James Pickens Jr. is now in his 22nd year of playing Dr. Richard Webber on the ABC TV series ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ Pickens now serves as an executive producer of the series and has established his own production company.
Courtesy photo
By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
When JAMES PICKENS JR. got the call from his manager to read for a pilot called “Grey’s Anatomy,” little did he know it would lead to him holding a record as the longest running African-American male in television history.
“I never thought it would last this long,” said the Cleveland, Ohio native who portrays Dr. Richard Webber on the ABC medical drama that has just entered its 22nd season. “As actors, we’re guns for hire. We go in and do a job and then before that one ends, we’re looking for the next one. Eriq La Salle was on “E.R.” for quite a long time, but [not like this].”
That kind of longevity is rare especially on a Shonda Rhimes series.
“I’ve had such great storylines and she’s written me some incredible stuff as an African-American mature actor,” said Pickens to Tasty Clips some eight years ago. “This is Hollywood. I never assume anything, but at this point I feel pretty secure.”
As well he should with credits that include having worked with some of film’s finest directors including Steven Soderbergh (“Traffic”), Oliver Stone (“Nixon”), Warren Beatty (“Bulworth”), and Barry Levinson (“Sleepers,” “Sphere,” “Jimmy Hollywood,” “Liberty Heights”).
He portrayed Medgar Evers in Rob Reiner’s “Ghosts of Mississippi” and memorably played Angela Bassett’s Ex in “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” He was also featured in “42,” “Menace II Society,” “Home Room,” “Gridlock’d,” “Just Wright,” and on TV shows “Roseanne” and “The X-Files.”
Back when we spoke, the hot topic issue was about the victimization of women in the industry, of which Pickens said: “Hollywood is finally realizing they have to walk the walk instead of just talking the talk. [Recent events have] brought to light that they have to ramp back up the moral barometer of Hollywood. This is nothing new. It’s just now that women are not going to take being objectified and rightfully so. I think it’s more incumbent on the men in Hollywood to understand they have a responsibility.”
“The big thing was that no one was held accountable,” he added. “I think especially with the things with Harvey Weinstein, folks are finally saying no. You’re not going to get a pass on this one. We got to look at this for what it is and address it for what it is. And not sugar coat it.”
Pickens, who is an experienced horseman and roping champion, had just entered a producing partnership with Morgan Freeman on a longtime dream project for both to bring the story of Bass Reeves, the Black man who was the first deputy U.S. Marshall and basis of “The Lone Ranger,” to television.
That project did not come to fruition, but he has since taken on the title of co-executive producer of “Grey’s Anatomy” and, through his Bay Springs Productions, is an executive producer and star of “Albert’s Flower,” hailing the directorial-film-debut by award-winning theater director/writer James Glossman (co-writer with Tom Hanks of New York City’s buzziest new play “This World of Tomorrow”).
After its recent premiere at the Montclair Film Festival, the acclaimed short about a man drawn back to his childhood home to confront the lingering ghosts of his past, is a must-see on the film festival circuit.
For more than 11 years, Bill Vaughan has kept Wave readers up to date with the latest news in entertainment. Now, we are collecting some of those past columns into what we call the Best of Tasty Clips. To contact Vaughan, visit his social media pages on Facebook and Instagram or @tasty_clips, on X @tastyclips, and on LinkedIn to William Vaughan.
