BV Entertainment Newswire May 19

BMW: Black Men Working

Obba Babatunde and Hill Harper may have achieved a certain level of fame with roles on popular prime-time television shows, but the two acclaimed actors are extending their talents into other genres.

Harper, who stars as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on the CBS runaway hit spin-off 'CSI:NY,' recently saw the release of his debut book ('Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny ') hit the 'New York Times' Best Seller list.

Babatunde, who --up until yesterday-- starred as Charles Thorne on UPN's family-friendly comedy 'Half & Half,' made a remarkable return to the Broadway stage in the hit musical 'Chicago.'

"It's great to be back in the place where it all started," said the Tony Award-nominated actor, who immortalized the role of songwriter C.C. White in the original production of 'Dreamgirls,' twenty-five years ago. Yesterday, new network CW (a merge of UPN and The WB), announced their fall line-up and 'Half & Half' didn't make the cut, along with many other shows starring black actors.

"I was surprised and disappointed," Babatunde told Black Voices. "I thought we had as good a chance as any show, because of how well we had done in our previous four seasons. It was a very popular show, all over the country and it performed well across race, age and gender lines."

"I have not really been given an official reason as of yet as to why we were not picked up but, it has certainly caught us all by surprise," he continued.

The acting veteran -- who starred in films such as 'After the Sunset,' 'The Manchurian Candidate,' 'John Q' and 'Philadelphia' -- explained further that with the Yvette Lee Bowser-created sitcom approaching its fifth year on the airwaves, it would’ve become eligible for a lucrative syndication package. But not anymore. "I must say having been in this game for 30-plus years, one thing you learn is that no matter how good a gig is, it always comes to an end," he said. "What never ends is the great memories that you keep of the experience. I am blessed to add ['Half & Half'] to my memory chest."

The day before the CW announcements, the producers of the Tony Award winning revival --now in its tenth year-- extended Babatunde's run as slick legal eagle Billy Flynn through the summer. "As we sang in 'Dreamgirls,' 'Show biz… it's just show biz."

Harper, who co-starred with Babatunde in the critically-acclaimed AIDS drama 'The Visit,' on the other hand, found himself in a different set of circumstances with his television show this week. "We are very happy about that," Harper said about the CBS drama series, which he has starred in since 2004. "We stayed in our same time-slot so we're happy about that. Stability is always good."

An Iowa City native who holds academic degrees from Brown University, Harvard Law School, and the Kennedy School of Government, Harper is currently in the midst of a grassroots promotional campaign for 'Letters,' which is a motivational book aimed at young black men.

"We are blowing that myth out of the water," he says of the publishing industry's staunch stance that black men don't read. "What happened for me is that I get invited to speak at schools all the time because of my educational background and so I accept those offers," he explained. "And the more I did it, the more I got a chance to speak to young people --particularly young men-- and I started to realize that these young men, by and large, do not have any elder male role models that they can ask questions of and look to for answers. And I had to look at myself as a black man and say 'Where do I fit into it?' and 'What can I do?' and the book was the clearest thing for me."

Harper recently formed an alliance with Abercrombie & Fitch for a lecture series and book tour at educational institutions. The specialty retailer donated books to high schools, colleges and universities across the nation, in an effort to inspire and empower America’s youth.

"Being multi-purposed, or multi-purposeful, is what I'm working on … the idea of trying to affect change in different areas where I have a voice or an ability to affect change," the 'Lackawanna Blues' actor added. "And for me, it's one young brother at a time."

What's Coming Up; Who's Coming On

All of the television networks rolled out their schedules for the fall season this week in New York City during their "Upfront" presentations targeting potential advertisers. As previously reported, UPN and WB merged into a new network called CW and, as expected, chucked away most of the popular fare aimed at the loyal urban demographic.

Shows such as 'Half & Half,' 'Eve,' 'Cuts,' 'Love, Inc.' 'One on One' have all been cancelled. The biggest surprise in the new network's plans is its effort to beef up the Sunday night line-up with hit shows such as "Everybody Hates Chris,' 'Girlfriends' and its spin-off 'The Game' starring Tia Mowry (of 'Sister Sister' fame).

On the major networks, all around entertainer Vanessa L. Williams ('South Beach') will star in ABC's new sitcom 'Bette the Ugly,' about the superficial world of high fashion, and renaissance man Taye Diggs ('Kevin Hill') takes another stab at television with ABC's midseason detective drama 'Daybreak.' Chi McBride ('Boston Public') makes a return to TV drama with a project called 'The Nine,' set to air on Wednesday nights.

Fox has pulled the plug on 'The Bernie Mac Show' and Pamela Anderson's short-lived 'Stacked.' But the fourth network will offer up new shows starring former 'Oz' star Eamonn Walker ('Justice'), 'The Matrix Revolutions' actress Gina Torres ('Standoff') and 'America's Next Top Model' winner Eva Pigford ('The Wedding Album.).

On NBC, funnyman Tracy Morgan will star in his 'Saturday Night Live' alum Tina Fey's big pet project '30 Rock,' and acclaimed character actor Delroy Lindo has will star in the serialized thriller 'Kidnapped.'

Returning on CBS, soap opera heart-throb Shemar Moore is back in the forensic science drama 'Criminal Minds,' and his 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman' co-star Kimberly Elise is on the legal drama 'Close to Home.'

For a complete breakdown of new shows, please see AOL Television's coverage.

Putting On The 'Ritz'

Syndicated radio personality and best-selling author Wendy Williams will be honored with the BlackBoard Multi Media Entertainment Writer of the Year Award at the 2006 BookExpo America, this weekend at Washington D.C.'s H20 Restaurant and Lounge.

Created fourteen years ago to celebrate African American authors during BookExpo America (recognized as the largest book publishing event in the U.S.), The BlackBoard WordStar Awards honors writers in the categories of books, television, theatre, music and film.

This year Williams, who hosts her top rated daily talk show from New York City's WBLS, will be the recipient of the award created to honor outstanding works that gives readers a look inside the world of entertainment. "If ever there was the perfect winner of this award, it belongs to Wendy Williams," BlackBoard founder Faye Childs said about the shock jock. "She does drama like no other. Her stories on the entertainment industry are juicy and salacious leaving her faithful followers waiting for her version no matter where else they made have heard it."

The self-proclaimed 'Queen of All Media' previously authored two 'New York Times' best-selling books: 'Wendy's Got the Heat' (2003) and 'The Wendy Williams Experience' (2004). Her first novel, 'Drama Is Her Middle Name: The Ritz Harper Chronicles Vol. 1' -- written with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Karen Hunter -- will be released by Harlem Moon/Broadway Books on June 20.

"It's wonderful to be recognized as not just a radio personality … but a multimedia talent," Williams told Black Voices. "This year I'm celebrating my twentieth year in professional radio, and I've worked very hard to expand my brand into other forms of media."