(Repost) 11/16/20 O&A HOLLYWOOD MONDAY: Cotton Comes To Harlem- Iris, Officer Jerema and the Paper Bag

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Cotton Comes to Harlem was the beginning of short period in American film that featured black actors in leading roles and the themes dealt with issues from the African-American microcosm. With a screenplay by Arnold Perl and Ossie Davis, and directed by Davis this action drama represents the black prospective. Much of the film’s humor is urban black comedy, which was groundbreaking in 1970.

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10/21/17 O&A NYC THE MORNING FUNNIES/FOOD: Chef’s Chocolate Salty Balls

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Chef’s Chocolate Salty Balls performed by Issac Hayes is the ninth episode of the second season of the animated television series South Park, and the 22nd episode of the series overall. Chef’s Chocolate Salty Balls originally aired in the United States on August 19, 1998 on South Park.  Continue reading

10/11/24 O&A SHALL WE DANCE FRIDAY: The Fountain of Bakhchisarai Starring Galina Ulanova and Maya Plisetskaya

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The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Russian: Бахчисарайский фонтан) is a Russian ballet inspired by the 1823 poem by Alexander Pushkin of the same title. With music by Boris Asafyev and choreography by Rostislav Zakharov, the ballet premiered in Saint Petersburg, (then Leningrad) in 1934 at the Kirov Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (now the Mariinsky Theatre). Continue reading

1/23/15 O&A Shall We Dance Friday: Maya Plisetskaya Dances Bolero (Choreography by Maurice Béjart) And The Dying Swan

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Maya Plisetskaya, Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Bolshoi Ballet, danced Maurice Bejart’s Bolero set to the famous Ravel score in 1975. Plisetskaya created a stunning theatrical experience. What makes the piece so compelling is that although Plisetskaya may be accompanied by dozens of other dancers mirroring her movement, the first and only focus is on the prima ballerina herself.  Continue reading

12/17/17 O&A Gospel Sunday Holiday Series: CeCe Winans

Gospel Sundaybebeandcece-743-croppedCeCe Winans continues to bring in the holiday spirit with three Christmas songs  Because a Child is Born, Jesus Your Beautiful, and Oh, Holy Night (Live).
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10/31/14 O&A Throwback Thursday Halloween Edition: Michael Jackson’s Thriller

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Michael Jackson’s Thriller is an American 13-minute music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983. It was directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Jackson. It was MTV’s first world premiere video.

Voted as the most influential pop music video of all time, Thriller proved to have a profound effect on popular culture. It was named “a watershed moment for the music industry” for its unprecedented merging of filmmaking and music. Guinness World Records listed it in 2006 as the “most successful music video”, selling over nine million copies.

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10/16/14 O&A Throwback Thursday: Diana Ross- Standing Room Only Live At Ceasar’s Palace (1980)

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The HBO special, first aired in early 1980 as part of the network’s Standing Room Only series. It was taped in 1979 at Caesar’s Palace as Ross promoted her then-current album, The Boss. The album, featuring writers/producers Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, featured songs that showed off a range and power that many had forgotten Diana Ross possessed. This was a peak time in the diva’s career; Ross dazzled audience around the world with her demanding, Tony Award-winning An Evening With Diana Ross stage show, and starred with protege Michael Jackson in the 1978 film The Wiz.  Continue reading

10/4/14 O&A With WaleStylez: Pharrell Williams – Gust of Wind (Teaser)

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Fresh off delivering the Takashi Murakami-produced visual interpretation of ”It Girl” , Pharrell Williams took to his i am OTHER YouTube Channel to tease his latest music video for the Daft Punk-assisted “Gust of Wind.” The 30-second clip shows the polymath stumbling upon a Daft Punk rock formation in a wooded area, almost as if they’re ancient relics.

10/3/14 O&A Shall We Dance Friday: Banda (excerpt)- Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade

Shall We Dance

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Geoffrey Holder’s Banda dance debuted in the 1954 Truman Capote/Harold Arlen musical House Of Flowers. Holder the Baron of The Cemetery (based on the Haitian Loa of Death Baron Samedi) and received both a performer and choreographer credit in the program. The Broadway musical takes place somewhere in the West Indies during Mardi Gras weekend. Continue reading

10/10/24 O&A NYC THROWBACK THURSDAY: Whitney Houston’s 1983 TV Debut with Mother Cissy

Whitney Houston sings two duets with her mother Cissy Houston on the Merv Griffin Show in 1983 marking Whitney’s television debut The mother/daughter duet sang a medley of Ain’t No Way and You Send Me. Continue reading