By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
The Angela & John Witherspoon Foundation for the Arts presents their annual charity fundraiser Oct. 15 at the Catalina Jazz Club. This year, the evening of comedy, music and art will be hosted by Bill Bellamy and will honor comic legend George Wallace.
The foundation’s mission is to help artists in their time of need. Many years ago, the great actress Rosalind Cash had to go to the Screen Actors Guild emergency fund to get help to pay her rent. Angela heard the story and was surprised at how long it took to get those emergency funds.
John Witherspoon, who died in 2019 of a heart attack, was known for his scene-stealing roles in films “Friday,” “Boomerang” and “House Party,” as well as television work on “The Boondocks,” “Black Jesus” and “The Wayans Bros.”
He was also known for paying his rent six months in advance while struggling to make it as a comic and an actor. “This way, I will always have a roof over my head,” he has said. “I can’t eat chicken wings, but I have somewhere to lay my head.”
Angela Witherspoon, who controls the fund directly in her husband’s memory, lets it be known that the fund is for true emergencies, not to finish a television pilot or to help complete a script. Today many artists are one job away from living in their cars.
Small gifts have been given to actors, musicians and comics over the years. The average gift is $2,000. Some gifts are $500 and can make a big difference to a young actor, artist, writer or comic trying to make it to the next opportunity. For more information, visit witherspoonfamilyfoundation.org.
SPOTLIGHT: “Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It,” a documentary on the famed musical prodigy from his early gospel beginnings through his rock/soul stardom and contributions to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Ray Charles and others, will have its L.A. premiere Oct. 13 at the Grammy Museum’s Clive Davis Theater.
It will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the film’s director Paris Barclay (“Monster,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “Doctor Odyssey”), artist Cory Henry, and producers Stephanie Allain (“Hustle & Flow,” “Dear White People”) and Jeanne Elfant Festa (“The Apollo,” “STAX: Soulsville, U.S.A.”).
Allain’s Homegrown Pictures also has acclaimed artist Titus Kaphar’s touching debut feature film about generational trauma “Exhibiting Forgiveness” with André Holland, Andra Day, John Earl Jelks and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor at the Hammer Museum for a free screening Oct. 16 in advance of its opening in theaters two days later. Be sure to stick around for a Q&A with the artist and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, artistic director of the Geffen Playhouse.
CLIPPETTES: Eldorado Ballroom, created and curated by Solange Knowles for Saint Heron, presents a lineup that features both contemporary and historic innovators (like Patrice Rushen, Bilal and Moses Sumney) whose work has deeply influenced music and performance art. It’s at Walt Disney Concert Hall Oct. 10, 12 and 13 …
Jason Moran & The Big Bandwagon pay tribute to ragtime pioneer and World War 1 hero James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters Oct. 11 at Walt Disney Concert Hall, while Brian Culbertson is at Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, The Alchemist & Friends are at The Novo, composer Hanz Zimmer is at Crypto.com Arena, comic Jo Koy is at Toyota Arena, and Frank McComb is at Catalina Jazz Club …
Oct. 12 has the free Broadway (between Third and Eighth streets) Night Lights with Evelyn “Champagne” King, Mary Jane Girls, Trinidad James and more. Also, Lloyd Banks is at beTRUE, Billy Joel is at the Intuit Dome, Eric Clapton & Jimmie Vaughan are at the Hollywood Bowl, and The Venice West hosts Souls of Mischief and Lowdown Brass Band …
Culver City Jazz Fest featuring Jeremy Pelt continues Oct. 13 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, as Greg Adams & East Bay Soul jam at Vibrato Grill …
The Grammy Museum welcomes Khalid Oct. 14 to discuss and perform selections from his third album “Sincere.” Also that evening, Shaboozey plays the Fonda Theatre, Tinashe is at Anaheim’s House of Blues (with another show at The Greek three nights later), and Tropical F*ck Storm with special guest Michael Beach begin a two-night stand at Permanent Records Roadhouse …
Cal State Dominguez Hills hosts a free screening of PBS SoCal’s documentary series, “Roots of Comedy” with the show’s host Jesus Trejo alongside comedian Sierra Katow and faculty Oct. 15 …
Later, Killer Mike is at The Novo, Randy Brecker celebrates the music of his late brother jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker at Vibrato Grill, and Charli XCX & Troye Sivan settle in for two nights at The Kia Forum …
The Elliott Brothers & Chris Spencer’s Comedy Block Party returns Oct. 16 to the Miracle Theater with Aries Spears & Tacarra Williams, while aja monet & Annahstasia are at the El Rey, and Travis Barker speaks at the Grammy Museum …
Mavis Staples, Taj Mahal, Robert Randolph, Bruce Hornsby, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Allison Russell, Noah Kahan, Daniel Lanois and more are set for Life is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson at Crypto.com Arena Oct. 17 …
Meanwhile, Juvenile with Mannie Fresh & the 400 Degreez Band are at The Novo, and Lola Young comes to The Bellwether.
TC ON TV: Oct. 11 – “Disclaimer” (Apple TV+): A seven-part psychological thriller written and directed by five-time Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón and starring fellow Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline. “Mr. Crocket” (Hulu): A single mother (Jerrica Hinton of “Grey’s Anatomy”) brings trouble home through a VHS copy of a strange children’s program. “Spellbound” (Hulu): Hailey Romain is back as the bewitched ballerina. “First Take” (ESPN): The HBCU Tour continues from Tennessee State University. “Latinos In Hollywood: Owning Our Destiny” (ABC): John Quiñones hosts this special illuminating the career experiences of Ramón Rodríguez (“Will Trent”), Eva Longoria, Gina Torres, John Leguizamo, Rita Moreno, Edward James Olmos and Xochitl Gomez. “Next At The Kennedy Center” (PBS): Snarky Puppy and more honor Afro-Peruvian icon Susana Baca’s music. “The Graham Norton Show” (BBCA): Nenah Cherry
Oct. 12 – “Nobody Dumps My Daughter” (Lifetime): Jasmine Vega, Ana Ortiz and Sheila E. are featured in this movie about a jilted daughter, her over-bearing mother, and a fortune teller. “Saturday Night Live” (NBC): Ariana Grande, Stevie Nicks
Oct. 13 – “TV On The Edge” (CNN): Goes deep into Kanye West’s infamous off-script moment in 2005 on NBC’s telethon “Concert for Hurricane Relief.”
Oct. 14 – “The View” (ABC): Former panelist Rosie Perez returns. “POV” (PBS): “Twice Colonized” documents renowned Inuit lawyer Aaju Peter’s personal journey to bring her colonizers in both Canada and Denmark to justice.
Oct. 15 – “Beyond Black Beauty” (Prime): Inspired by the iconic novel “Black Beauty,” this update follows a young equestrian (Kaya Coleman) whose Olympic dreams are dashed when her mother moves them from Belgium to her family’s urban ranch in Baltimore. “The View” (ABC): Zoe Saldaña “BET Hip Hop Awards” (BET): Fat Joe hosts the ceremony honoring Travis Scott. With performances by 2 Chainz, E-40, GloRilla, Juicy J, Soulja Boy, Trina, and more. “Black Comedy In America” (Vice): A new docuseries kicking off with retrospective on “The Original Kings of Comedy.”
Oct. 16 – “Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity?” (Prime): Travis Kelce hosts this twist on the original popular format now welcoming an adult contestant who will rely on a classroom full of celebrities to help answer sixth-grade level questions. “A Radical Act: Renee Montgomery” (Roku): Profiling the first former WNBA player to be both a co-owner and executive of a WNBA team (the Atlanta Dream). “Rock Legends” (AXS): “Doo-Wop Extra” examines the genre of a capella rhythm and blues music which originated in the ’30s and ’40s across African American communities in Philadelphia and Chicago, among others. “Celebrity Crime Files” (TV1): A look at Meek Mill’s legal odyssey, which shed light on systemic flaws in the U.S. justice system and turned him into an advocate for reform.
Oct. 17 – “Louder: The Soundtrack of Change” (Prime): Stacey Abrams and Selena Gomez are producers of this documentary on music activism with Chaka Khan, Melissa Etheridge, Linda Ronstadt, H.E.R., Mickey Guyton, and others. “Brothers” (Prime): Two criminal twin brothers (Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage) embark on a dangerous heist road trip in this comedy with Taylour Paige (“Zola“). “Matlock” (CBS): The new season’s brightest show is followed by the return of last year’s hit “Elsbeth.” “Passenger” (BritBox): Wunmi Mosaku (“Lovecraft Country,” “Loki”) stars as a relocated former big city police detective investigating a series of strange and inexplicable crimes.
END QUOTE: “I trust in God, and His ways are not our ways. So we have to go with that, and there’s nothing I can do about that.” – CISSY HOUSTON (of the Sweet Inspirations and mother of Whitney Houston) gone to glory Oct. 7, 2024
As featured in the Los Angeles Wave and Independent, Tasty Clips is one of the leading entertainment columns in the nation, serving nearly one million weekly readers. Bill Vaughan may be reached at tastyclips@yahoo.com, via Twitter @tastyclips, or Instagram @tasty_clips.
