The Electric Company v.1

I noticed PBS has begun airing a remake of the classic 1970s educational show, The Electric Company. So I watched a bit of the new show and it wasn't bad, actually. Needless to say, it got me to thinking about the original which featured folks like Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno, and that Soul Brother who played Easy Reader.

So dig the above clip of a really young Irene Cara with that stone fox Lee Chamberlin. And let me say this: I had a mad, mad crush on Lee Chamberlin when I was a kid watching this show. She was tall, fine, funny and--like me--had a gap in her front teeth. Not to mention she had a great first name and that Afro, which I am digging, even as I watch this clip. Turn it on, Baby. Bring ME the power!

Sparkle (Dreamgirls v1.0)

"Dreamgirls" got me thinking about the film 1976 film "Sparkle." The movie follows the rise and fall of a fictional 1960s girl group, Sister and the Sisters. You get the impression the movie was designed as a vehicle for Irene Cara (r), but the spectacularly fine Lonette McKee (c), in her first motion picture appearance, steals the show. Speaking of McKee, I've been revisiting her work in recent years--and she is spellbinding. Look at the work of any Oscar nominated actress of the 1970s and 1980s, then watch McKee in movies like "Cuba," "The Cotton Club" and she's right there with them.

You can predict "Sparkle" 's plot from a mile away; the ending is too upbeat, given the journey that precedes it; and the entire film looks like it was shot on a single street. But the music is pretty good as are the performances by a young Mary Alice, a pre-Miami Vice Phillip Michael Thomas, Dorian Harewood and Tony King. Check out a clip here: