Rewind: WB100 Black History Month Part 3 (1984-1993)

 

Here's Part Three, which celebrates Warner Bros' Black history from 1984 to 1993.As you'll see, plenty of Black stories featuring Black talent truly emerged in this decade.

Purple Rain, 1984

Krush Groove, 1985

The Oscar-winning Purple Rain (1984) and cult classic Krush Groove (1985) are two films with all-star talent that embodied the growing impact of the Black experience in music in the 1980s. Funk, R&B, rap, and hip-hop are all still part of our collective souls today.

The Color Purple (Warner Bros/Amblin, 1985)

"I'm poor, Black, I might even be ugly, but dear God, I'm here. I'm here."

1985's The Color Purple was a critically-acclaimed drama from Steven Spielberg based on Alice Walker's novel. The legacy of this timeless film remains strong today. Should have won tons of Oscars.

Amanda Waller (DC Comics, 1986)

"Good guys. Bad guys. Whatever they are, they are all just one thing to me: assets."

DC Comics' Amanda Waller is not a hero. And yet, Amanda Waller is not a villain. Amanda Waller simply is the clandestine hand of the DCU. 

Cross her at your peril.

Lethal Weapon, 1987

Danny Glover's Roger Murtaugh is a veteran detective who is paired with a chaotic officer and just wants to relax and think about retirement, especially since he feels, and I quote, "too old for this shit." But Murtaugh proves to himself and the audience that he still has it, fully cementing himself in the pop culture zeitgeist.

Street Frogs (Lorimar-Telepictures/Rankin-Bass, 1987)

A segment of The Comic Strip, this series about anthropomorphic frogs was a double-rarity in the 1980s. Not only did Street Frogs have a prominently Black vocal cast, but it was also one of the first TV series if not THE first to present hip-hop/rap as a central theme. 

Action Jackson (Lorimar Film Entertainment/Silver Pictures, 1988)

Carl Weathers goes solo in an action flick where he solves a mystery involving a series connected to a corrupt auto magnate and finds himself drawn to the executive's beautiful mistress, played by Vanity. It's also one of the last Lorimar films released before the company got bought by Warner Communications. 

A Man Called Hawk, 1989

Although they produced the miniseries Roots (1977) through its Wolper unit, Warner Bros TV (founded in 1955) never had a weekly series with a Black lead until 1989's A Man Called Hawk. The Spenser: For Hire spinoff starring Avery Brooks only lasted 13 episodes.

Again, 1989.

Family Matters (Lorimar Television, 1989)

A few weeks before A Man Called Hawk premiered, Warner Bros purchased Lorimar Television. Under Lorimar, the studio's 2nd series with a Black cast, Family Matters, premiered in September 1989. It too was a spinoff of an ABC series, Perfect Strangers.

Yeah, they did that.

Lean On Me, 1989

"If you do not succeed in life, I don't want you to blame your parents. I don't want you to blame the White Man. I want you to blame yourselves. The responsibility is yours!" 

Morgan Freeman's performance as the gruff yet protective high school principal Joe Clark in Lean on Me is still amazing after 35 years.

Driving Miss Daisy (Warner Bros/The Zanuck Company, 1989)

"Only took me six days. Same time it took the Lord to make the world!"

Lean On Me wasn't Morgan Freeman's only award-caliber work in 1989. The same year, he starred in the Oscar-winning Driving Miss Daisy.

 He should have won an Oscar that year for either role.

House Party (New Line Cinema, 1990)

Kid 'n Play and Reginald Hudlin's House Party, released by New Line, was a career-making film that not only showcased a youthful spirit of a generation but also was a refreshing ode to the fun side of hip-hop. It was honored by the National Film Registry as such.

Gabriel's Fire/Pros and Cons (Lorimar Television, 1990)

James Earl Jones makes his episodic television debut in this Lorimar series as Gabriel Bird, a former Chicago cop who was wrongfully convicted for murder when he was protecting an unarmed mother and her child from a fellow officer who was part of a premeditated attack on a Black rights group, a plot inspired by the murder of Black Panthers leader Fred Hampton, the subject of Judas and the Black Messiah. Freed after nearly two decades after assisting on an unrelated case, Bird becomes a private detective in Chicago. While the series was critically-acclaimed and earned Mr. Jones a Primetime Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama Series as did his character's companion Madge Sinclair for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, ABC felt the show was too dark and ordered Lorimar to retool the series to make it a little lighter a season later when it became Pros and Cons, which also ran for one season. 

New Jack City, 1991

"This thing is bigger than Nino Brown. This is big business. This is the American way."

Mario van Peebles' New Jack City is a stunning crime drama that chronicled the crack epidemic & celebrated the New Jack music culture of the early 1990s. Wesley Snipes ruled as Nino. 

The Josephine Baker Story (HBO Films/ITV Anglia, 1991)

"My dear, I know exactly how I'm gonna die: out of breath, exhausted at the end of a dance. And that won't be for a long, long time."

Lynn Whitfield shined in her Emmy-winning role in The Josephine Baker Story, one of many great biopics from HBO Pictures.

Strictly Business, 1991

This is the first movie where many filmgoers really noticed the aura that is Halle Berry, who place a nightclub promoter named Natalie and all but steals the movie. And Tommy Davidson shines through as well. I think the only thing that makes drags it down is the lead, Joseph C. Phillips, who is duller than dishwater. Still, a pretty fun film that makes everyone shout, "Go Natalie!"

I'll Fly Away (Lorimar Television, 1991)

A period drama set in the 1950s U.S. South, Regina Taylor plays Lilly Harper, a housekeeper for a family headed by a district attorney as she increasingly becomes involved in the Civil Rights Movement, as does her employer. An Emmy-winning series that was critically-acclaimed but was cancelled by NBC after two seasons. Its finale film wrapped up the storyline and aired on PBS, a rarity for a series that aired on traditional broadcast television.

Roc (HBO Independent Productions, 1991)

Roc is a masterclass in what we call a "dramatic comedy." This series had a cast of theater veterans & stellar writing that felt like a weekly play and ahead of its time. It was one of the most brilliant series ever produced that would be celebrated if it wasn't on 1991-era FOX or, you know, prominently Black.

Malcolm X (Warner Bros/40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, 1992)

20 years after the studio released a documentary about his life, Warner Bros produced an award-worthy biopic about the influential minister Malcolm X. 

Directed by Spike Lee & starring Denzel Washington, it still stands as one of the best films of the 20th century.

Class Act, 1992

In a slight diversion from the New Line House Party films, Kid 'n Play star in a modern day take on The Prince and the Pauper where a genius trades places with a juvenile delinquent in this Warner Bros production, their first for the studio. 

Martin (HBO Independent Productions, 1992)

Martin was one of the 1st sitcoms that focused on young Black adults who are urban professionals not confined to ghetto or college life. A revolution in comedy with an incredible cast that continues to entertain audiences over 30 years after its debut. 

That's wazzup!

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (Lorimar Television, 1992)

From the creator of Full House comes a family-friendly sitcom about an ex-basketball player-turned-teacher living with a pair of roommates (originally a female friend of his and her best friend who was initially against sharing a house with a man before it became his cousin and her daughter and the roommate who has warmed up to him, eventually becoming his fiancée by the end of the series). It's a TGIF series with a bit of an urban edge. And you get three different theme songs to boot.

Passenger 57, 1992

Kevin Hooks' Passenger 57 was just as much a star-builder for Wesley Snipes as his Strictly Business was for Halle Berry a year earlier. After dominating New Jack City as Nino Brown in 1991, Snipes is now on the other side of the law as he shows off his action prowess in this terror-in-the-sky thriller and becomes an action icon for the 1990s.

The Bodyguard, 1992

Whitney Houston breaks out in her film debut playing, well, a pop star who is being stalked. It's the film where the legendary singer transforms Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You into a global smash that still resonates decades later. 

Hardware (Milestone Media/DC Comics, 1993)

Icon and Rocket (Milestone Media/DC Comics, 1993)

Static (Milestone Media/DC Comics, 1993)

In February 1993, the Milestone Age of Comics began. Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, Derek Dingle, and Dwayne McDuffie put a shock to the system by launching the Dakotaverse at DC Comics and introducing characters like Hardware, Icon & Rocket, the Blood Syndicate, and Static. 

Truly a revolution.

Alex Haley's Queen (The Wolper Organization, 1993)

A year after Alex Haley, the author of Roots, passed, a miniseries based on his final book, Queen, told the story of his maternal ancestor Queen Jackson Haley, played by Halle Berry in a role that was originated in 1979's Roots: The Next Generation by Ruby Dee. 

John Henry Irons (Steel), DC Comics, 1993

After the death of Superman, tech expert John Henry Irons was inspired to honor his memory by becoming one with the machine as the hero called Steel. For over 30 years, Steel has risen in stature and remained one of DC Comics' best legacy characters ever created. 

Living Single, 1993

Living Single was another popular young Black urban professionals-led series that still entertains. Created by Yvette Lee Bowser, it is the first primetime series created by a Black woman as well as one of the most influential series ever made. 

If you never seen it,, ask your "Friends" about it.