Hollywood Black: The Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers

About the Book

The films, the stars, the filmmakers-all get their due in HOLLYWOOD BLACK, a sweeping overview of black people in film from the silent era through Black Panther, with striking photos and an engrossing history by award-winning author Donald Bogle.

The story opens in the silent film era, when white actors in blackface played black characters and D. W. Griffith premiered his shocking, controversial THE BORTH OF A NATION. Sound motion pictures were ushered in by Al Jolson in blackface in THE JAZZ SINGER, but in this new era of filmmaking, black performers such as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Paul Robeson began finding a place in Hollywood. More often than not, they were saddled with rigidly stereotyped roles, but some gifted performers were able to turn in significant performances, notably Hattie McDaniel in GONE WITH THE WIND (1939).

In the coming decades, more black talents would light up the screen. Dorothy Dandridge became the first African American to earn a Best Actress Oscar nomination for CARMEN JONES (1954), and Sidney Poitier broke ground in films like 1963's LILIES OF THE FIELD, for which he won the Best Actor Oscar. HOLLYWOOD BLACK reveals the changes in images that came about with the evolving social and political atmosphere of the country, from the Civil Rights era to the Black Power movement. The story takes readers through the Blaxploitation era with movies like SHAFT and SUPER FLY, to the emergence of such stars as Diana Ross and Eddie Murphy, and of directors Spike Lee and John Singleton. The history comes to modern times with filmmakers Steve McQueen (TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE) and Barry Jenkins (MOONLIGHT); megastars Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Halle Berry; and a glorious gallery of others.

Filled with photographs and stories of stars and filmmakers on set and off, HOLLYWOOD BLACK tells an enthralling, underappreciated history as it's never before been told.

About the Author :
Donald Bogle is one of the foremost authorities on African Americans in films and entertainment history. His nine books include the groundbreaking Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks; the award-winning Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams; the bestselling Dorothy Dandridge: A Biography; and Brown Sugar, which the author adapted into a PBS documentary series. Bogle has appeared on numerous television and radio programs; and in such documentaries as Spike Lee's Jim Brown: All-American. He was a special commentator and consultant for Turner Classic Movies' award-winning series Race and Hollywood. Bogle teaches at the University of Pennsylvania and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He lives in Manhattan.

Review :
"Little-known stories, megawatt stars on-set and off, and a sweeping history of Black film--from silent films to the millennium and beyond--make this triumphant tome a must-read for any movie lover."
---Lindsay Powers, Amazon Book Review Editor "A superb and detailed book that both educates and informs. I can't recommend this title enough."--DVDCorner.net "No one knows more (or has written more extensively) about the history of African-Americans' contributions to cinema than Donald Bogle."---Leonard Maltin, LeonardMaltin.com "The leading scholar and historian on African Americans in film puts it all in one volume in this well-illustrated study."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "This book engagingly chronicles the challenges and achievements of African Americans in Hollywood....Bogle's narrative style makes for absorbing reading, and the book's glossy, photo-filled pages will further attract readers."--Booklist "Utterly essential and sophisticated..."---Jeff Simon, Buffalo News