1 00:00:07,508 --> 00:00:09,719 Come on, let's get some black people in here! 2 00:00:09,743 --> 00:00:12,522 And I remember watching television and then, 3 00:00:12,546 --> 00:00:14,457 kind of gradually realizing that 4 00:00:14,481 --> 00:00:17,427 I did not look like any of the people on there. 5 00:00:17,451 --> 00:00:21,547 I was not a domestic. That was the problem. 6 00:00:25,492 --> 00:00:31,841 The important issues are dealt with with some shows 7 00:00:31,865 --> 00:00:32,876 very, very well. 8 00:00:32,900 --> 00:00:34,978 That's the first time that a Latino 9 00:00:35,002 --> 00:00:37,247 has been placed in that position, ever. 10 00:00:37,271 --> 00:00:41,451 We must not forget the reasons why so many sacrificed so much 11 00:00:41,475 --> 00:00:44,020 in the cause of freedom. 12 00:00:44,044 --> 00:00:47,524 For Asians, the image of Asians, 13 00:00:47,548 --> 00:00:49,459 it was a tremendous breakthrough. 14 00:00:49,483 --> 00:00:52,885 Let's have the conversation, say, "Here's what it was." 15 00:01:01,228 --> 00:01:03,640 "Pioneers of Television" was made possible by 16 00:01:03,664 --> 00:01:06,209 contributions to your PBS station 17 00:01:06,233 --> 00:01:07,565 from viewers like you. 18 00:01:10,671 --> 00:01:13,816 They blazed a trail through American culture. 19 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:19,122 It was embarrassing to say that in the United States of America, 20 00:01:19,146 --> 00:01:21,457 I was the first black actress to have her own series. 21 00:01:21,481 --> 00:01:24,460 You know, Baker, you've got guts. 22 00:01:24,484 --> 00:01:25,728 Thanks. 23 00:01:25,752 --> 00:01:28,565 You didn't have to be black or white, or Asian. 24 00:01:28,589 --> 00:01:30,066 He's talking to everybody. 25 00:01:30,090 --> 00:01:33,536 The story is about something 26 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,156 that has nothing to do with color. 27 00:01:39,066 --> 00:01:41,001 - Cliff! - Oh! 28 00:01:43,937 --> 00:01:46,416 They overcame unimaginable obstacles. 29 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:48,718 Because basically they stereotype you. 30 00:01:48,742 --> 00:01:51,154 And stereotypes are like the worst. 31 00:01:51,178 --> 00:01:53,289 I mean, how to kill a culture. 32 00:01:53,313 --> 00:01:55,558 They were going to take our show off the air 33 00:01:55,582 --> 00:01:58,161 if we didn't get rid of Arthur because he was black. 34 00:01:58,185 --> 00:02:01,331 Back in that time, you didn't even have commercials 35 00:02:01,355 --> 00:02:03,099 with African American people, 36 00:02:03,123 --> 00:02:05,802 except for Aunt Jemima on the pancake box. 37 00:02:05,826 --> 00:02:08,371 They created some of America's 38 00:02:08,395 --> 00:02:10,006 favorite characters. 39 00:02:10,030 --> 00:02:13,409 I always felt, and I still feel to this day, 40 00:02:13,433 --> 00:02:15,778 it's one of the greatest comedies ever written. 41 00:02:15,802 --> 00:02:18,014 What do you think, Lightnin'? 42 00:02:18,038 --> 00:02:20,405 This sure is a thin house. 43 00:02:22,576 --> 00:02:25,021 These were actors and they were brilliant actors. 44 00:02:25,045 --> 00:02:26,556 They made you laugh! 45 00:02:26,580 --> 00:02:29,726 You can't do comedy, there's no Asians in comedy. 46 00:02:29,750 --> 00:02:32,462 You can't do that, and I didn't care, I just did it. 47 00:02:32,486 --> 00:02:33,796 Did my mother send you? 48 00:02:33,820 --> 00:02:35,064 Pardon? 49 00:02:35,088 --> 00:02:38,581 She's about so tall, kind of a Korean Bea Arthur. 50 00:02:39,726 --> 00:02:42,839 Before Gene Roddenberry put together "Star Trek," 51 00:02:42,863 --> 00:02:45,541 there were no black people in the future. 52 00:02:45,565 --> 00:02:48,544 I was always mindful of the fact that I had 53 00:02:48,568 --> 00:02:52,048 a special responsibility in the roles that I played. 54 00:02:52,072 --> 00:02:56,653 Maybe you ought to plot a course back to Vulcan, just in case. 55 00:02:56,677 --> 00:02:59,489 It all sounds wonderful and I'm thrilled, 56 00:02:59,513 --> 00:03:01,257 but what took us so long?! 57 00:03:01,281 --> 00:03:06,329 There is less programming focused on people of color 58 00:03:06,353 --> 00:03:08,331 than there used to be. 59 00:03:08,355 --> 00:03:10,400 I don't know why that is. 60 00:03:10,424 --> 00:03:13,536 Together, they broke through barriers 61 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,507 to make television better. 62 00:03:17,531 --> 00:03:20,695 They are the pioneers of television. 63 00:03:24,404 --> 00:03:28,985 By 1983, television sitcoms were in steep decline. 64 00:03:29,009 --> 00:03:32,221 Of the top 10 shows, none were comedies. 65 00:03:32,245 --> 00:03:36,225 Then, in the fall of 1984, one man... 66 00:03:36,249 --> 00:03:40,430 Almost singlehandedly... Revived the sitcom. 67 00:03:40,454 --> 00:03:45,468 $300 a week, $1,200 a month, alright? 68 00:03:45,492 --> 00:03:46,703 Great, I'll take it! 69 00:03:46,727 --> 00:03:52,709 Yes, you will, and I will take $350 for taxes. 70 00:03:52,733 --> 00:03:54,977 - Whoa! - Huh? 71 00:03:55,001 --> 00:03:57,013 Now because, see, the government 72 00:03:57,037 --> 00:03:59,233 comes for the regular people first. 73 00:04:02,642 --> 00:04:04,721 When I heard Bill was going to do a show, 74 00:04:04,745 --> 00:04:06,756 I knew exactly what it was going to be. 75 00:04:06,780 --> 00:04:08,825 And I knew it was going to be a success, 76 00:04:08,849 --> 00:04:12,128 because it was going to be Bill talking about 77 00:04:12,152 --> 00:04:14,597 what he had talked about as a stand-up... 78 00:04:14,621 --> 00:04:17,834 His kids, the home life, his parents. 79 00:04:17,858 --> 00:04:19,569 Like many good storytellers, 80 00:04:19,593 --> 00:04:22,705 he needed to go to the story that he told the best, 81 00:04:22,729 --> 00:04:25,908 which was the family stories, and that's what he did 82 00:04:25,932 --> 00:04:28,444 better than anybody... Still, you know. 83 00:04:28,468 --> 00:04:31,802 Nobody tells a better story about their family than he does. 84 00:04:34,441 --> 00:04:37,386 "The Cosby Show" quickly jumped to number one in the ratings, 85 00:04:37,410 --> 00:04:39,255 lifting the entire network 86 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:42,258 and earning hundreds of millions for NBC. 87 00:04:42,282 --> 00:04:45,428 But Bill Cosby wasn't driven by the money. 88 00:04:45,452 --> 00:04:47,930 He wanted to make a difference. 89 00:04:47,954 --> 00:04:49,699 The shirt goes back. 90 00:04:49,723 --> 00:04:53,436 But, Dad, I told Christine I was getting a Gordon Gartrell. 91 00:04:53,460 --> 00:04:56,239 Tell Christine you lied. 92 00:04:56,263 --> 00:04:58,641 Dad! 93 00:04:58,665 --> 00:05:04,614 No 14-year-old boy should have a $95 shirt 94 00:05:04,638 --> 00:05:08,541 unless he is on stage with his four brothers. 95 00:05:13,246 --> 00:05:15,491 Bill Cosby wanted to make his point, 96 00:05:15,515 --> 00:05:17,693 but it was a far different approach 97 00:05:17,717 --> 00:05:19,777 from the shows that came before. 98 00:05:21,755 --> 00:05:24,300 Norman Lear's "All in the Family," for example, 99 00:05:24,324 --> 00:05:27,270 used in-your-face conflict to stir up audience emotions. 100 00:05:27,294 --> 00:05:31,007 I want to know what your family is gonna do about him! 101 00:05:31,031 --> 00:05:34,043 Well, I wanna know what your family is gonna do about her! 102 00:05:34,067 --> 00:05:36,145 You ain't even the head of your family. 103 00:05:36,169 --> 00:05:38,381 Why didn't Lionel's father come over here? 104 00:05:38,405 --> 00:05:40,049 You don't want to know the answer to that. 105 00:05:40,073 --> 00:05:41,250 Yes, I do. 106 00:05:41,274 --> 00:05:43,519 Alright. He said he ain't never stepped into 107 00:05:43,543 --> 00:05:45,955 a honkie's household and he ain't about to start 108 00:05:45,979 --> 00:05:48,710 at the bottom of the heap! 109 00:05:51,084 --> 00:05:55,932 That one black person that shows up... with this group... 110 00:05:55,956 --> 00:06:00,803 And all of a sudden, there's this white guy, 111 00:06:00,827 --> 00:06:02,171 he doesn't like him. 112 00:06:02,195 --> 00:06:06,409 And somebody else's always kind of protecting him, 113 00:06:06,433 --> 00:06:08,244 because the black person showed up. 114 00:06:08,268 --> 00:06:11,705 I'm very disappointed in you, Lionel. 115 00:06:14,407 --> 00:06:16,399 I thought you was one of the good ones. 116 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:22,592 But I was wrong. 117 00:06:22,616 --> 00:06:24,660 I thought I was your friend. 118 00:06:24,684 --> 00:06:26,262 I mean, I have you into my house here, 119 00:06:26,286 --> 00:06:30,600 and I mean through the front door as well as the back. 120 00:06:30,624 --> 00:06:34,737 If you show enough of those films, films like that, 121 00:06:34,761 --> 00:06:38,241 pretty soon, man, in a Pavlov sort of way, 122 00:06:38,265 --> 00:06:40,576 you know we're a problem. 123 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,512 All these white people would be getting along just fine 124 00:06:43,536 --> 00:06:45,548 if it wasn't for that one black guy 125 00:06:45,572 --> 00:06:48,351 that showed up. 126 00:06:48,375 --> 00:06:51,621 Cosby believed the better way to influence the culture 127 00:06:51,645 --> 00:06:53,890 was to offer a positive role model... 128 00:06:53,914 --> 00:06:55,658 a vision of what life could be. 129 00:06:55,682 --> 00:06:56,877 Daddy. 130 00:06:59,152 --> 00:07:00,830 - What? - What's this word? 131 00:07:00,854 --> 00:07:03,099 Look, let's... why don't we read this together? 132 00:07:03,123 --> 00:07:04,166 "She played." 133 00:07:04,190 --> 00:07:06,736 "She played... 134 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:09,605 with it all day." 135 00:07:09,629 --> 00:07:10,706 Got it? 136 00:07:10,730 --> 00:07:12,909 "The end." 137 00:07:12,933 --> 00:07:14,128 Alright. 138 00:07:18,204 --> 00:07:19,348 You want to read something else? 139 00:07:19,372 --> 00:07:20,616 No, you're tired. 140 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:21,851 Thank you. 141 00:07:21,875 --> 00:07:24,654 May I have a kiss, please? Bye-bye. 142 00:07:24,678 --> 00:07:27,189 "The Cosby Show" centered on a family 143 00:07:27,213 --> 00:07:28,758 that valued education, 144 00:07:28,782 --> 00:07:31,994 with a father and mother who loved all five children, 145 00:07:32,018 --> 00:07:34,363 but weren't afraid to discipline. 146 00:07:34,387 --> 00:07:37,867 You are afraid to try because you're afraid 147 00:07:37,891 --> 00:07:40,703 that your brain is going to explode 148 00:07:40,727 --> 00:07:43,839 and it's going to ooze out of your ears. 149 00:07:43,863 --> 00:07:49,412 Now I'm telling you, you are going to try as hard as you can 150 00:07:49,436 --> 00:07:52,815 and you're going to do it because I said so. 151 00:07:52,839 --> 00:07:54,216 I am your father. 152 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:58,007 I brought you in this world and I'll take you out. 153 00:08:02,949 --> 00:08:07,296 The word is "correction" 154 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:12,101 and people don't make corrections. 155 00:08:12,125 --> 00:08:19,141 There is too much going on with children in our hands 156 00:08:19,165 --> 00:08:21,978 and we don't make corrections. 157 00:08:22,002 --> 00:08:23,834 And grownups have excuses. 158 00:08:26,172 --> 00:08:28,050 Bill Cosby's interest in children 159 00:08:28,074 --> 00:08:30,043 began long before "The Cosby Show." 160 00:08:32,178 --> 00:08:34,991 He earned a doctorate in education 161 00:08:35,015 --> 00:08:37,360 and even when he was breaking through 162 00:08:37,384 --> 00:08:39,061 in the mid 1960s on "I Spy," 163 00:08:39,085 --> 00:08:42,631 he expected to leave television and get into teaching. 164 00:08:42,655 --> 00:08:47,570 Bill's deepest thoughts that he revealed to me were, 165 00:08:47,594 --> 00:08:50,506 "I'm going to go back and teach. 166 00:08:50,530 --> 00:08:53,909 When this is over, I'm going to go back and get my degree 167 00:08:53,933 --> 00:08:55,611 and I'm going to teach." 168 00:08:55,635 --> 00:08:57,213 And I started laughing. 169 00:08:57,237 --> 00:09:00,016 He said, "Why are you laughing at me?" 170 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:01,784 He grumbled something and he said, 171 00:09:01,808 --> 00:09:03,953 "Well, that's what I'm going to do anyway." 172 00:09:03,977 --> 00:09:09,158 Well, the end result of that is that 173 00:09:09,182 --> 00:09:12,028 he didn't do it exactly that way, 174 00:09:12,052 --> 00:09:14,697 but he did it better... 175 00:09:14,721 --> 00:09:16,999 Because he has become a teacher to the world. 176 00:09:17,023 --> 00:09:21,270 After "I Spy" ended in 1968, 177 00:09:21,294 --> 00:09:23,739 Bill Cosby was drawn to projects 178 00:09:23,763 --> 00:09:26,709 with educational value, like "Fat Albert" 179 00:09:26,733 --> 00:09:29,311 and "The Electric Company." 180 00:09:29,335 --> 00:09:35,751 Sometimes it sounds like JA as in giant, as in magic. 181 00:09:35,775 --> 00:09:37,920 - Why? - Why? 182 00:09:37,944 --> 00:09:39,588 Yeah, why does G have to have two sounds 183 00:09:39,612 --> 00:09:40,790 when you already got 184 00:09:40,814 --> 00:09:42,358 a perfectly good J for the JA sound? 185 00:09:42,382 --> 00:09:44,927 Don't ask me. That's just the way it is. 186 00:09:44,951 --> 00:09:49,432 An education will open up avenues for them, 187 00:09:49,456 --> 00:09:53,602 so that they can say they can do something... 188 00:09:53,626 --> 00:09:56,272 Instead of saying, "I want something but you 189 00:09:56,296 --> 00:09:59,994 have to give it to me, because I don't know how to do anything." 190 00:10:02,435 --> 00:10:05,548 Throughout the 1960s and '7 0s, Cosby's comedy albums 191 00:10:05,572 --> 00:10:08,217 and standup performances cemented his place 192 00:10:08,241 --> 00:10:10,486 among America's favorite comedians. 193 00:10:10,510 --> 00:10:13,589 And the children get up to go upstairs 194 00:10:13,613 --> 00:10:17,660 and I kiss them good night and I try to warn them. 195 00:10:17,684 --> 00:10:20,062 Please! 196 00:10:20,086 --> 00:10:23,032 Do what your mother says 197 00:10:23,056 --> 00:10:25,134 or somebody's gonna get it tonight. 198 00:10:25,158 --> 00:10:28,771 I mean, nobody tells better stories than he does, 199 00:10:28,795 --> 00:10:31,674 when it comes to the family unit, 200 00:10:31,698 --> 00:10:37,213 and that's why it works, because it was about us. 201 00:10:37,237 --> 00:10:40,649 Think I carried you in my body for nine months 202 00:10:40,673 --> 00:10:43,552 so you can roll your eyes at me? 203 00:10:43,576 --> 00:10:47,556 I'll roll that little head of yours down on the floor. 204 00:10:47,580 --> 00:10:50,426 Nobody tries to emulate Bill Cosby. 205 00:10:50,450 --> 00:10:53,262 You know why? They can't do it. 206 00:10:53,286 --> 00:10:57,533 There's nobody even on his level, they can't do it. 207 00:10:57,557 --> 00:10:59,702 He just had a skill level. 208 00:10:59,726 --> 00:11:02,638 Just a ridiculous amount of gifts that he had, 209 00:11:02,662 --> 00:11:08,010 of all kinds... writing, performing, voices, faces. 210 00:11:08,034 --> 00:11:10,579 He was like the '27 Yankees. 211 00:11:10,603 --> 00:11:15,303 Just very powerful, powerful stuff. 212 00:11:16,910 --> 00:11:19,788 While Bill Cosby's first attempt at a sitcom 213 00:11:19,812 --> 00:11:21,357 failed to get traction, 214 00:11:21,381 --> 00:11:24,894 another television project was an unqualified success... 215 00:11:24,918 --> 00:11:26,328 A series of commercials 216 00:11:26,352 --> 00:11:27,563 for Jell-O Pudding. 217 00:11:27,587 --> 00:11:29,265 Hey, Bill Cosby, what's that? 218 00:11:29,289 --> 00:11:32,768 New Jell-O Pudding Pops. Frozen pudding on a stick. 219 00:11:32,792 --> 00:11:34,270 Mmm. Tastes good. 220 00:11:34,294 --> 00:11:35,471 Yep. It's a home run 221 00:11:35,495 --> 00:11:36,605 with your taste buds 222 00:11:36,629 --> 00:11:37,606 and won't strike out 223 00:11:37,630 --> 00:11:38,607 with your mom 224 00:11:38,631 --> 00:11:39,742 like some snacks do 225 00:11:39,766 --> 00:11:40,743 'cuz it's made 226 00:11:40,767 --> 00:11:41,844 with real pudding. 227 00:11:41,868 --> 00:11:44,847 The commercials reminded Americans 228 00:11:44,871 --> 00:11:48,584 of Bill Cosby's humor, his gentle style, 229 00:11:48,608 --> 00:11:49,952 his love for children. 230 00:11:49,976 --> 00:11:51,854 By the early 1980s, he ranked 231 00:11:51,878 --> 00:11:54,557 among the most popular people in America 232 00:11:54,581 --> 00:11:57,493 and was perfectly positioned for one more try 233 00:11:57,517 --> 00:11:59,028 at a television sitcom. 234 00:11:59,052 --> 00:12:01,864 All I want is his name. 235 00:12:01,888 --> 00:12:03,532 Dad, please don't do this to me. 236 00:12:03,556 --> 00:12:04,567 Denise will kill me. 237 00:12:04,591 --> 00:12:07,970 Well, you're going to tell me his name 238 00:12:07,994 --> 00:12:11,207 because everybody knows you can't keep a secret. 239 00:12:11,231 --> 00:12:12,875 Look at your face. 240 00:12:12,899 --> 00:12:15,945 It's sliding out of your face. 241 00:12:15,969 --> 00:12:19,462 It's David James. 242 00:12:20,974 --> 00:12:22,551 Rudy! 243 00:12:22,575 --> 00:12:26,555 Just slid out of my face. 244 00:12:26,579 --> 00:12:31,060 "The Cosby Show" was a major landmark, 245 00:12:31,084 --> 00:12:34,863 but it wasn't the first sitcom to portray African Americans 246 00:12:34,887 --> 00:12:36,298 in white collar jobs. 247 00:12:36,322 --> 00:12:39,702 Sixteen years earlier, Diahann Carroll 248 00:12:39,726 --> 00:12:42,137 blazed that trail in "Julia." 249 00:12:42,161 --> 00:12:44,673 - You see, Cory... - I know, Mom. 250 00:12:44,697 --> 00:12:46,108 What do you know? 251 00:12:46,132 --> 00:12:49,011 Like in school, there are some kids 252 00:12:49,035 --> 00:12:51,313 who just don't like other kids 253 00:12:51,337 --> 00:12:54,650 if they're not the same color or religion, 254 00:12:54,674 --> 00:12:57,720 even if they don't know anything about them. 255 00:12:57,744 --> 00:13:01,423 And I guess there are some grown-ups like that, too. 256 00:13:01,447 --> 00:13:03,926 It's pretty dumb if you ask me. 257 00:13:03,950 --> 00:13:08,964 You are too much, Cory Baker. You are really too much. 258 00:13:08,988 --> 00:13:10,499 And you're right. 259 00:13:10,523 --> 00:13:12,321 It is very dumb. 260 00:13:14,427 --> 00:13:17,206 Television's track record with African Americans 261 00:13:17,230 --> 00:13:18,641 became painfully clear 262 00:13:18,665 --> 00:13:21,877 on the very first day of production on "Julia" in 1968. 263 00:13:21,901 --> 00:13:26,081 The studio had no makeup for African Americans. 264 00:13:26,105 --> 00:13:28,350 The studio had only dealt 265 00:13:28,374 --> 00:13:31,153 with the little American girls or European girls... 266 00:13:31,177 --> 00:13:32,288 All the same color. 267 00:13:32,312 --> 00:13:34,290 How could you have a make-up department 268 00:13:34,314 --> 00:13:36,425 and you don't have make-up for every skin 269 00:13:36,449 --> 00:13:37,974 in the United States of America? 270 00:13:40,053 --> 00:13:43,799 Although "Julia" was launched in the turbulent 1960s, 271 00:13:43,823 --> 00:13:46,869 the character stayed far from any racial activism. 272 00:13:46,893 --> 00:13:49,438 For Diahann Carroll, just the presence of 273 00:13:49,462 --> 00:13:52,941 a person of color on television was enough of a first step. 274 00:13:52,965 --> 00:13:56,545 The racial involvement was very minuscule 275 00:13:56,569 --> 00:13:58,480 on all television shows. 276 00:13:58,504 --> 00:14:02,918 It was absolutely "let's stay away from that." 277 00:14:02,942 --> 00:14:04,653 Uh... 278 00:14:04,677 --> 00:14:07,156 "That is too controversial." 279 00:14:07,180 --> 00:14:11,160 So, we knew that going in... That first you make the success. 280 00:14:11,184 --> 00:14:14,963 After you've done that, then you could make other steps. 281 00:14:14,987 --> 00:14:16,532 There was nothing like 282 00:14:16,556 --> 00:14:19,468 this young successful mother on the air. 283 00:14:19,492 --> 00:14:23,806 And we thought that it might be a very good stepping stone. 284 00:14:23,830 --> 00:14:26,508 While the Julia character was insulated 285 00:14:26,532 --> 00:14:28,777 from the Civil Rights movement, 286 00:14:28,801 --> 00:14:30,412 Diahann Carroll was not. 287 00:14:30,436 --> 00:14:32,181 She actively supported 288 00:14:32,205 --> 00:14:35,117 Shirley Chisolm's run for president 289 00:14:35,141 --> 00:14:39,188 and hosted fundraisers for the controversial Black Panthers. 290 00:14:39,212 --> 00:14:42,391 It was not really the thing that one said 291 00:14:42,415 --> 00:14:46,628 that you are maybe in agreement with the Black Panthers. 292 00:14:46,652 --> 00:14:50,232 But then I had a party at my big Beverly Hills mansion 293 00:14:50,256 --> 00:14:52,601 and invited several people from the Black Panthers 294 00:14:52,625 --> 00:14:53,969 to be a part of it, 295 00:14:53,993 --> 00:14:57,373 to allow them to meet some of the people that I knew. 296 00:14:57,397 --> 00:14:59,942 Everything they did was not wonderful. 297 00:14:59,966 --> 00:15:03,596 I could see some of the good things in the Panthers. 298 00:15:05,104 --> 00:15:07,383 What made "Julia" different was that it was 299 00:15:07,407 --> 00:15:10,119 the first sitcom to portray an African American woman 300 00:15:10,143 --> 00:15:13,978 with a college degree, in a professional position. 301 00:15:14,714 --> 00:15:16,546 At about the same time, Asian Americans 302 00:15:16,582 --> 00:15:19,328 were seeing their first positive role model 303 00:15:19,352 --> 00:15:20,896 on network television... 304 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:25,234 A physicist and helmsman named Hikaru Sulu. 305 00:15:25,258 --> 00:15:28,337 How do you figure it, Chekov? 306 00:15:28,361 --> 00:15:31,306 First, we go to Vulcan. Then, we're going to Altair. 307 00:15:31,330 --> 00:15:33,509 Then we're headed to Vulcan again. 308 00:15:33,533 --> 00:15:35,778 Now we're headed back to Altair. 309 00:15:35,802 --> 00:15:37,980 I think I'm going to get space-sick. 310 00:15:38,004 --> 00:15:41,750 For me as an individual Asian American actor, 311 00:15:41,774 --> 00:15:44,019 it was a personal breakthrough. 312 00:15:44,043 --> 00:15:47,055 But for Asians, the image of Asians, 313 00:15:47,079 --> 00:15:49,391 it was a tremendous breakthrough. 314 00:15:49,415 --> 00:15:53,128 We're dead still, Captain. Helm doesn't answer. 315 00:15:53,152 --> 00:15:54,663 We can't move. 316 00:15:54,687 --> 00:15:57,733 For the first time on television, 317 00:15:57,757 --> 00:16:02,037 Americans saw an Asian American speaking without an accent. 318 00:16:02,061 --> 00:16:04,206 It was not a stereotype role. 319 00:16:04,230 --> 00:16:06,341 I was without an accent, 320 00:16:06,365 --> 00:16:11,246 part of the leadership team of the starship Enterprise, 321 00:16:11,270 --> 00:16:15,217 the best helmsman in Star Fleet, you know. 322 00:16:15,241 --> 00:16:18,987 And that was at a time when there was this whole stereotype 323 00:16:19,011 --> 00:16:21,990 about Asian drivers being terrible drivers. 324 00:16:22,014 --> 00:16:23,225 Well, I showed them. 325 00:16:23,249 --> 00:16:27,296 I was the best driver in the galaxy. 326 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:29,164 Progress, Mr. Sulu? 327 00:16:29,188 --> 00:16:32,167 Sectors 1 through 25 charted and examined. 328 00:16:32,191 --> 00:16:34,236 No chance at all of power originating in those areas. 329 00:16:34,260 --> 00:16:40,242 Throughout the history of certainly movies and television, 330 00:16:40,266 --> 00:16:43,312 Asians were seen as "the other," 331 00:16:43,336 --> 00:16:47,115 and usually the scary or the threatening. 332 00:16:47,139 --> 00:16:52,054 That stereotype of Asian Americans as "the enemy" 333 00:16:52,078 --> 00:16:54,957 was all too real for George Takei 334 00:16:54,981 --> 00:16:58,126 from his very youngest days growing up in Los Angeles. 335 00:16:58,150 --> 00:17:00,229 I remember that morning and, in fact, 336 00:17:00,253 --> 00:17:02,130 I can never forget that morning, 337 00:17:02,154 --> 00:17:03,632 it was a terrifying morning. 338 00:17:03,656 --> 00:17:08,704 I was in the living room looking out the front window 339 00:17:08,728 --> 00:17:14,409 and I saw two soldiers come marching up our driveway 340 00:17:14,433 --> 00:17:20,682 and I saw, at the end of their rifles, shiny bayonets. 341 00:17:20,706 --> 00:17:23,852 They stomped up to our front door, 342 00:17:23,876 --> 00:17:28,323 at our two-bedroom home on Garnet Street in Los Angeles, 343 00:17:28,347 --> 00:17:30,559 and banged on the front door. 344 00:17:30,583 --> 00:17:32,060 It was terrifying. 345 00:17:32,084 --> 00:17:36,098 My father answered, and we were ordered out of our home. 346 00:17:36,122 --> 00:17:40,669 George Takei's family had committed no crime. 347 00:17:40,693 --> 00:17:44,239 Along with thousands of other law-abiding Japanese-Americans, 348 00:17:44,263 --> 00:17:47,676 they were taken from their home in California in 1942 349 00:17:47,700 --> 00:17:51,079 and forced to relocate to an internment camp. 350 00:17:51,103 --> 00:17:52,571 The reason was this... 351 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:59,655 On December 7 th, 1941, Japan bombed the U.S. Navy base 352 00:17:59,679 --> 00:18:02,724 at Pearl Harbor. 353 00:18:02,748 --> 00:18:06,962 Overnight, America was at war with Japan 354 00:18:06,986 --> 00:18:09,331 and the U.S. government became suspicious 355 00:18:09,355 --> 00:18:11,266 of anyone of Japanese heritage. 356 00:18:11,290 --> 00:18:14,770 As a group, these U.S. citizens were labeled 357 00:18:14,794 --> 00:18:18,307 by their government as "enemy non-aliens." 358 00:18:18,331 --> 00:18:20,742 What's a non-alien? 359 00:18:20,766 --> 00:18:22,978 That's a citizen. 360 00:18:23,002 --> 00:18:26,181 They couldn't even call us citizens then, 361 00:18:26,205 --> 00:18:28,650 we were enemy non-aliens. 362 00:18:28,674 --> 00:18:30,452 Why? 363 00:18:30,476 --> 00:18:31,820 Because of this. 364 00:18:31,844 --> 00:18:36,124 We were taken to the horse stables. 365 00:18:36,148 --> 00:18:41,697 And thinking back now, I can't imagine how degrading 366 00:18:41,721 --> 00:18:46,935 and humiliating it must have been for my parents 367 00:18:46,959 --> 00:18:50,339 to take their three children, one a baby, 368 00:18:50,363 --> 00:18:53,775 from a two-bedroom home and told to sleep 369 00:18:53,799 --> 00:18:59,014 in that narrow, smelly horse stall. 370 00:18:59,038 --> 00:19:04,219 I remember the barbed wire fences and the sentry tower, 371 00:19:04,243 --> 00:19:06,521 the search light that followed me 372 00:19:06,545 --> 00:19:09,591 when I made the night runs from our barracks to the latrine. 373 00:19:09,615 --> 00:19:15,263 It was a racist act, pure and simple. 374 00:19:15,287 --> 00:19:19,401 And it was an unconstitutional act. 375 00:19:19,425 --> 00:19:23,705 You can't imprison people for their race, 376 00:19:23,729 --> 00:19:25,925 and that's what we were imprisoned for. 377 00:19:28,100 --> 00:19:30,979 Because of the internment, the Takei family... 378 00:19:31,003 --> 00:19:34,349 Like many others... lost their home and their business. 379 00:19:34,373 --> 00:19:35,898 But George never lost his dream. 380 00:19:38,377 --> 00:19:41,289 In the early 1950s, when he saw an ad in the newspaper 381 00:19:41,313 --> 00:19:44,893 to dub a Japanese monster movie, George Takei boldly took 382 00:19:44,917 --> 00:19:46,862 his first steps into show business. 383 00:19:46,886 --> 00:19:49,498 It was a thrilling experience. 384 00:19:49,522 --> 00:19:51,233 Look. Right out there. There it is! 385 00:19:55,094 --> 00:19:57,172 Get the squad in position. 386 00:20:01,133 --> 00:20:05,580 I did about not quite a dozen voices in that. 387 00:20:05,604 --> 00:20:07,716 This was war. 388 00:20:07,740 --> 00:20:11,486 A war of life and death between man and an enemy 389 00:20:11,510 --> 00:20:13,522 who seemed indestructible. 390 00:20:13,546 --> 00:20:17,292 And I had a lot of fun and they paid me for it to boot. 391 00:20:17,316 --> 00:20:21,412 And I thought, "Hm, this is what I enjoy doing." 392 00:20:23,556 --> 00:20:26,535 Soon George was landing on-camera roles, 393 00:20:26,559 --> 00:20:30,105 but in the early 1960s, parts for Asian Americans 394 00:20:30,129 --> 00:20:31,707 were hard to come by. 395 00:20:31,731 --> 00:20:34,276 Takei had a small role in "A Majority of One." 396 00:20:34,300 --> 00:20:36,712 The lead character, a Japanese businessman, 397 00:20:36,736 --> 00:20:40,148 was played by an English actor, Alec Guinness. 398 00:20:40,172 --> 00:20:41,583 I came in a taxi 399 00:20:41,607 --> 00:20:42,818 and I got out 400 00:20:42,842 --> 00:20:44,453 and he disappeared. 401 00:20:44,477 --> 00:20:46,755 I've been looking all around. 402 00:20:46,779 --> 00:20:48,523 There are no numbers. 403 00:20:48,547 --> 00:20:51,526 Now it is you who will cash call. 404 00:20:51,550 --> 00:20:54,179 Please do me the honor to enter my house. 405 00:21:00,559 --> 00:21:03,705 It is customary to remove your shoes. 406 00:21:03,729 --> 00:21:06,742 Oh, I don't mind. 407 00:21:06,766 --> 00:21:13,982 The make-up that he wore, it was so heavy handed. 408 00:21:14,006 --> 00:21:15,650 He looked reptilian 409 00:21:15,674 --> 00:21:22,524 with that layer of plaster or whatever he had on. 410 00:21:22,548 --> 00:21:26,495 In Japan, there's a festival for almost everything. 411 00:21:26,519 --> 00:21:28,964 In the spring it is Sho-non-noi. 412 00:21:28,988 --> 00:21:33,016 We have the same. In the spring, it's Shavuot. 413 00:21:34,827 --> 00:21:36,004 And the way he played it... 414 00:21:36,028 --> 00:21:40,208 The smile looked reptilian... You know, that... 415 00:21:40,232 --> 00:21:42,644 Isn't that strange, Mrs. Jacoby? 416 00:21:42,668 --> 00:21:45,914 It made me shiver, that very cavalier attitude 417 00:21:45,938 --> 00:21:51,309 toward the accent that he had, the whole thing was grotesque. 418 00:21:53,379 --> 00:21:55,857 Four years later, George got his chance 419 00:21:55,881 --> 00:21:58,059 to help break down stereotypes 420 00:21:58,083 --> 00:22:01,062 when he landed the role of Sulu on "Star Trek." 421 00:22:01,086 --> 00:22:02,397 You are Lieutenant Sulu. 422 00:22:02,421 --> 00:22:04,299 You were born on the planet Earth. 423 00:22:04,323 --> 00:22:06,301 You are helmsman for the Enterprise. 424 00:22:06,325 --> 00:22:09,204 How do you know this? Where did you get this information? 425 00:22:09,228 --> 00:22:11,439 Are you from this planet? 426 00:22:11,463 --> 00:22:12,908 I am from here. 427 00:22:12,932 --> 00:22:16,460 Then the planet is hollow. Who killed Lt. Diamato? 428 00:22:19,138 --> 00:22:21,016 Alright, the captain will want to talk to you. 429 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:22,250 That way. 430 00:22:22,274 --> 00:22:25,253 I was always mindful of the fact that I had 431 00:22:25,277 --> 00:22:28,757 a special responsibility in the roles that I played. 432 00:22:28,781 --> 00:22:32,861 The Sulu character was a great step forward 433 00:22:32,885 --> 00:22:34,596 for Asian Americans on television, 434 00:22:34,620 --> 00:22:37,199 but it would be another quarter century 435 00:22:37,223 --> 00:22:39,935 before the nation saw the first TV series 436 00:22:39,959 --> 00:22:42,437 centered on an Asian American family. 437 00:22:42,461 --> 00:22:44,606 What do you think your mom would say if she could see us now? 438 00:22:44,630 --> 00:22:47,342 Oh, I know what she'd say... "No tongue kissing! 439 00:22:47,366 --> 00:22:50,045 No tongue kissing!" 440 00:22:50,069 --> 00:22:52,414 Well, I guess I'd better take off. 441 00:22:52,438 --> 00:22:53,849 Thanks for the movie. 442 00:22:53,873 --> 00:22:55,483 That was good, huh? 443 00:22:55,507 --> 00:22:57,786 That was weird, though, with all those empty seats, 444 00:22:57,810 --> 00:22:59,745 the way that Korean guy sat right next to you. 445 00:23:02,781 --> 00:23:06,261 "All American Girl" premiered in 1994 446 00:23:06,285 --> 00:23:08,345 as a vehicle for comedian Margaret Cho. 447 00:23:10,055 --> 00:23:12,934 From the beginning, Cho faced enormous pressure 448 00:23:12,958 --> 00:23:14,636 to deliver a mainstream hit. 449 00:23:14,660 --> 00:23:17,138 I didn't have these attributes that they think of 450 00:23:17,162 --> 00:23:19,407 when they think of a female star of a show. 451 00:23:19,431 --> 00:23:21,610 I wasn't thin, I wasn't white... 452 00:23:21,634 --> 00:23:25,313 I think that because I wasn't white, 453 00:23:25,337 --> 00:23:30,118 they had to somehow make me conform in other ways that 454 00:23:30,142 --> 00:23:33,788 would make me more palatable to an audience. 455 00:23:33,812 --> 00:23:36,958 The major problem was that I was too overweight 456 00:23:36,982 --> 00:23:38,994 to play the role of myself, 457 00:23:39,018 --> 00:23:40,829 which is insane if you think about it, 458 00:23:40,853 --> 00:23:43,465 but I didn't know that then, I just wanted to keep my job. 459 00:23:43,489 --> 00:23:46,935 Just before this first episode was filmed, 460 00:23:46,959 --> 00:23:50,338 Cho was encouraged to go on a crash diet, 461 00:23:50,362 --> 00:23:52,674 losing 30 pounds in two weeks. 462 00:23:52,698 --> 00:23:56,544 Her kidneys shut down, leading to long term health problems. 463 00:23:56,568 --> 00:23:59,748 Oh, she makes me so crazy. Why does she make me so crazy? 464 00:23:59,772 --> 00:24:02,017 Maybe because you're so much alike. 465 00:24:02,041 --> 00:24:04,352 - Alike? Mom and me? - Oh, yeah. 466 00:24:04,376 --> 00:24:07,022 Please, how are we alike? 467 00:24:07,046 --> 00:24:10,759 For starters, you're both very beautiful, very smart. 468 00:24:10,783 --> 00:24:13,929 Well, yeah, in that way. 469 00:24:13,953 --> 00:24:16,831 When you're the first person 470 00:24:16,855 --> 00:24:20,402 to kind of cross over this racial barrier, 471 00:24:20,426 --> 00:24:23,605 then you're scrutinized 472 00:24:23,629 --> 00:24:25,840 for all these other things that have nothing to do with race, 473 00:24:25,864 --> 00:24:27,442 but they have everything to do with race. 474 00:24:27,466 --> 00:24:29,711 It's a very strange thing. 475 00:24:29,735 --> 00:24:33,448 The scrutiny extended beyond just Cho. 476 00:24:33,472 --> 00:24:36,184 Although the series portrayed a Korean family, 477 00:24:36,208 --> 00:24:38,853 some of the actors were Chinese and Japanese. 478 00:24:38,877 --> 00:24:41,523 There was like an issue with that, 479 00:24:41,547 --> 00:24:43,625 that they weren't all Korean. 480 00:24:43,649 --> 00:24:46,227 And yet, there's always actors... 481 00:24:46,251 --> 00:24:48,530 White actors doing different accents, 482 00:24:48,554 --> 00:24:51,066 doing things that are not of their origin. 483 00:24:51,090 --> 00:24:54,035 And so for some reason, we were held up 484 00:24:54,059 --> 00:24:57,005 into this sort of scrutiny or this need 485 00:24:57,029 --> 00:25:00,875 for cultural authenticity that white people were not. 486 00:25:00,899 --> 00:25:03,745 "All American Girl" lasted just two seasons, 487 00:25:03,769 --> 00:25:07,115 a casualty of too much pressure from too many forces. 488 00:25:07,139 --> 00:25:10,085 Decades later, Cho's sitcom remains 489 00:25:10,109 --> 00:25:13,321 the only broadcast series ever to focus 490 00:25:13,345 --> 00:25:15,156 on an Asian American family. 491 00:25:15,180 --> 00:25:19,728 So much emphasis was put on our ethnicity 492 00:25:19,752 --> 00:25:21,863 and the fact that we were Asian-American. 493 00:25:21,887 --> 00:25:23,365 That took us out of comedy. 494 00:25:23,389 --> 00:25:26,768 It took us out of the job that we were supposed to do, 495 00:25:26,792 --> 00:25:30,388 which was to be 22 minutes of comedy. 496 00:25:32,598 --> 00:25:36,444 Unlike Asian Americans, Latinos were visible 497 00:25:36,468 --> 00:25:38,513 in TV's earliest years, 498 00:25:38,537 --> 00:25:41,683 thanks to a leading role on the biggest show of the era. 499 00:25:41,707 --> 00:25:47,689 Lucy, before I kill you, 500 00:25:47,713 --> 00:25:49,657 would you mind telling me the details? 501 00:25:49,681 --> 00:25:51,459 Well, you were so smart last night and you knew 502 00:25:51,483 --> 00:25:53,228 all the answers and I thought you were a cinch 503 00:25:53,252 --> 00:25:55,230 to win all the money so I called the radio station... 504 00:25:55,254 --> 00:25:57,365 And why did you call the station without asking me first? 505 00:25:57,389 --> 00:25:59,367 Well, how did know that you were faking? 506 00:25:59,391 --> 00:26:01,656 I thought you were an overgrown Cuban quiz kid. 507 00:26:05,497 --> 00:26:09,144 "I Love Lucy" made Lucille Ball a beloved icon, 508 00:26:09,168 --> 00:26:12,013 but, at the time, few understood the key role 509 00:26:12,037 --> 00:26:15,116 her husband, Desi Arnaz, played in Lucy's success. 510 00:26:15,140 --> 00:26:17,085 She said, "I used to come in. 511 00:26:17,109 --> 00:26:19,654 Desi would have done everything with the scripts 512 00:26:19,678 --> 00:26:22,307 and this and that and all I had to do is be Lucy." 513 00:26:24,316 --> 00:26:27,228 Desi oversaw every aspect of production, 514 00:26:27,252 --> 00:26:29,497 including the creation of the first sitcom 515 00:26:29,521 --> 00:26:31,466 filmed in front of a live audience. 516 00:26:31,490 --> 00:26:34,102 In the early 1950s, the technical challenge 517 00:26:34,126 --> 00:26:37,505 of coordinating three cameras and an audience in real time 518 00:26:37,529 --> 00:26:39,274 was considered insurmountable. 519 00:26:39,298 --> 00:26:41,776 But Desi found a way. 520 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:47,816 And bless Desi Arnaz for creating three camera. 521 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:49,784 Because I think Lucy liked an audience. 522 00:26:49,808 --> 00:26:52,454 You could find out what's funny or not with an audience. 523 00:26:52,478 --> 00:26:54,155 They're faster than anything. 524 00:26:54,179 --> 00:26:57,826 From scratch, Arnaz built Desilu into a powerhouse studio 525 00:26:57,850 --> 00:27:00,929 that would go on to produce "The Untouchables," 526 00:27:00,953 --> 00:27:04,099 "Mission Impossible," "Mannix," and "Star Trek." 527 00:27:04,123 --> 00:27:07,569 But it was "I Love Lucy" that made Desi Arnaz 528 00:27:07,593 --> 00:27:09,003 a household name. 529 00:27:09,027 --> 00:27:12,574 ♪ I'm on my way to Cuba ♪ 530 00:27:12,598 --> 00:27:16,478 ♪ That's where I'm goin' ♪ 531 00:27:16,502 --> 00:27:21,483 ♪ Cuba, that's where I'll stay ♪♪ 532 00:27:21,507 --> 00:27:23,685 Given Desi's role 533 00:27:23,709 --> 00:27:26,287 as the highest profile Latino in America, 534 00:27:26,311 --> 00:27:29,090 Ball and Arnaz worked hard to ensure "I Love Lucy" 535 00:27:29,114 --> 00:27:31,493 didn't perpetuate ethnic stereotypes. 536 00:27:31,517 --> 00:27:33,928 Ricky Ricardo was an intelligent, 537 00:27:33,952 --> 00:27:35,563 successful businessman. 538 00:27:35,587 --> 00:27:38,199 And the only person allowed to make jokes 539 00:27:38,223 --> 00:27:40,034 about his accent was his wife. 540 00:27:40,058 --> 00:27:43,404 Lucy, this is absolutely fantastic. 541 00:27:43,428 --> 00:27:45,540 It's just unbelievable. 542 00:27:45,564 --> 00:27:47,575 I would like a logical explanation of it. 543 00:27:47,599 --> 00:27:51,593 Well, I'd like a lo-gical 'splanation of it, too. 544 00:27:55,140 --> 00:27:57,318 Desi and Lucy divorced in 1960, 545 00:27:57,342 --> 00:28:00,221 but they remained friends for decades. 546 00:28:00,245 --> 00:28:04,225 Betty White was with Lucy on the day Desi died. 547 00:28:04,249 --> 00:28:07,929 And it was such a shock to her, because, let's face it, 548 00:28:07,953 --> 00:28:12,534 there's a certain part of a real love that never goes away. 549 00:28:12,558 --> 00:28:16,495 And it was an experience to see her react to that. 550 00:28:18,630 --> 00:28:20,942 After Desi Arnaz left the air, 551 00:28:20,966 --> 00:28:24,779 Latinos found themselves relegated to secondary parts. 552 00:28:24,803 --> 00:28:27,615 Television wouldn't see another Latino in a marquee role 553 00:28:27,639 --> 00:28:29,117 until the 1980s. 554 00:28:29,141 --> 00:28:31,653 - Listen, Lou. - No, you listen! 555 00:28:31,677 --> 00:28:36,191 I haven't heard word one from you for a whole stinkin' week. 556 00:28:36,215 --> 00:28:37,725 No case reviews, no updates, 557 00:28:37,749 --> 00:28:39,809 no progress reports and no backups! 558 00:28:42,020 --> 00:28:44,766 In the first few episodes of "Miami Vice," 559 00:28:44,790 --> 00:28:47,569 Gregory Sierra played the lieutenant in charge. 560 00:28:47,593 --> 00:28:49,837 But the Crockett and Tubbs characters 561 00:28:49,861 --> 00:28:52,240 had so so little respect for their boss, 562 00:28:52,264 --> 00:28:53,641 Sierra left the series. 563 00:28:53,665 --> 00:28:56,134 Go home, you guys, get some rest. 564 00:28:57,869 --> 00:28:59,360 I mean it. 565 00:29:04,509 --> 00:29:08,489 Replacing Sierra was Edward James Olmos. 566 00:29:08,513 --> 00:29:10,725 Lieutenant, I want you to meet my boss. 567 00:29:10,749 --> 00:29:13,161 This is Lt. Martin Castillo, Lt. John Malone. 568 00:29:13,185 --> 00:29:14,629 Good to meet you, Lieutenant. 569 00:29:14,653 --> 00:29:17,498 Olmos had negotiated 570 00:29:17,522 --> 00:29:19,968 for creative control over his character, 571 00:29:19,992 --> 00:29:22,704 and he didn't want to see a Latino authority figure 572 00:29:22,728 --> 00:29:24,138 get disrespected. 573 00:29:24,162 --> 00:29:26,741 And the very first scene that I did, 574 00:29:26,765 --> 00:29:28,910 I was supposed to say one thing, 575 00:29:28,934 --> 00:29:31,713 and when Philip Michael Thomas gets into my face... 576 00:29:31,737 --> 00:29:34,082 Hey, whose side are you on? 577 00:29:34,106 --> 00:29:36,351 I'm supposed to say one thing, and I say, 578 00:29:36,375 --> 00:29:39,187 "Don't ever come up into my face like this again, Detective." 579 00:29:39,211 --> 00:29:44,425 Don't ever come up to my face like this again, Detective. 580 00:29:44,449 --> 00:29:47,829 And that's not written. It was not written. 581 00:29:47,853 --> 00:29:51,132 So, I say that, and he is standing right in front of me 582 00:29:51,156 --> 00:29:53,236 and now he's stuck, because he wasn't expecting that. 583 00:29:54,559 --> 00:29:55,720 C'mon. 584 00:29:56,962 --> 00:30:00,808 From that day, for the next 12 shows, 585 00:30:00,832 --> 00:30:04,178 I never looked at either one of those two guys 586 00:30:04,202 --> 00:30:05,980 on camera again... ever. 587 00:30:06,004 --> 00:30:08,716 Everything was like... 588 00:30:08,740 --> 00:30:10,718 you know, they'd come walking in and I just listened 589 00:30:10,742 --> 00:30:12,387 to the things that they were talking about 590 00:30:12,411 --> 00:30:13,521 and I'd talk to the wall. 591 00:30:13,545 --> 00:30:16,124 C'mon, let us in on the sweep. 592 00:30:16,148 --> 00:30:18,893 Go home. Get some rest. 593 00:30:18,917 --> 00:30:21,863 I would stand up and talk to the wall... 594 00:30:21,887 --> 00:30:23,798 Literally talk to the wall. 595 00:30:23,822 --> 00:30:27,568 Gentlemen, we're looking at about $75 million on the street. 596 00:30:27,592 --> 00:30:28,903 Is it Jorgensen's? 597 00:30:28,927 --> 00:30:31,439 - It's somebody's. - Let's sit on it. 598 00:30:31,463 --> 00:30:33,174 So, the tension was built 599 00:30:33,198 --> 00:30:37,912 and it became a beautiful, beautiful example 600 00:30:37,936 --> 00:30:41,416 of really construction of scene 601 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:43,017 and it really worked very well. 602 00:30:43,041 --> 00:30:44,152 The show took off. 603 00:30:44,176 --> 00:30:46,788 Before "Miami Vice," 604 00:30:46,812 --> 00:30:51,592 Edward James Olmos had mostly played ethnic "bad guys." 605 00:30:51,616 --> 00:30:54,862 To land better roles, one casting director suggested 606 00:30:54,886 --> 00:30:57,498 he change his stage name from Eddy Olmos 607 00:30:57,522 --> 00:30:59,567 to something more "Anglo." 608 00:30:59,591 --> 00:31:00,902 "Don't use Eddy Olmos." 609 00:31:00,926 --> 00:31:02,537 I said, "Excuse me?" 610 00:31:02,561 --> 00:31:08,543 He says, "That's not a name. It's not a star name. 611 00:31:08,567 --> 00:31:10,745 It's not a name that's gonna get you 612 00:31:10,769 --> 00:31:13,614 any kind of recognition, and it's kind of ethnic." 613 00:31:13,638 --> 00:31:15,650 I said, "Oh, I get it, oh my god. 614 00:31:15,674 --> 00:31:17,051 You're absolutely right. 615 00:31:17,075 --> 00:31:19,387 What am I doing here, you're so right. 616 00:31:19,411 --> 00:31:23,424 My name, thank you, I forever will thank you for this, man. 617 00:31:23,448 --> 00:31:26,260 From now on, everyone is going to have to use 618 00:31:26,284 --> 00:31:31,699 Edward James Olmos... Write the whole thing out." 619 00:31:31,723 --> 00:31:34,569 And I walked out the door and the guy just shook his head 620 00:31:34,593 --> 00:31:36,938 and said, "Well, you didn't get it at all." 621 00:31:36,962 --> 00:31:39,707 After "Miami Vice," 622 00:31:39,731 --> 00:31:44,679 Olmos starred in a range of important Latino themed roles. 623 00:31:44,703 --> 00:31:48,182 But it was his starring turn on "Battlestar Galactica" 624 00:31:48,206 --> 00:31:50,618 that Olmos believed had the greatest impact 625 00:31:50,642 --> 00:31:51,853 in changing racial views. 626 00:31:51,877 --> 00:31:54,574 Commander Adama. 627 00:31:58,850 --> 00:32:00,194 Thank you very much. 628 00:32:00,218 --> 00:32:05,199 The Silon war is long over. 629 00:32:05,223 --> 00:32:07,902 Yet, we must not forget the reasons 630 00:32:07,926 --> 00:32:12,673 why so many sacrificed so much in the cause of freedom. 631 00:32:12,697 --> 00:32:16,511 "Battlestar Galactica" is the best use of television 632 00:32:16,535 --> 00:32:18,413 I've ever been a part of, ever. 633 00:32:18,437 --> 00:32:21,883 You know, when we fought the Silons, 634 00:32:21,907 --> 00:32:24,952 we did it to save ourselves from extinction, 635 00:32:24,976 --> 00:32:27,522 but we never answered the question "Why? 636 00:32:27,546 --> 00:32:32,794 Why are we, as a people, worth saving?" 637 00:32:32,818 --> 00:32:35,696 There's only one race and that's what the show is really about. 638 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:37,165 It's the human race. Period. 639 00:32:37,189 --> 00:32:39,567 That's the first time that a Latino 640 00:32:39,591 --> 00:32:42,170 has been placed in that position, ever. 641 00:32:42,194 --> 00:32:44,172 How long until you storm the ship? 642 00:32:44,196 --> 00:32:46,340 I'm hoping that won't be necessary. 643 00:32:46,364 --> 00:32:48,676 I think that you and I can come up 644 00:32:48,700 --> 00:32:51,078 with some kind of an understanding. 645 00:32:51,102 --> 00:32:55,650 This is not the only crisis that I'm dealing with. 646 00:32:55,674 --> 00:32:57,685 Water shortage affects the entire fleet. 647 00:32:57,709 --> 00:33:02,190 Your men are on their way even as we speak. 648 00:33:02,214 --> 00:33:04,325 There's still time to work this out. 649 00:33:04,349 --> 00:33:06,894 Have the president step down and call for elections. 650 00:33:06,918 --> 00:33:08,663 That's not gonna happen. 651 00:33:08,687 --> 00:33:11,566 Then I look forward to meeting your men. 652 00:33:11,590 --> 00:33:13,768 I'll never forget the phone call I received 653 00:33:13,792 --> 00:33:15,570 from a very close and dear friend. 654 00:33:15,594 --> 00:33:18,439 She was crying on the phone, and I said, "What's the matter?" 655 00:33:18,463 --> 00:33:21,943 She goes, "My nephew just called 656 00:33:21,967 --> 00:33:27,882 and he's 12 years old and he was so excited. 657 00:33:27,906 --> 00:33:31,152 He just couldn't, he just kept on saying, 658 00:33:31,176 --> 00:33:35,122 We're in the future. We're in the future. 659 00:33:35,146 --> 00:33:37,124 I saw it. 660 00:33:37,148 --> 00:33:41,085 You know, I saw 'Battlestar' and we're in the future." 661 00:33:44,122 --> 00:33:45,967 Shows like "Battlestar" and "Star Trek" 662 00:33:45,991 --> 00:33:47,535 visualized a future in which 663 00:33:47,559 --> 00:33:49,687 people of every ethnicity worked together. 664 00:33:52,264 --> 00:33:53,541 But an alien watching 665 00:33:53,565 --> 00:33:56,043 the first 30 years of American television 666 00:33:56,067 --> 00:33:58,713 would have drawn a very different conclusion 667 00:33:58,737 --> 00:34:00,014 about America's past. 668 00:34:00,038 --> 00:34:02,483 Because television of the 1950s and '60s 669 00:34:02,507 --> 00:34:04,852 portrayed a nation where people of color 670 00:34:04,876 --> 00:34:06,208 were all but invisible. 671 00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:11,192 From its beginnings in the late 1940s, 672 00:34:11,216 --> 00:34:14,328 television was a nearly all-white medium. 673 00:34:14,352 --> 00:34:16,464 Yet even in its infancy, 674 00:34:16,488 --> 00:34:20,334 there were forces pressing for integration. 675 00:34:20,358 --> 00:34:21,869 For example, Milton Berle 676 00:34:21,893 --> 00:34:24,005 championed African American acts, 677 00:34:24,029 --> 00:34:26,407 beginning with the Four Step Brothers. 678 00:34:26,431 --> 00:34:27,608 Here they are, 679 00:34:27,632 --> 00:34:29,828 the dynamic Four Stepbrothers. 680 00:34:46,651 --> 00:34:50,598 Ed Sullivan fought to book African Americans on his show, 681 00:34:50,622 --> 00:34:53,534 as did daytime talk show host Betty White. 682 00:34:53,558 --> 00:34:56,070 And I had this wonderful dancer, Arthur Duncan. 683 00:34:56,094 --> 00:35:00,641 And all through the South there was this whole ruckus. 684 00:35:00,665 --> 00:35:03,010 They were going to take our show off the air 685 00:35:03,034 --> 00:35:05,746 if we didn't get rid of Arthur because he was black. 686 00:35:05,770 --> 00:35:08,482 So I said, "I'm sorry but, you know, 687 00:35:08,506 --> 00:35:10,818 he stays or... live with it." 688 00:35:10,842 --> 00:35:14,789 In most TV shows, people of color were visible 689 00:35:14,813 --> 00:35:17,124 only in highly stereotyped roles... 690 00:35:17,148 --> 00:35:19,894 Like the Mexican banditos of "The Cisco Kid." 691 00:35:19,918 --> 00:35:22,763 So why do we have to ride so far to look for trouble 692 00:35:22,787 --> 00:35:25,066 when we had plenty trouble where we was? 693 00:35:25,090 --> 00:35:28,769 A little trouble here and a little trouble there. 694 00:35:28,793 --> 00:35:31,339 Yeah, a little trouble here, a little trouble there. 695 00:35:31,363 --> 00:35:33,541 You put them all together they spell Cisco. 696 00:35:33,565 --> 00:35:37,678 Ha ha ha! Come on! IAndale! 697 00:35:37,702 --> 00:35:40,648 "Oh Poncho, oh Cisco, oh Poncho, oh Cisco!" 698 00:35:40,672 --> 00:35:43,651 It was like "Ohh, Cisco!" 699 00:35:43,675 --> 00:35:46,887 And then he would be smoking his little cigarillos... 700 00:35:46,911 --> 00:35:50,358 And then he would put it in the back here 701 00:35:50,382 --> 00:35:51,645 while it was lit. 702 00:35:57,088 --> 00:36:03,004 I remember seeing "Secrets of the Sierra Madre," you know, 703 00:36:03,028 --> 00:36:04,739 in which... 704 00:36:04,763 --> 00:36:07,141 "I don't need no stinking badges" 705 00:36:07,165 --> 00:36:08,843 was, you know, put forth. 706 00:36:08,867 --> 00:36:13,714 And that was like the epitome of the stereotype of the bandito. 707 00:36:13,738 --> 00:36:17,952 We are federales, you know, the mounted police. 708 00:36:17,976 --> 00:36:20,054 If you're the police, where are your badges? 709 00:36:20,078 --> 00:36:24,291 Badges? We ain't got no badges. 710 00:36:24,315 --> 00:36:26,327 We don't need no badges. 711 00:36:26,351 --> 00:36:28,582 I don't have to show you any stinking badges! 712 00:36:30,755 --> 00:36:33,734 Native Americans faced an even bigger obstacle. 713 00:36:33,758 --> 00:36:37,805 Not only were they portrayed on television as stereotypes, 714 00:36:37,829 --> 00:36:40,474 the acting jobs often went to Caucasians. 715 00:36:40,498 --> 00:36:42,977 Nowadays, by the way, the chances are... 716 00:36:43,001 --> 00:36:44,245 And rightfully so... 717 00:36:44,269 --> 00:36:47,281 They probably would have got a very good Indian actor 718 00:36:47,305 --> 00:36:50,584 to play that part, but in those days, they didn't do that. 719 00:36:50,608 --> 00:36:53,254 They used Caucasian guys to play Indians. 720 00:36:53,278 --> 00:36:57,091 The exception was Jay Silverheels, 721 00:36:57,115 --> 00:37:00,361 a Mohawk who landed the role of Tonto on "The Lone Ranger." 722 00:37:00,385 --> 00:37:02,163 Here hat. 723 00:37:02,187 --> 00:37:05,633 Me wash in stream, dry in sun, make whiter. 724 00:37:05,657 --> 00:37:08,135 Thanks, Tonto. 725 00:37:08,159 --> 00:37:10,871 Here gun to kill bad men. 726 00:37:10,895 --> 00:37:13,107 I'm not going to do any killing. 727 00:37:13,131 --> 00:37:14,642 You will not defend yourself? 728 00:37:14,666 --> 00:37:16,677 Oh, I'll shoot if I have to, 729 00:37:16,701 --> 00:37:19,547 but I'll shoot to wound, not to kill. 730 00:37:19,571 --> 00:37:21,015 That's right, Kemosabe. 731 00:37:21,039 --> 00:37:24,585 Silverheels was never content 732 00:37:24,609 --> 00:37:27,088 with Tonto's one-dimensional personality, 733 00:37:27,112 --> 00:37:30,624 but when the series ended, other roles were scarce. 734 00:37:30,648 --> 00:37:33,728 When you think of all the cowboy and Indian movies 735 00:37:33,752 --> 00:37:35,029 that were made, 736 00:37:35,053 --> 00:37:38,532 that they would not have even asked him to be part of. 737 00:37:38,556 --> 00:37:42,136 And I don't know that he would have wanted to be part of it, 738 00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:46,307 because it told a very skewed story. 739 00:37:46,331 --> 00:37:49,243 You all alone now. Last man. 740 00:37:49,267 --> 00:37:51,545 You are Lone Ranger. 741 00:37:51,569 --> 00:37:56,735 Yes, Tonto, I am a Lone Ranger. 742 00:37:59,177 --> 00:38:01,789 In the '50s and early '60s, 743 00:38:01,813 --> 00:38:04,058 African Americans were also marginalized 744 00:38:04,082 --> 00:38:06,127 in largely one-dimensional roles... 745 00:38:06,151 --> 00:38:08,028 nearly always playing the servant. 746 00:38:08,052 --> 00:38:10,131 Eddie Anderson on "Jack Benny," 747 00:38:10,155 --> 00:38:12,233 Ethel Waters on "Beulah," 748 00:38:12,257 --> 00:38:14,602 Amanda Randolph on "Make Room For Daddy." 749 00:38:14,626 --> 00:38:16,303 Louise is going to play for you 750 00:38:16,327 --> 00:38:17,505 now a selection from 751 00:38:17,529 --> 00:38:18,939 her latest album entitled 752 00:38:18,963 --> 00:38:22,710 "Music to Fry Pancakes By." 753 00:38:22,734 --> 00:38:26,147 ♪ I can't give you anything ♪ 754 00:38:26,171 --> 00:38:29,550 ♪ But love, baby ♪ 755 00:38:29,574 --> 00:38:31,485 ♪ That's the only thing ♪ 756 00:38:31,509 --> 00:38:35,356 ♪ I've plenty of, baby ♪♪ 757 00:38:35,380 --> 00:38:40,461 Asian Americans faced similar stereotyping. 758 00:38:40,485 --> 00:38:43,397 Even martial arts master Bruce Lee was relegated 759 00:38:43,421 --> 00:38:46,934 to the role of subservient houseboy on "The Green Hornet." 760 00:38:46,958 --> 00:38:50,638 We're heading for another clash with the Caped Crusaders 761 00:38:50,662 --> 00:38:52,106 and I don't like it. 762 00:38:52,130 --> 00:38:55,509 Why not? We've never run away from trouble before. 763 00:38:55,533 --> 00:38:58,913 Yes, but this double identity poses extra problems this time. 764 00:38:58,937 --> 00:39:01,182 We know they're heroic crime fighters. 765 00:39:01,206 --> 00:39:02,716 They think we're criminals. 766 00:39:02,740 --> 00:39:04,084 We must come out on top 767 00:39:04,108 --> 00:39:06,887 but they mustn't suffer. 768 00:39:06,911 --> 00:39:08,289 Kung Fu is Kung Fu. 769 00:39:08,313 --> 00:39:09,890 It's not child's play. 770 00:39:09,914 --> 00:39:13,928 The fact is that Asian Americans were so invisible in television 771 00:39:13,952 --> 00:39:15,930 that when one does appear, 772 00:39:15,954 --> 00:39:18,833 they can't just appear on their own, 773 00:39:18,857 --> 00:39:21,535 there has to be a whole back story 774 00:39:21,559 --> 00:39:23,571 to justify their existence. 775 00:39:23,595 --> 00:39:25,639 And you see this on crime shows, 776 00:39:25,663 --> 00:39:27,808 like when you see an Asian person, 777 00:39:27,832 --> 00:39:30,344 there is always a "trouble in Chinatown." 778 00:39:30,368 --> 00:39:35,082 In the 1950s and '60s, just one network show 779 00:39:35,106 --> 00:39:36,817 featured an all-black cast... 780 00:39:36,841 --> 00:39:40,020 And it quickly became a lightning rod for controversy. 781 00:39:40,044 --> 00:39:42,590 What kind of fur is this anyway, Kingfish? 782 00:39:42,614 --> 00:39:45,693 Andy, that's the rarest of all wildlife, 783 00:39:45,717 --> 00:39:49,797 the rare and beautiful and elusive mink. 784 00:39:49,821 --> 00:39:50,931 Mink? 785 00:39:50,955 --> 00:39:55,402 Yeah, Andy, just like this animal here. 786 00:39:55,426 --> 00:39:58,272 That looks more like a fox to me. 787 00:39:58,296 --> 00:40:01,976 Oh, Andy, that's a long legged mink. 788 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:03,377 I seen a mink in a window once 789 00:40:03,401 --> 00:40:05,302 but it didn't look nothin' like this. 790 00:40:07,538 --> 00:40:11,452 "Amos 'n' Andy" premiered on television in 1951. 791 00:40:11,476 --> 00:40:12,586 It was hysterical. 792 00:40:12,610 --> 00:40:14,989 It was not just funny, it was hysterical. 793 00:40:15,013 --> 00:40:18,425 Amos and Andy, of course, were hysterical. 794 00:40:18,449 --> 00:40:20,761 I think I know a lot of people like Amos and Andy. 795 00:40:20,785 --> 00:40:22,630 Amos and Andy... These are actors 796 00:40:22,654 --> 00:40:25,399 and they were brilliant actors, they made you laugh. 797 00:40:25,423 --> 00:40:29,069 First and foremost, yeah, it was funny. 798 00:40:29,093 --> 00:40:30,938 I mean... 799 00:40:30,962 --> 00:40:32,006 they were good. 800 00:40:32,030 --> 00:40:33,507 Would you mind telling the court 801 00:40:33,531 --> 00:40:36,043 under just what circumstances you met the defendant? 802 00:40:36,067 --> 00:40:40,314 Well, it was about 18 years ago at a carnival. 803 00:40:40,338 --> 00:40:41,916 I reached into my pocket to get my wallet 804 00:40:41,940 --> 00:40:43,250 and shook hands with Mr. Stevens. 805 00:40:47,111 --> 00:40:50,357 My mother would make me watch it from outside the house. 806 00:40:50,381 --> 00:40:52,726 I mean, I'd have to watch it in the backyard, 807 00:40:52,750 --> 00:40:55,062 looking through my bedroom window at the TV, 808 00:40:55,086 --> 00:40:59,900 because I would laugh so hard, I mean, it got physical. 809 00:40:59,924 --> 00:41:02,469 My mother said, "Amos 'n' Andy is coming on, you go outside. 810 00:41:02,493 --> 00:41:04,538 You're not going to break my furniture tonight." 811 00:41:04,562 --> 00:41:07,808 Despite its popularity, 812 00:41:07,832 --> 00:41:10,110 "Amos 'n' Andy" was seen by many 813 00:41:10,134 --> 00:41:12,579 as perpetuating racial stereotypes. 814 00:41:12,603 --> 00:41:15,215 Pressure from the NAACP and others 815 00:41:15,239 --> 00:41:17,017 led to the series' cancellation. 816 00:41:17,041 --> 00:41:18,619 So I didn't see that 817 00:41:18,643 --> 00:41:22,156 as perpetuating a negative stereotype, some people did. 818 00:41:22,180 --> 00:41:24,224 And then the NAACP got involved 819 00:41:24,248 --> 00:41:27,294 and they got "Amos 'n' Andy" taken off the air 820 00:41:27,318 --> 00:41:30,164 and they wanted every black character on television 821 00:41:30,188 --> 00:41:33,200 to carry an attache case and wear a suit and a tie... 822 00:41:33,224 --> 00:41:37,371 Which, that's just taking it to the extreme in the other way. 823 00:41:37,395 --> 00:41:40,593 How about a little ditty called "Just You, Just Me"? 824 00:41:43,101 --> 00:41:47,014 In 1956, Nat King Cole became the first African American 825 00:41:47,038 --> 00:41:49,616 to star in a network variety show. 826 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:53,020 ♪ Just you ♪ 827 00:41:53,044 --> 00:41:55,022 ♪ Just me ♪ 828 00:41:55,046 --> 00:41:59,760 ♪ Let's find a cozy spot to cuddle and woo ♪ 829 00:41:59,784 --> 00:42:04,865 Ratings were good, and NBC did all it could 830 00:42:04,889 --> 00:42:07,634 to keep Nat King Cole's series on the air 831 00:42:07,658 --> 00:42:09,336 but no national advertiser 832 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:11,972 would buy commercial time on the show. 833 00:42:11,996 --> 00:42:15,776 In an era when ad agencies controlled television, 834 00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:18,746 it was Madison Avenue that killed Cole's show, 835 00:42:18,770 --> 00:42:21,548 after just one year. 836 00:42:21,572 --> 00:42:28,956 ♪ Pretend you're happy when you're blue ♪ 837 00:42:28,980 --> 00:42:34,828 ♪ It isn't very hard to do ♪ 838 00:42:34,852 --> 00:42:40,934 ♪ And you'll find happiness without an end ♪ 839 00:42:40,958 --> 00:42:45,692 ♪ Whenever you pretend ♪ 840 00:42:47,665 --> 00:42:49,176 Gradually in the 1960s, 841 00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:51,478 producers began to push networks 842 00:42:51,502 --> 00:42:54,181 to allow more roles for people of color. 843 00:42:54,205 --> 00:42:56,083 But the networks were nervous. 844 00:42:56,107 --> 00:42:57,851 When producer Bruce Geller 845 00:42:57,875 --> 00:43:00,254 cast Greg Morris on "Mission Impossible," 846 00:43:00,278 --> 00:43:01,722 the network wanted to ensure 847 00:43:01,746 --> 00:43:03,924 there would never be even a hint of romance 848 00:43:03,948 --> 00:43:06,393 between Morris' character and Barbara Bain. 849 00:43:06,417 --> 00:43:10,998 It became an issue of panic for the network 850 00:43:11,022 --> 00:43:14,368 before we went on the air. 851 00:43:14,392 --> 00:43:17,337 They just were really frightened. 852 00:43:17,361 --> 00:43:19,873 The network repeatedly instructed Bain 853 00:43:19,897 --> 00:43:22,342 to avoid getting anywhere near Morris 854 00:43:22,366 --> 00:43:24,078 when the camera was rolling. 855 00:43:24,102 --> 00:43:25,879 So we managed to get them together 856 00:43:25,903 --> 00:43:30,017 in the apartment scene all the time as much as we could. 857 00:43:30,041 --> 00:43:33,087 Will there be any flames? 858 00:43:33,111 --> 00:43:34,188 Yes, 859 00:43:34,212 --> 00:43:35,389 an effluence 860 00:43:35,413 --> 00:43:38,025 of carbonaceous opaque material. 861 00:43:38,049 --> 00:43:39,026 Thanks. 862 00:43:39,050 --> 00:43:41,128 A lot of smoke. 863 00:43:41,152 --> 00:43:42,229 Nobody likes a... 864 00:43:42,253 --> 00:43:44,449 Sorry. 865 00:43:47,225 --> 00:43:49,870 When Bruce Geller took the reins on "Mannix," 866 00:43:49,894 --> 00:43:51,672 he pushed the envelope further, 867 00:43:51,696 --> 00:43:54,708 by casting Gail Fisher in a lead role 868 00:43:54,732 --> 00:43:56,477 opposite Mike Connors. 869 00:43:56,501 --> 00:44:00,013 CBS balked, but Geller was persistent. 870 00:44:00,037 --> 00:44:03,817 He said, "CBS is not too hot on it." 871 00:44:03,841 --> 00:44:05,752 He said, "They're giving me a bad time." 872 00:44:05,776 --> 00:44:08,222 And I said, "Why? He says, "Well, she's black." 873 00:44:08,246 --> 00:44:10,958 And finally they said, "Okay, I'll tell you what. 874 00:44:10,982 --> 00:44:16,063 If we get any mail from the South or any place 875 00:44:16,087 --> 00:44:19,524 that is negative about her, she's off the show." 876 00:44:21,492 --> 00:44:25,005 No such letters came, and in 19 7 0, Gail Fisher became 877 00:44:25,029 --> 00:44:27,341 the first African American woman 878 00:44:27,365 --> 00:44:28,842 to win an Emmy Award. 879 00:44:28,866 --> 00:44:31,945 So we look for somebody with the name Kelly Green. 880 00:44:31,969 --> 00:44:34,768 That's, uh, what the computer said. 881 00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:39,987 I took the liberty of going to a certain organization. 882 00:44:40,011 --> 00:44:43,357 Now, don't be angry because it worked. 883 00:44:43,381 --> 00:44:45,526 Intertec put Kelly Green through the computer 884 00:44:45,550 --> 00:44:46,627 and what do you think? 885 00:44:46,651 --> 00:44:48,996 That I'm gonna strangle you. 886 00:44:49,020 --> 00:44:51,165 Well, there's a girl named Margaret Green 887 00:44:51,189 --> 00:44:53,333 who is the daughter of a prominent judge, 888 00:44:53,357 --> 00:44:56,170 Francis M. Green, and her nickname just happens to be... 889 00:44:56,194 --> 00:44:58,823 - Kelly. - Right. 890 00:45:01,332 --> 00:45:04,845 Premiering a year before "Mannix" was "Star Trek," 891 00:45:04,869 --> 00:45:07,814 presenting, for the first time on a television drama, 892 00:45:07,838 --> 00:45:10,551 a leadership role for an African American woman. 893 00:45:10,575 --> 00:45:17,558 The first important non-traditional role, 894 00:45:17,582 --> 00:45:21,295 non-stereotypical role... The first. 895 00:45:21,319 --> 00:45:22,729 Lieutenant Uhura, 896 00:45:22,753 --> 00:45:24,431 take over navigation. 897 00:45:24,455 --> 00:45:28,468 She was a smart, intelligent part of the crew. 898 00:45:28,492 --> 00:45:31,872 Ship to ship, Uhura. Put this on the screen. 899 00:45:31,896 --> 00:45:35,275 Hailing frequencies open, sir. 900 00:45:35,299 --> 00:45:37,144 On that bridge, 901 00:45:37,168 --> 00:45:41,381 as part of the command crew, she was always business. 902 00:45:41,405 --> 00:45:42,883 It was always about the mission. 903 00:45:42,907 --> 00:45:46,887 Things could not happen without talking to her as well, 904 00:45:46,911 --> 00:45:48,222 so I loved that. 905 00:45:48,246 --> 00:45:49,990 You know, I loved that, 906 00:45:50,014 --> 00:45:51,676 that it wasn't just, "Oh, she's cooking." 907 00:45:54,585 --> 00:45:58,031 By the mid 19 7 0s, producer Norman Lear was bringing 908 00:45:58,055 --> 00:46:01,168 a new wave of African Americans to television 909 00:46:01,192 --> 00:46:03,003 in "Sanford and Son," "The Jeffersons," 910 00:46:03,027 --> 00:46:05,606 and "Good Times." 911 00:46:05,630 --> 00:46:08,475 Mama, Daddy can I ask you an important question? 912 00:46:08,499 --> 00:46:09,610 Uh-huh. 913 00:46:09,634 --> 00:46:11,678 If you meet a brother on the street who was tired 914 00:46:11,702 --> 00:46:13,914 and hungry and had no place to go, would you help him? 915 00:46:13,938 --> 00:46:16,984 I guess so... that would be the Christian thing to do. 916 00:46:17,008 --> 00:46:18,518 I thought so, Mama. 917 00:46:18,542 --> 00:46:20,534 Come on in, brother! 918 00:46:29,453 --> 00:46:34,551 Ned the wino? Oh, not in my apartment today. 919 00:46:36,961 --> 00:46:38,805 Norman Lear made a special effort 920 00:46:38,829 --> 00:46:41,608 to include people of color in all facets of production. 921 00:46:41,632 --> 00:46:43,043 Norman did more 922 00:46:43,067 --> 00:46:46,980 for black writing, black behind the scenes, 923 00:46:47,004 --> 00:46:49,316 black behind whatever... 924 00:46:49,340 --> 00:46:53,620 Producers, directors, associates, hair girls, 925 00:46:53,644 --> 00:46:57,224 makeup people, writers, grips, whatever... 926 00:46:57,248 --> 00:46:59,226 He did more for that than anybody. 927 00:46:59,250 --> 00:47:01,995 Lear also introduced 928 00:47:02,019 --> 00:47:04,765 television's first interracial couple, 929 00:47:04,789 --> 00:47:06,700 on "The Jeffersons." 930 00:47:06,724 --> 00:47:09,770 Remember when you first told your mother about us, Tom? 931 00:47:09,794 --> 00:47:12,339 I never heard such yelling and screaming. 932 00:47:12,363 --> 00:47:14,341 That was my father. My mother didn't say a word. 933 00:47:14,365 --> 00:47:16,843 Because she fainted. 934 00:47:16,867 --> 00:47:18,512 Then there was the disinheritance. 935 00:47:18,536 --> 00:47:20,547 The folks cut us off without a cent. 936 00:47:20,571 --> 00:47:23,016 Oh, that's terrible. 937 00:47:23,040 --> 00:47:25,419 Were your folks that mad, Tom? 938 00:47:25,443 --> 00:47:28,889 Oh, not my folks... hers. 939 00:47:28,913 --> 00:47:31,158 Norman Lear is such a genius, you know. 940 00:47:31,182 --> 00:47:32,626 He wanted them to be 941 00:47:32,650 --> 00:47:33,727 a real couple, 942 00:47:33,751 --> 00:47:35,562 and they treated each other 943 00:47:35,586 --> 00:47:37,264 like anybody else would. 944 00:47:37,288 --> 00:47:39,966 People could believe it was a normal relationship. 945 00:47:39,990 --> 00:47:43,170 I'd like to speak to my wife if you don't mind. 946 00:47:43,194 --> 00:47:44,638 Helen, I can't find my fountain pen. 947 00:47:44,662 --> 00:47:46,073 Use one of the ballpoint pens. 948 00:47:46,097 --> 00:47:47,941 There are lots of them on your desk. 949 00:47:47,965 --> 00:47:50,477 Ballpoint pens are not for writing. 950 00:47:50,501 --> 00:47:52,913 They're for making marks. I need a pen with a point. 951 00:47:52,937 --> 00:47:54,681 Now, what have you done with my pen? 952 00:47:54,705 --> 00:47:57,751 I don't know, I might have taken it to do the marketing list. 953 00:47:57,775 --> 00:48:03,323 You wrote with it? 954 00:48:03,347 --> 00:48:06,927 In 19 77, NBC took a chance 955 00:48:06,951 --> 00:48:10,230 on the most original African American comic of the era... 956 00:48:10,254 --> 00:48:11,732 Richard Pryor. 957 00:48:11,756 --> 00:48:15,001 The show would break new ground from the very first shot. 958 00:48:15,025 --> 00:48:17,604 One of the greatest openings of all time, he said, 959 00:48:17,628 --> 00:48:19,773 "Hey, it's me, Richard Pryor. I'm on TV. 960 00:48:19,797 --> 00:48:21,675 I don't have to give up anything." 961 00:48:21,699 --> 00:48:24,211 You know, there's a lot of things written about me. 962 00:48:24,235 --> 00:48:26,380 People wondering if I'm gonna have a show, 963 00:48:26,404 --> 00:48:27,814 if I'm not gonna have a show. 964 00:48:27,838 --> 00:48:30,183 Well, I'm havin' a show. 965 00:48:30,207 --> 00:48:32,753 People say, "How can you have a show? 966 00:48:32,777 --> 00:48:36,356 You've got to compromise. You gotta give up everything." 967 00:48:36,380 --> 00:48:38,125 Is that a joke or what? 968 00:48:38,149 --> 00:48:39,626 And they pan and he's totally naked. 969 00:48:39,650 --> 00:48:40,961 And you think, where'd they go? 970 00:48:40,985 --> 00:48:45,432 Well, look at me. I'm standing here naked. 971 00:48:45,456 --> 00:48:49,503 I've given up absolutely nothing. 972 00:48:49,527 --> 00:48:51,104 "I didn't give up anything to be on TV." 973 00:48:51,128 --> 00:48:52,672 And they get down to right about here, 974 00:48:52,696 --> 00:48:54,141 he's a Ken doll... There's nothing. 975 00:48:54,165 --> 00:48:55,656 You know, at that point I went, Yes! 976 00:49:01,305 --> 00:49:04,251 So enjoy the show! 977 00:49:04,275 --> 00:49:07,587 And you see him running towards a white woman, 978 00:49:07,611 --> 00:49:11,558 and then you see a shotgun come up, and he runs past her. 979 00:49:11,582 --> 00:49:13,260 I mean, it's fantastic. 980 00:49:13,284 --> 00:49:15,262 It's like seeing great jazz. 981 00:49:15,286 --> 00:49:17,097 When you saw him kick it hard, 982 00:49:17,121 --> 00:49:19,566 it was just like broken-field running. 983 00:49:19,590 --> 00:49:23,870 Or he'd find a character that would just be so... 984 00:49:23,894 --> 00:49:25,939 so painful... but at the same time so funny. 985 00:49:25,963 --> 00:49:27,941 It's beyond comedy. 986 00:49:27,965 --> 00:49:31,411 It's... there's another level. 987 00:49:31,435 --> 00:49:35,682 It's uber-comedy or something, but it's beyond... 988 00:49:35,706 --> 00:49:40,144 It's poignant, it's accurate, it's hysterically funny. 989 00:49:47,985 --> 00:49:50,997 He has thrown what you realize is all these pill-looking things 990 00:49:51,021 --> 00:49:52,250 out to the kids 991 00:50:00,064 --> 00:50:03,865 And by the end of the piece, they're all done. 992 00:50:09,607 --> 00:50:14,788 They're all down, and it ends with him just going, 993 00:50:14,812 --> 00:50:16,289 "Heh heh heh!" 994 00:50:16,313 --> 00:50:19,059 Let's hear it for Black Death! 995 00:50:21,485 --> 00:50:23,078 Far out. 996 00:50:24,989 --> 00:50:27,801 It... 997 00:50:27,825 --> 00:50:30,036 was the scariest thing I'd ever seen, 998 00:50:30,060 --> 00:50:32,723 but I totally understood it, like I got it. 999 00:50:34,465 --> 00:50:37,911 Richard Pryor ranks among the most influential entertainers 1000 00:50:37,935 --> 00:50:39,212 of the 20th century, 1001 00:50:39,236 --> 00:50:41,848 but his footprint on television was small. 1002 00:50:41,872 --> 00:50:44,364 His show was cancelled after just one season. 1003 00:50:46,777 --> 00:50:51,024 It's a story repeated over and over for people of color, 1004 00:50:51,048 --> 00:50:55,095 often pushed to the sidelines of the biggest medium. 1005 00:50:55,119 --> 00:50:59,399 My parents told me that I was the first person, 1006 00:50:59,423 --> 00:51:02,869 the first Asian person that they saw on television 1007 00:51:02,893 --> 00:51:04,104 that they could be proud of. 1008 00:51:04,128 --> 00:51:07,340 It was people that looked like me. 1009 00:51:07,364 --> 00:51:11,611 And it was a joy just to see people like that on television. 1010 00:51:11,635 --> 00:51:15,148 It's strange how television is today 1011 00:51:15,172 --> 00:51:17,284 as compared to what it was then. 1012 00:51:17,308 --> 00:51:20,320 It's not out-and-out racism that we're dealing with, 1013 00:51:20,344 --> 00:51:26,560 it is that subtle non-inclusion that is very hard to overcome. 1014 00:51:26,584 --> 00:51:28,762 They have the one black cop on the show. 1015 00:51:28,786 --> 00:51:31,231 Boom, the end of it. Thank you, we're covered. 1016 00:51:31,255 --> 00:51:33,133 You know, that's the way it goes. 1017 00:51:33,157 --> 00:51:36,236 The indigenous, the Asian American 1018 00:51:36,260 --> 00:51:39,573 and the Latino are very, very... 1019 00:51:39,597 --> 00:51:43,343 they don't even exist in this culture of television. 1020 00:51:43,367 --> 00:51:48,815 At a time in our history when you cannot walk 1021 00:51:48,839 --> 00:51:51,284 into almost any neighborhood without seeing 1022 00:51:51,308 --> 00:51:54,120 varied people of different cultures and colors, 1023 00:51:54,144 --> 00:51:57,557 it seems strange that that should be missing on television, 1024 00:51:57,581 --> 00:52:00,210 which is the primary source of information. 1025 00:52:02,419 --> 00:52:05,031 The performers who have broken through 1026 00:52:05,055 --> 00:52:08,602 have made a significant impact on American culture. 1027 00:52:08,626 --> 00:52:10,637 Their contributions make them 1028 00:52:10,661 --> 00:52:13,187 true pioneers of television. 1029 00:54:19,022 --> 00:54:20,567 To make it real, 1030 00:54:20,591 --> 00:54:23,603 and to get the audience to believe that we believe, 1031 00:54:23,627 --> 00:54:26,172 we had to personalize the panel. 1032 00:54:26,196 --> 00:54:28,441 And Warp 1 is there, Warp 2 is there, 1033 00:54:28,465 --> 00:54:30,376 Warp 3 is there, and so forth. 1034 00:54:30,400 --> 00:54:36,783 And all of the other buttons for me had a definite meaning. 1035 00:54:36,807 --> 00:54:41,888 And this director wanted me to go up there for Warp 9. 1036 00:54:41,912 --> 00:54:45,358 Which was not where it was. 1037 00:54:51,522 --> 00:54:55,034 For more insider features about your favorite TV stars, 1038 00:54:55,058 --> 00:54:57,036 stories you won't hear anywhere else, 1039 00:54:57,060 --> 00:54:59,461 visit pbs.org.