TV in Black: The First Fifty Years 20 years old

Discover how television has reflected the African American experience in this retrospective of the medium's first half-century. Actors, writers and historians discuss the image of black America on television from Amos and Andy to the present day. The interviews accompany clips from groundbreaking shows and performances by entertainment pioneers that create a timeline of the portrayal of African Americans throughout TV history.

Credits

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years Cast

Name Character
Whoopi Goldberg She was 48, now 68 years old
Patricia Belcher She was 49, now 69 years old
Ruby Dee She was 81, 91 years old when she died
Harry Belafonte He was 76, now 97 years old
Lucille Ball She was 92, 77 years old when she died
James Brown He was 70, 73 years old when he died
Arsenio Hall He was 47, now 68 years old
Diahann Carroll She was 68, 84 years old when she died
Bill Cosby He was 66, now 86 years old
Ray Charles He was 73, 73 years old when he died
Lena Horne She was 86, 92 years old when she died
Marvin Gaye He was 64, 44 years old when he died
Sammy Davis, Jr. He was 78, 64 years old when he died as (archive footage)
Pearl Bailey She was 85, 72 years old when she died
John Amos He was 64, now 84 years old
Obba Babatundé He was 52, now 72 years old
Cab Calloway He was 96, 86 years old when he died
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson He was 98, 71 years old when he died
Desi Arnaz He was 86, 69 years old when he died
Willie Best He was 87, 45 years old when he died
Jonelle Allen She was 59, now 79 years old
Redd Foxx He was 81, 68 years old when he died

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years Crew

Name Department
Dante J. Pugliese as Executive Producer. Production
Brandon Christopher as Writer. He was 32 (now 52) years old Writing
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years poster
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years (20 years)

  • Release day: Thursday, January 01, 2004
  • Runtime: 100 minutes