That Man Bolt (1973)

Starring:

• Fred Williamson
• Byron Webster
• Miko Mayama
• Teresa Graves

Storyline
Before "that man" from Jamaica Usain Bolt took over the track & field scene in China last year, there was another Bolt.......... Jefferson Bolt. Fred Williamson chop-sockeys his way through this popular blaxploitation adventure as Jefferson Bolt, a Kung Fu expert assigned to deliver a cool $1 million to Mexico City from Hong Kong with a stop in Los Angeles. When Bolt discovers the cash is dirty mob money and his gal has been killed, he heads back to the Far East to get even.

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972)

Fat Albert first appeared in Cosby's stand-up comedy routine "Buck Buck," as recorded on his 1967 album Revenge. The stories were based upon Cosby's tales about growing up in inner city North Philadelphia.[1] In 1969, Cosby and veteran animators Ken Mundiewho brought Fat Albert to animation in a one-shot prime-time special entitled Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert.

The special, which aired on NBC, was a hybrid of live-action and animation. The music for the special (and later the series) was written and performed by jazz pianist/keyboardist Herbie Hancock in 1969 and was released on the Warner Bros. album Fat Albert Rotunda.

The producers wanted NBC to bring Fat Albert to Saturday mornings, but they refused because the series was too educational. So, Bill Cosby and a new production company, Filmation Associates, took the property to CBS.The Fat Albert Gang's character images were primarily created by the artist Randy Hollar with the assistance of one-time Disney animator Michelle McKinney, under the direction of Ken Brown.

The series, now titled Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, premiered on September 9, 1972 on CBS for a 12-year run (however, it was not in continuous production). It also spent another season in first-run syndication in 1984-1985. Several prime-time holiday specials featuring the characters were also produced. Like most animated series at the time, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids contained a laugh track.

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids received an Emmy nomination in 1974. Production of the series overlapped with the start of production of Cosby's live-action sitcom, The Cosby Show, which began airing in the fall of 1984.

In 2002, Fat Albert was placed at number 12 on TV Guide's list of the 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time.

Starring:

• Bill Cosby

Episodes 1-12

• TV.com

Characters

* Fat Albert — Voiced by Bill Cosby, based on his childhood friend Albert Robertson. The main character in the series, Fat Albert is the heart and soul — and often the conscience — of the Junkyard Gang; though he is depicted as being obese and unhealthy, he remains active through his love of sports, often taking part in different games along with the rest of the gang. Fat Albert works hard to maintain integrity in the gang and with others, and plays bagpipes/accordion (made from a radiator and an airbag) in the Junkyard Band.

* Mushmouth — Voiced by Bill Cosby. A chinless, linguistically-challenged simpleton who always spoke in virtual Ubbi Dubbi, tantamount to an overdose of novocaine in the mouth, according to Cosby's "Dentist" monologues. Mushmouth plays a homemade bass guitar in the Junkyard Band.

* Dumb Donald — Voiced by Lou Scheimer. A lanky but dimwitted fellow; he always wears a green long-sleeved jersey three sizes too big, and a pink stocking cap covering his entire face except his eyes and mouth. In the Junkyard Band, Dumb Donald plays a trombone made out of plumbers' pipe and a morning glory horn from an old Victrola.

* Bill — Voiced by Bill Cosby. A character based on Bill Cosby. Like the others, Bill is an all-around good athlete, but more often he spends his time trying, though not always successfully, to keep his little brother Russell out of trouble. In the Junkyard Band Bill plays homemade drums made from a discarded foot-pedal trash can using spoons for sticks.

* Russell — Voiced by Jan Crawford. Bill's little brother (named after Cosby's real-life brother, whom he often talked about in his monologues) and the smallest and youngest of the Junkyard Gang. He always wears a heavy jacket, boots and winter hat regardless of the weather. Russell is a frequent antagonist and has a penchant for telling things like they are, much to his older brother's consternation. Russell plays the xylophone in the Junkyard Band (made out of empty cans and a discarded coat rack)

* Weird Harold — Voiced by Gerald Edwards. A tall, skinny, beady-eyed kid who always wears a yellowish-brown dress blazer, a brown sock on one foot and a red sock on the other. Fat Albert's best friend, Harold is usually clumsy, except on the basketball court. In the Junkyard Band Weird Harold plays a harp made from bedsprings, and on occasion plays a "dressmaker dummy" in the percussion section.

* Rudy Davis — Voiced by Eric Suter. A sharply-dressed smooth-talker and huckster whose smart-alecky attitude is always getting him into trouble more often than out of it. But to his credit, Rudy has a good heart and often learns his lesson. His family is implied to be financially better-off than the others as he is the only Junkyard Band member with a real musical instrument, an electric guitar.

* Bucky — Voiced by Jan Crawford. As his name indicates, Bucky has a large overbite. Bucky plays a stovepipe organ in the Junkyard Band.

Various Artists - Panther OST (1995)

Tracklisting:
1 Various Freedom (Theme From Panther) (The Black Bag Mix) (4:47)
Arranged By [Vocals] - Angie Stone
Bass - Me'Shell NdegéOcello
Performer - Aaliyah , Billy Lawrence , Blackgirl , Brenda Russell , Cindy Mizelle , Crystal Waters , Emage , En Vogue , Female , Jade , MC Lyte , Mary J. Blige , N'Dea Davenport , Nefertiti , Patra , Queen Latifah , SWV , Salt 'N' Pepa , TLC , Yo-Yo , Zhané
Producer - Dallas Austin , Diamond D
2 Joe Express Yourself (3:49)
Producer - James Mtume
Written-By - Charles Wright
3 Blackstreet We'll Meet Again (4:43)
4 Funkadelic Black People (4:12)
Vocals [Featuring] - Belita Woods , George Clinton
5 Monica And Usher Let's Straighten It Out (4:06)
6 Various The Points (4:55)
Performer - Big Mike , Biggie Smalls , Bone Thugs-N-Harmony , Buckshot , Busta Rhymes , Coolio , Heltah Skeltah , Ill Al Skratch , Jamal , Knowledge , Menace Clan , Redman
Producer - Easy Mo Bee
7 Bobby Brown Slick Partner (2:47)
Producer - Jermaine Dupri
8 Aaron Hall Stand (You Got To) (4:36)
Arranged By [Vocals] - Angie Stone
9 Da Lench Mob The World Is A Ghetto (4:33)
Producer - QD III
Saxophone, Harmonica - Jimmy Z
10 Shanice If I Were Your Woman (4:49)
11 Sounds Of Blackness We Shall Not Be Moved (3:48)
Keyboards - Bernie Worrell
Rap [Featuring] - Black Sheep
12 Female (5) Natural Woman (4:52)
Producer, Performer, Mixed By - Darren "Venus Brown" Floyd*
13 Various Freedom (Theme From Panther) (Dallas' Dirty Dozen Mix) (4:52)
Arranged By [Vocals] - Angie Stone
Bass - Me'Shell NdegéOcello
Performer - MC Lyte , Me'Shell NdegéOcello , Nefertiti , Patra , Queen Latifah , Salt 'N' Pepa , TLC , Yo-Yo
Producer - Dallas Austin , Diamond D
14 Hodge Head Nod (3:34)
15 Tony! Toni! Toné! Stand (4:28)
Written-By - Sylvester Stewart
16 Last Poets, The Don't Give Me No Broccoli And Tell Me It's Greens (What Happened To Our Rythm) (6:18)
Percussion - Don Babatunde
Producer - James Mtume
17 Brian McKnight And Boys Choir Of Harlem, The Star Spangled Banner (3:12)
Guitar - Slash
18 Stanley Clarke The Ultimate Sacrifice (3:15)

AMG.comSoundtrack recordings were once products of one composer, one producer, and songs closely woven to the movie's theme. Now soundtracks are compilations of many different artists, producers, and writers; the songs may or may not be movie-related. The Panther soundtrack has 18 songs, almost as many producers, and enough artists to start a riot. The producers alone read like a who's who of late-'90s R&B, some notable ones include: Brian McKnight, Dallas Austin, Tony! Toni! Tone!, James Mtume, and Teddy Riley. Lots of remakes comprise Panther, and all are excellent. Monica and Usher's version of "Let's Straighten It Out" provides the same chills as Latimore's original version; ditto for Female's in-your-face rendition of "Natural Woman." Female duets with Shanice on Gladys Knight & the Pips' classic "If I Were Your Woman" and gives it a pleasing update. Brian McKnight sings a rousing version of the "Star Spangled Banner" with the Boys Choir of Harlem. So much to choose from; there's something here for everybody. Artists of prominence include Bobby Brown, the Last Poets, George Clinton, the Sound of Blackness, Aaron Hall TLC, and others. You get your money's worth and change with this one.
Review by Andrew Hamilton

Link to movie review:Mario/Melvin Van Peebles - Panther (1995)

Sanford & Son [Fourth Season] (1975)

Starring:

• Red Foxx
• Demond Wilson

Episode Guide

• TV.com

ezinearticles.com
Nominated for six Golden Globes and seven Emmys, including Outstanding Series - Comedy, Sanford & Son became one of the first shows in television history to be almost entirely centered around African-American characters. Modeled after the British TV show Steptoe & Son, the series showcased the underappreciated talents of comic genius Redd Foxx (whose skin color and bad language prevented him from becoming a superstar decades earlier). The brainchild of All In The Family creator Norman Lear, Sanford & Son signaled the beginning of a decade of sitcom classics for the prolific 1970's TV writer - Maude (1972), Good Times (1974), and The Jeffersons (1975) being the others. Wrought with memorable one-liners and well-timed humor, Sanford & Son was a Top 10 Nielsen rated show every year in which it aired except for its final season (ranking a respectable #27)…
Sanford & Son, set in the Watts district of Los Angeles, follows the life of Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx), a 65-year-old African-American junk dealer who shares his business with his 34-year-old son Lamont (Demond Wilson). With Fred's wife Elizabeth having passed away twenty years earlier, he often evokes Lamont's sympathy by clutching his heart and proclaiming, "Oh, I'm coming to join you Elizabeth!" But Fred always survives those near fatal heart attacks, continuing to disperse sarcastic putdowns (often directed at his sister-in-law Esther) and racist stereotypical remarks aimed against whites and Hispanics (especially Lamont's friend Julio). Using guilt to manipulate his ambitious son into staying and helping run the salvage shop instead of pursuing other endeavors, Fred Sanford spends most of his days lounging around the house (his junk store and home are one and the same) and hanging out with his friends - Grady, Melvin, and Bubba… Well-written and hilarious, Sanford & Son is comedian Redd Foxx at his absolute best…
The Sanford & Son (Season 4) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "The Surprise Party" in which Fred returns home following an extended stay in St. Louis (i.e. contract negotiations with the network). Everyone plans a surprise party for Fred, but the celebration goes awry when Fred and Esther pick up where they left off (with their constant fighting). Meanwhile, when Fred eavesdrops on Lamont and Grady, the situation only gets worse… Other notable episodes from Season 4 include "Going Out of Business" in which an accounting error leads to Fred and Lamont owing the government more money than they have, and "The Stand-In" in which Fred and Lamont are forced to stand-in for Fred's musician friend Bowlegs when a member of his band gets injured…