Dr. King, the Media, and Cinema
Posted: January 18th, 2016, 11:34 am
All of us know of Martin Luther King, Jr. as a charismatic preacher and civil rights leader, but how many knew that Otto Preminger had intended to cast him in his film Advise and Consent?
For one reason or another it didn't turn out, but that would have been something special.
Of course there have been several films about Dr. King. My personal favorites include the 1978 mini-series King, where MLK was portrayed by Paul Winfield, and last year's Selma where David Oyelowo had the honor.
I was too young to watch evening talk shows back in the day, but there are clips of his appearances on Merv Griffin in 1967, and on The Tonight Show (Harry Belafonte guest host) in 1968 two months before his demise:
[youtube][/youtube
[youtube][/youtube
[youtube][/youtube
For one reason or another it didn't turn out, but that would have been something special.
Of course there have been several films about Dr. King. My personal favorites include the 1978 mini-series King, where MLK was portrayed by Paul Winfield, and last year's Selma where David Oyelowo had the honor.
I was too young to watch evening talk shows back in the day, but there are clips of his appearances on Merv Griffin in 1967, and on The Tonight Show (Harry Belafonte guest host) in 1968 two months before his demise:
[youtube][/youtube
[youtube][/youtube
[youtube][/youtube