Donald Cortez Cornelius (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012) was an American television show host and producer widely known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance and music show ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series ...

'', which he hosted from 1971 until 1993. Cornelius sold the show to MadVision Entertainment in 2008.

Early life and career

Cornelius was born on Chicago's South Side on September 27, 1936,McKinley Jr., James C. (February 1, 2012)
"Don Cornelius, ‘Soul Train’ Creator, Is Dead"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved January 8, 2018. and raised in the Bronzeville neighborhood. After graduating from DuSable High School in 1954, he joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

and served for 18 months during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. He worked at various jobs following his stint in the military, including selling

tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

s, and insurance, and as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

with the

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...

.O'Donnell, Maureen. "'Soul Train' creator, South Side native Cornelius dead in suicide"
''Chicago Sun-Times'', February 2, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2018. He quit his day job to take a three-month broadcasting course in 1966, despite being married with two sons and having only $400 in his

bank account A bank account is a financial account maintained by a bank or other financial institution in which the financial transactions between the bank and a customer are recorded. Each financial institution sets the terms and conditions for each type of ...

. In 1966, he landed a job as an announcer, news reporter and disc jockey on Chicago radio station

WVON WVON (1690 AM "The Voice of the Nation", originally "Voice of the Negro") is a radio station serving the Chicago market, which airs an African-American-oriented talk format. WVON is owned by Midway Broadcasting Corporation, and broadcasts at ...

. Cornelius joined Chicago television station

WCIU-TV WCIU-TV (channel 26) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is the flagship television property of locally based Weigel Broadcasting, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister ...

in 1967 and hosted a news program called ''A Black's View of the News''. In 1970, he launched ''Soul Train'' on WCIU-TV as a daily local show. The program entered national

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

and moved to Los Angeles the following year. Eddie Kendricks,

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simply ...

, Bobby Hutton and Honey Cone were featured on the national debut episode. Originally a journalist and inspired by the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

, Cornelius recognized that in the late 1960s there were very few television venues in the United States for

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

(at the time, only one series, the public television show '' Soul!'', was focused on the genre). He introduced many African-American musicians to a larger audience as a result of their appearances on ''Soul Train'', a program that was both influential among African-Americans and popular with a wider audience. As writer, producer, and host of ''Soul Train'', Cornelius was instrumental in offering wider exposure to black musicians such as

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in '' Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wit ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

, and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

, as well as creating opportunities for talented dancers, setting a precedent for popular television dance programs. Cornelius said, "We had a show that kids gravitated to," and

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

described the program as an "urban music

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...

". With the creation of ''Soul Train'', Cornelius was at the helm of a program that showed African Americans in a new light, creating a

Black is Beautiful Black is beautiful is a cultural movement that was started in the United States in the 1960s by African Americans. It later spread beyond the United States, most prominently in the writings of the Black Consciousness Movement of Steve Biko in ...

Campaign. Prior to ''Soul Train'', African Americans were only occasionally performing on TV, mostly as guests on white-centered programs. ''Soul Train'' showcased African American culture, and brought African American musicians and dancers to television. This show's appeal to white audiences steadily grew and eventually earned a huge following. Staple Singers on Soul Train

Besides his smooth and deep voice and his afro (which slowly shrank over the years as hairstyle tastes changed), Cornelius was best known for the

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

that he used to close the show: "and you can bet your last money, it's all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!" After Cornelius's departure, it was shortened to "and as always, we wish you love, peace and soul!" and it was used through the most recent new episodes in 2006. Another introductory phrase which he often used was: "We got another sound comin' out of Philly that's a sure 'nough dilly". He had a small number of film roles, such as record producer Moe Fuzz in 1988's ''

Tapeheads ''Tapeheads'' is a 1988 comedy film directed by Bill Fishman and starring John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Sam Moore and Junior Walker. The film was produced by Michael Nesmith, who briefly appears as a bottled water delivery man. Plot After losin ...

'' and a fictional version of himself in 1987's ''

The Return of Bruno ''The Return of Bruno'' is a 1987 comedic film, originally aired as a one-hour special on HBO and later released on VHS. It is a mockumentary starring Bruce Willis as his fictitious alter-ego "Bruno Radolini," a legendary blues singer/musician wh ...

'', a mockumentary about fictional singer Bruno Radolini, portrayed by

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

. In this doc Cornelius appears as the host of the local

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

funk-gospel based show '' Bless My Soul'', that present Radolini's return to the stage with a duet together with the ''mighty''

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

. Cornelius last appeared on the episode of the TV series '' Unsung'' featuring

Full Force Full Force is an American music group of hip hop and R&B singers and producers from Brooklyn, New York. Members *B-Fine (Brian George) - drums and drum programming, backing vocals *Shy Shy (Hugh Junior Clark) - bass guitar, backing vocal ...

, which was aired two days before his death.

Arrest

On October 17, 2008, Cornelius was arrested at his Los Angeles home on

Mulholland Drive Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...

on a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

charge. He was released on bail. Cornelius appeared in court on November 14, 2008, and was charged with spousal abuse and dissuading a witness from filing a police report. Cornelius appeared in court again on December 4, 2008, and pleaded not guilty to spousal abuse and was banned from going near his estranged wife, Russian model Victoria Avila-Cornelius (Viktoria Chapman), who had obtained two

restraining order A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and personal protecti ...

s against him. On March 19, 2009, he changed his plea to

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant ne ...

and was placed on 36 months of probation.

Sexual assault allegation

In the 2022 A&E documentary miniseries ''Secrets of Playboy'', Cornelius was accused of sexually assaulting two ''Playboy'' bunnies in the 1970s. The women were alleged to have been brought to Cornelius's house for a three-day period where they were locked in separate rooms, bound, drugged and sexually assaulted. Cornelius's son, Tony, released a statement calling the allegation an "unbelievable story without real proof".

Death

At around 4 a.m. PST on February 1, 2012, police were called to Cornelius's home in Los Angeles after reports of a shooting. He was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and was taken to

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over ...

, where he was pronounced dead at the age of 75. An

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...

found that Cornelius had been suffering from seizures during the last 15 years of his life, a complication of a 21-hour brain operation he underwent in 1982 to correct a congenital deformity in his cerebral arteries. He admitted that he was never quite the same after that surgery, and it was a factor in his decision to retire from hosting ''Soul Train'' in 1993. Cornelius's health took a further, sharp decline in the last six months of his life; former ''Soul Train'' host Shemar Moore suggested that he may have also been in the early stages of

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

by this point. On the night of his suicide, Cornelius told his son in a phone call, "I don't know how much longer I can take this".

References

External links

* * * * *
"Factbox: Key facts about Don Cornelius and 'Soul Train,'" ''Reuters'', Wednesday, February 1, 2012.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius, Don 1936 births 2012 deaths 2012 suicides 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American United States Navy personnel African-American police officers African-American television personalities American radio DJs American television hosts Businesspeople from Chicago Chicago Police Department officers People convicted of domestic violence Soul Train Suicides by firearm in California Television producers from Illinois United States Marines African Americans in the Korean War