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King (miniseries)
Encyclopedia
King is a television miniseries
based on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the American civil rights leader and 1964 Nobel Laureate. It aired for three consecutive nights on NBC
from February 12 through 14, 1978. The miniseries earned nine Emmy Award
nominations, including nominations for actors Paul Winfield
, Cicely Tyson
and Ossie Davis
.
Several real-life figures from the Civil Rights Movement had minor roles in the production, including then-Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson
, King's sister Christine King Farris
, his niece Alveda King
, and his four children: Yolanda
, Martin III
, Dexter
and Bernice
. Donzaleigh Abernathy
, Tony Bennett
, Julian Bond
and Ramsey Clark
each portrayed themselves.
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
based on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the American civil rights leader and 1964 Nobel Laureate. It aired for three consecutive nights on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from February 12 through 14, 1978. The miniseries earned nine Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations, including nominations for actors Paul Winfield
Paul Winfield
Paul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....
, Cicely Tyson
Cicely Tyson
Cicely Tyson is an American actress. A successful stage actress, Tyson is also known for her Oscar-nominated role in the film Sounder and the television movies The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Roots....
and Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
.
Several real-life figures from the Civil Rights Movement had minor roles in the production, including then-Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson
Maynard Jackson
Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. was an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and the first African American mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. He served three terms, two consecutive terms from 1974 until 1982 and a third term from 1990 to 1994...
, King's sister Christine King Farris
Christine King Farris
Christine King Farris is the eldest and only living sibling of the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. She teaches at Spelman College and is the author of several books and a public speaker on various topics, including the King family, multicultural education, and teaching...
, his niece Alveda King
Alveda King
Alveda Celeste King is an American Christian minister, conservative, pro-life activist, and author. She is a niece of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and daughter of the late civil rights activist Rev. A. D. William King, Sr. and his wife Naomi Barber King...
, and his four children: Yolanda
Yolanda King
Yolanda Denise King was the first-born child of Coretta Scott King and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
, Martin III
Martin Luther King III
Martin Luther King III is an American human rights advocate and community activist. He is the eldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. His siblings are Dexter Scott King, Rev. Bernice Albertine King, and the late Yolanda Denise...
, Dexter
Dexter Scott King
Dexter Scott King is the second son of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. His siblings are Martin Luther King III, the Reverend Bernice Albertine King, and the late Yolanda Denise King....
and Bernice
Bernice King
Bernice Albertine King is the second daughter and youngest child of civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and Coretta Scott King. Her older siblings are Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King, and the late Yolanda Denise King. Bernice is the only King child to become a minister...
. Donzaleigh Abernathy
Donzaleigh Abernathy
Donzaleigh Abernathy is an American actress, producer, director and writer.-Filmography:*Murder in Mississippi -- Sue Brown*Ghost Dad -- E.R...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Julian Bond
Julian Bond
Horace Julian Bond , known as Julian Bond, is an American social activist and leader in the American civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating...
and Ramsey Clark
Ramsey Clark
William Ramsey Clark is an American lawyer, activist and former public official. He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, which included service as United States Attorney General from 1967 to 1969, under President Lyndon B. Johnson...
each portrayed themselves.
Cast
- Paul WinfieldPaul WinfieldPaul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....
- Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the... - Cicely TysonCicely TysonCicely Tyson is an American actress. A successful stage actress, Tyson is also known for her Oscar-nominated role in the film Sounder and the television movies The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Roots....
- Coretta Scott KingCoretta Scott KingCoretta Scott King was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader. The widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King helped lead the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.Mrs... - Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
- Himself - Roscoe Lee BrowneRoscoe Lee BrowneRoscoe Lee Browne was an American actor and director, known for his rich voice and dignified bearing.-Biography:Browne was the fourth son of a Baptist minister, Sylvanus S. Browne, and his wife Lovie...
- Phillip Harrison - Lonny ChapmanLonny ChapmanLonny Chapman was an American television actor best known for his numerous guest star appearances on detective dramas, including Quincy, M.E., The A-Team, Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, and NYPD Blue...
- Chief Frank Holloman - Ossie DavisOssie DavisOssie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
- Martin Luther King, Sr.Martin Luther King, Sr.Martin Luther King, Sr., born Michael King was a Baptist missionary, an advocate for equal justice and an early civil rights leader. He was also the father of Martin Luther King, Jr.King, Sr... - Cliff DeYoungCliff DeYoungClifford Tobin DeYoung is an American actor and musician.DeYoung was born in Los Angeles, California. He attended California State University....
- Robert F. KennedyRobert F. KennedyRobert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F... - Al Freeman, Jr.Al Freeman, Jr.Al Freeman, Jr., M.Ed. is an African-American actor and director....
- Damon Lockwood - Clu GulagerClu GulagerClu Gulager is an American television and film actor. He is particularly noted for his co-starring role as William H. Bonney in the 1960–62 NBC TV series The Tall Man and for his role in the later NBC series The Virginian...
- William C. SullivanWilliam C. SullivanWilliam Cornelius Sullivan was former head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation intelligence operations.... - Steven HillSteven HillSteven Hill is an American film and television actor. His two better-known roles are District Attorney Adam Schiff on the NBC TV drama series Law & Order, whom he portrayed for ten seasons , and Dan Briggs, the original team leader of the Impossible Missions Force on CBS's television series...
- Stanley LevisonStanley LevisonStanley David Levison was a Jewish businessman from New York, who had also attained a law degree from St. John's University. He was a life-long activist in progressive causes. He is best known as an advisor to, and close friend of the Rev... - William JordanWilliam JordanWilliam Jordan may refer to:*Hamilton Jordan , American politician, chief of staff to President Carter*William-Jordan , Crusader baron*William Jordan , American Olympic gold medalist rower...
- John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.... - Warren J. Kemmerling - Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
- Lincoln KilpatrickLincoln KilpatrickLincoln Kilpatrick was an American film, television, and stage actor.-Career:Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Kilpatrick attended Lincoln University and earned a degree in drama before he began acting. Encouraged by Billie Holiday, Kilpatrick began his career in 1959 in the Broadway production of A...
- Jerry Waring - Kenneth McMillanKenneth McMillan (actor)Kenneth McMillan was an American actor. McMillan was usually cast as gruff, hostile and unfriendly characters due to his rough image...
- Theophilus E. "Bull" ConnorBull ConnorTheophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor was the Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, during the American Civil Rights Movement... - Howard E. Rollins, Jr.Howard RollinsHoward Ellsworth Rollins, Jr. was an American television, film, and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Coalhouse Walker, Jr...
- Andrew YoungAndrew YoungAndrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations... - David Spielberg - David Beamer
- Dolph SweetDolph SweetDolph Sweet was an American actor, credited with nearly 60 television and film roles as well as several roles in stage productions before his death from cancer in 1985.-Biography:...
- J. Edgar HooverJ. Edgar HooverJohn Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972... - Dick Anthony WilliamsDick Anthony WilliamsDick Anthony Williams is an American actor. Williams is known for his starring performances on Broadway in The Poison Tree, What the Wine-Sellers Buy and Black Picture Show. He is also remembered for playing the character of Pretty Tony in The Mack, which starred Max Julien and Richard Pryor...
- Malcolm XMalcolm XMalcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its... - Art EvansArt EvansArthur James "Art" Evans is an American actor who has made multiple film and television program appearances over the span of three decades....
- A.D. KingAlfred Daniel Williams KingAlfred Daniel Williams King , known as A. D. King, was the younger brother of Martin Luther King, Jr., the famed leader of the American civil-rights movement. Like his older brother, A. D. King was a Baptist minister and an activist for civil rights.- Biography :Alfred King was born July 30, 1930,... - Frances FosterFrances FosterFrances Foster was an American film, television and stage actress. She was also an award-winning stage director.-Biography:...
- Alberta Williams KingAlberta Williams KingAlberta Christine Williams King was Martin Luther King, Jr.'s mother and the wife of Martin Luther King, Sr. She played a significant role in the affairs of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her father, husband and son all served as pastor... - Tony Holmes - Martin Luther King IIIMartin Luther King IIIMartin Luther King III is an American human rights advocate and community activist. He is the eldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. His siblings are Dexter Scott King, Rev. Bernice Albertine King, and the late Yolanda Denise...
- Felecia Hunter - Yolanda KingYolanda KingYolanda Denise King was the first-born child of Coretta Scott King and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
- Roger RobinsonRoger Robinson (actor)Roger Robinson is an American actor who won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for the 2009 revival of Joe Turner's Come and Gone....
- Fred ShuttlesworthFred ShuttlesworthReverend Fred Shuttlesworth, born Freddie Lee Robinson, was a U.S. civil rights activist who led the fight against segregation and other forms of racism as a minister in Birmingham, Alabama... - Ernie Lee Banks - Ralph AbernathyRalph AbernathyRalph David Abernathy, Sr. was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, a minister, and a close associate of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Following King's assassination, Dr. Abernathy took up the leadership of the SCLC Poor People's Campaign and...
- Donzaleigh AbernathyDonzaleigh AbernathyDonzaleigh Abernathy is an American actress, producer, director and writer.-Filmography:*Murder in Mississippi -- Sue Brown*Ghost Dad -- E.R...
- Herself - Alveda KingAlveda KingAlveda Celeste King is an American Christian minister, conservative, pro-life activist, and author. She is a niece of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and daughter of the late civil rights activist Rev. A. D. William King, Sr. and his wife Naomi Barber King...
- Babysitter - Julian BondJulian BondHorace Julian Bond , known as Julian Bond, is an American social activist and leader in the American civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating...
- Himself - Ramsey ClarkRamsey ClarkWilliam Ramsey Clark is an American lawyer, activist and former public official. He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, which included service as United States Attorney General from 1967 to 1969, under President Lyndon B. Johnson...
- Himself - Christine King FarrisChristine King FarrisChristine King Farris is the eldest and only living sibling of the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. She teaches at Spelman College and is the author of several books and a public speaker on various topics, including the King family, multicultural education, and teaching...
- Ferris Church Soloist - Maynard JacksonMaynard JacksonMaynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. was an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and the first African American mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. He served three terms, two consecutive terms from 1974 until 1982 and a third term from 1990 to 1994...
- Wallace Whitmore - Bernice KingBernice KingBernice Albertine King is the second daughter and youngest child of civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and Coretta Scott King. Her older siblings are Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King, and the late Yolanda Denise King. Bernice is the only King child to become a minister...
- Student - Dexter Scott KingDexter Scott KingDexter Scott King is the second son of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. His siblings are Martin Luther King III, the Reverend Bernice Albertine King, and the late Yolanda Denise King....
- Student #2 - Martin Luther King IIIMartin Luther King IIIMartin Luther King III is an American human rights advocate and community activist. He is the eldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. His siblings are Dexter Scott King, Rev. Bernice Albertine King, and the late Yolanda Denise...
- Rev. Briggs - Yolanda KingYolanda KingYolanda Denise King was the first-born child of Coretta Scott King and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
- Rosa ParksRosa ParksRosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....