-------- Original Message --------
Subject: BERNADETTE STANIS: Still Enjoying the Good Times
Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006 06:13:25 -0400
From: C V <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: GIRLFRIEND <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
THE EUR Q & A WITH BERNADETTE STANIS: Still Enjoying the Good Times
By Kevin Jackson
(August 2, 2006)
Actress BernNadette Stanis caught the attention of television viewers
in the 1970s when she played the role of Thelma on Good Times. Her
consistent catfights and arguing with television brother JJ (played by
Jimmie Walker) were among the highlights of the iconic black comedy
television series which ran from 1974 to 1979.
Good Times which was very popular back then (today repeats of the show
can be seen on the cable network TV Land) followed the challenges and joys
of the close-knit Evans family--patriarch James (John Amos) mother Florida
(Esther Rolle) eldest son and accomplished amateur painter J.J. (Jimmie
Walker), the brainy and beautiful daughter Thelma, and youngest son Michael
(Ralph Carter) a political and social activist--who lived together in a
high-rise housing project on the South Side of Chicago.
Created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans (the original Lionel from All
in the Family and The Jeffersons) and produced by Bud Yorkin and Norman
Lear, Good Times was remarkable on many levels. In a television landscape
populated almost exclusively by prosperous white characters living in
idealized settings, and where black families were always presented as
somehow broken or fractured, Good Times was the first prime-time series that
featured a strong black man at the head of a close-knit lower-middle-class
black family. The show took an honest look at the reality of life in the
urban Projects, and tackled social and political issues around race,
poverty, unemployment, inflation, crime and addiction--topical issues that
cut across 1970s America. Even the most serious storylines were handled with
great comic skill.
While the show was extremely successful at handling controversial
topics with humor, a battle between co-stars and producers ensued for
control over the show's direction. Amos left the sitcom after two seasons.
Rolle departed the show in 1977, but returned for the final season. With
ratings in decline, Good Times was pulled from the CBS schedule, and the
last original episode aired on August 1, 1979.
In an interview recently with this writer, the now 53 year old
BernNadette Stanis (real name Bernadette Stanislaus) whose grandparents were
originally from Grenada spoke about her career, her life and the ground
breaking Good Times show which made her an overnight star.
Kevin Jackson: What have you been doing since Good Times went off the air?
BernNadette Stanis: I've produced plays off Broadway, and I'm doing speaking
engagements. I have also made guest appearances on various television shows.
I just recently wrote a book called Situations 101 On Relationships.the good
the bad and the ugly. It's a very interesting book to read and persons can
check out my website at www.thelmaofgoodtimes.com or email me at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
KJ: In terms of current projects, what do you have in the pipeline?
BS: I am currently working on new projects. I have also completed a book of
poetry called For Men Only. Now I am creating a book for younger audiences
ages 9 to 18 years old. The book is about getting what you want and deserve
out of your life. The drive to win starts when one is young. This is what I
wanted to share with my new and young audiences.
KJ: How did you manage to get the role of Thelma on Good Times? Did a lot
of people audition for the role?
BS: I was in a beauty pageant in New York and the managers saw me and said
I would be perfect for this new television show that was coming out called
Good Times that was being produced by Norman Lear. I then auditioned and
yes, there were thousands of young girls who tried out for the role of
Thelma. With God's blessings they decided on me.
KJ: What kind of impact did Good Times have on viewers at the time?
BS: The world was a changing place at that time in history. There were not
a lot of African American people on television at all at this time. There
were no African American families with a mother and a father and three
children sticking together working through the good and the bad times. I
often get many women coming up to me telling me that I was the first young
African American woman they had ever seen on television who had hopes, and
dreams of becoming something special in life, especially someone from the
ghetto. They told me that they modeled themselves after me, or the character
Thelma.
KJ: What kind of grounds did the show break?
BS: Good Times broke many grounds with the subjects that it touched on. We
talked about teen pregnancy, venereal diseases, drugs, gangs, pimps in the
neighborhood and many more subjects. No other show at that time dared to
touch on those subjects.
KJ: Why did John Amos and Esther Rolle leave the show, and did their
departure have any ripple effect on the show's success?
BS: Mrs. Esther Role and John Amos left the show for reasons I don't
totally know all about. But the show survived because we the children being
much older by then held the family together along with some supervision from
our neighbor Willona Woods (Ja'Net Dubois). Like many families must do when
one or both parents are absent. The public stayed with us the whole time
because like I said, there were also many families out there with similar
circumstances. Therefore, I think the audiences wanted to see how we the
Evans family handled a crisis like this.
KJ: Do you stay in touch with your former cast members of Good Times?
BS: Yes, we as cast members still stay in touch with each other. Everyone is
pretty much still busy with different things of their own.
KJ: Before Good Times, what were you doing?
BS: I was a student at the Juilliard School of Music in New York before the
show. I was in the drama department and studied under the direction of Mr.
John Houseman. After the show, I did mostly stage work across the country. I
have been in a number of plays.
KJ: Do you have any children and where do you live?
BS: I live in Los Angeles and I have two daughters, Dior Ravel and Brittany
Rose Cole.
KJ: Good Times was ahead of its time and it was very popular back in the
1970's and now its attracting a whole new audience with its showing on the
TV Land network. How do you feel about being a part of such a ground
breaking television show?
BS: Thank you for recognizing that Good Times was ahead of its time. The
show was so popular with viewers because it was so real. So many people
identified with our struggle. The show is even as popular today as it was
then because we have viewers in 2006 and they too can relate to the struggle
we went through living in the ghetto. I believe the show will reach
audiences for years to come because we dealt with real life issues and real
life issues keep happening no matter what year it is. It is a show that all
people, whether black, white, brown and in between can identify with. Good
Times is a show I am very blessed to have been a part of.
About the other Good Times cast members
Esther Rolle (Florida Evans) was born in 1920 in Pompano Beach, Florida,
the 10th child in a family of 18. Rolle graduated from Spelman College in
Atlanta, Georgia in 1942, and honed her acting skills as a member of the
critically acclaimed theater group The Negro Ensemble Company. She received
acclaim for her performances in Blues for Mister Charlie, The Amen Corner, A
Raisin in the Sun and A Member of the Wedding. It was in one such production
that Norman Lear noticed her immense talent and cast her as the feisty maid
Florida in the television sitcom Maude (1972). The straight-talking maid was
so popular that Lear thought Florida could be the focus of her own show.
After Good Times, Rolle went on to perform in numerous television series and
specials. She won an Emmy Award for her outstanding performance in the TV
film, Summer of My German Soldier, and several other awards including
multiple NAACP Image Awards. On the big screen, Rolle appeared in Driving
Miss Daisy (1990), Rosewood (1997) and Down in the Delta. Rolle struggled
with diabetes for many years, and complications from the disease claimed her
life on November 17, 1998. She was 78 at the time of her death.
John Amos (James). Originally from Newark, New Jersey, 67 year old John
Amos is a pioneer in television history. Amos starred as weatherman Gordy
Howard for three seasons on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, one of the first
major co-starring roles played by a black actor on a non-black sitcom. After
leaving The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Amos landed the role of James Evans, the
struggling but loving husband on Good Times. Unfortunately, Amos grew
increasingly dissatisfied with the sitcom when on-going behind-the-scenes
battles over the direction of the show occurred between cast and producers.
After two seasons, Amos quit the show over personal and professional
complaints, suggesting the sitcom's focus on the antics of the J.J.
character was taking the show off-course, and was not a positive portrayal
of black life. Though producers decided to kill off his character, Amos'
career was hardly dead. In 1977, Amos was a part of another historical event
- he started as the adult Kunta Kinte in Alex Haley's critically acclaimed
epic, Roots. Amos is still going strong as an actor, and has appeared in
many movies and TV series, including Coming to America, Fresh Prince of Bel
Air, In the House, The District and The West Wing.
Jimmie Walker (JJ) was born in 1947 in South Bronx, New York. For better
or for worse, Walker is still instantly recognizable as J.J. Evans, the man
who in the 1970s gave new meaning to the word "Dy-No-Mite!" Walker was
working as a stand-up comedian when he landed the role of J.J., and as his
fame grew he generously helped out fellow comedians whenever he could. (For
example, he hired two out-of-work stand-up comics named Jay Leno and David
Letterman to lend their writing talents to the show.) In spite of the
controversy that surrounded Good Times and the perceived buffoonery of his
character in particular, Walker is proud of the sitcom. Today, when many
actors want to distance themselves from the roles that made them stars,
Walker remains thankful for the success that Good Times brought him. In
recent years, Walker has continued to perform stand-up and was the host of
his own syndicated radio talk-show. Walker appeared in Airplane, Home Alone
2, and Bustin Loose. His TV credits include In the House, George Lopez,
Scrubs, ER, and he remains a favorite guest on Late Night with David
Letterman.
Ralph Carter (Michael) who is now 45 years old, is originally from New
York City. An accomplished stage actor, Carter earned a 1974 Tony nomination
for his role in Raisin - a musical based on the play A Raisin in the Sun. At
the height of his Good Times fame Carter was groomed for a teen-idol singing
career.
Mercury Records released Carter's 1976 album Young and in Love and two
singles - Extra Extra (Read All about It) and When You're Young and in Love.
The disco tracks reached number one on Billboard's Disco charts but failed
to scale the pop charts. Carter, a reluctant participant, refused to pursue
the teen-idol route and another release was not forthcoming. When Good Times
ended Carter all but disappeared from the entertainment business. He made
occasional guest appearances on TV in the early 1980s, but for the most part
has stayed out of the spotlight. These days he is writing plays and he just
completed a new book.
Ja'net Dubois (Willona). Philadelphia native Ja'net Dubois is now 61
years old. A born again Christian, she began her career as a model. Dubois
had a modest acting career before being cast as the fun but meddlesome
neighbor Willona on Good Times. Dubois has appeared on many television shows
including The Steve Harvey Show, Moesha, ER, Martin, Home Improvement, One
on One, Boomtown, and can be heard as the voice of Mrs. Patterson on the
animated series As Told by Ginger. She also starred as Mama Bosley in
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Dubois is a talented vocalist, and was the
co-writer and singer of the theme song for another hit sitcom - The
Jeffersons.
Janet Jackson (Penny). Janet, who is the youngest member of the musical
Jackson family, was cast as abused child Penny on Good Times in 1977. After
the cancellation of the show, Jackson surfaced once again as the innocent
girlfriend Charlene on Diff'rent Strokes. During her short-lived time
playing a dancing and singing student on the TV show Fame, Jackson released
an album, Dream Street, which was a commercial disaster. But soon Jackson
discovered that the key to her success was collaboration with mega-hit
producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Her third album, Control brought her
international success. Control sold 5 million copies worldwide and produced
six hit singles including When I think of You.
Since then, Jackson's career has been unstoppable, with the release of
Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet, Design of a Decade, Velvet Rope, All for You and
Damita Joe. Between hit albums, Janet has been married and divorced twice.
Her second marriage to longtime love Rene Elizonda didn't become public
until they announced their divorce after eight years of marriage. Jackson
has also had moderate success in films, co-starring as a brooding
hairdresser in Poetic Justice and starring opposite Eddie Murphy in Nutty
Professor 2 . With numerous awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and
pop cult status, Jackson was been the icon of the 1990s. In 2001, MTV
honored her with the first MTV Icon Award. She has a new single on the
charts featuring rapper Nelly and her forthcoming album to commemorate the
20th anniversary of her ground breaking 1986 album Control, is due out later
this year.
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