
- American drama television films
- 2000s American films
- Little Richard
- English-language biographical drama films
- American television film stubs