Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the 2000s. His feature film debut, '' The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' (1967), was based on his own French-language novel ' and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in i ...

which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut '' Watermelon Man'', in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker. In 1971, he released his best-known work, creating and starring in the film '' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'', considered one of the earliest and best-regarded examples of the

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president ...

genre. He followed this up with the musical, '' Don't Play Us Cheap'', based on his own stage play, and continued to make films, write novels and stage plays in English and in French through the next several decades; his final films include the French-language film ' (2000) and the absurdist film ''

Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha ''ConfessionsOfa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha'' is a 2008 film by Melvin Van Peebles. It is based on Van Peebles' 1982 Broadway musical ''Waltz of the Stork'' and his graphic novel of the same name. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festiv ...

'' (2008). His son, filmmaker and actor

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991 and '' USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin V ...

, appeared in several of his works and portrayed him in the 2003 biographical film '' Baadasssss!''.

Early life and education

Born Melvin Peebles in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, he was the son of Edwin Griffin and Marion Peebles. In 1953, Melvin graduated with a B.A. in literature from

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consorti ...

and, thirteen days later, joined the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

, serving for three and a half years. He added "

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

" to his name when he lived in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in his late 20s.

Career

Early years

He worked as a cable car gripman in San Francisco. Later, he wrote about these experiences. His first book, ''The Big Heart'', credited to Melvin Van, evolved from a small article and a series of photographs taken by

Ruth Bernhard Ruth Bernhard (October 14, 1905 – December 18, 2006) was a German-born American photographer. Early life and education Bernhard was born in Berlin to Lucian Bernhard and Gertrude Hoffmann. Lucian Bernhard was known for his poster and typeface ...

. According to Van Peebles, a passenger suggested that he should become a filmmaker. Van Peebles shot his first short film, ''Pickup Men for Herrick'' in 1957 and made two more short films during the same period. About these films, Van Peebles said: "I thought they were features. Each one turned out to be eleven minutes long. I was trying to do features. I knew nothing." As he learned more about the filmmaking process, he found out that "I could make a feature for five hundred dollars. That was the cost of 90 minutes of film. I didn't know a thing about shooting a film sixteen to one or ten to one or none of that shit. Then I forgot you had to develop film. And I didn't know you needed a work print. All I can say is that after I did one thing he would say, 'Well, aren't you gonna put sound on it?' and I would go, 'Oh shit!' That's all I could say." After Van Peebles completed his first short films, he took them with him to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

to try to find work, but was unable to find anyone who wanted to hire him as a director. Van Peebles decided to move his family to the Netherlands where he planned to study astronomy. On the way to Europe, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, he met Amos Vogel, founder of the avant-garde Cinema 16 who agreed to place two of Van Peebles's shorts in his rental catalog. Vogel screened Van Peebles's ''Three Pickup Men'' ''for Herrick'' at Cinema 16 on a program with ''City of Jazz'' in the spring of 1960 with

Ralph Ellison Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel ''Invisible Man'', which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote '' Shadow and Act'' (1964), a collec ...

leading a post-film discussion. When Vogel went to Paris shortly after, he brought Van Peebles's films to show

Henri Langlois Henri Langlois (; 13 November 1914 – 13 January 1977) was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema. His film screenings in Paris in the 1950s are often ...

and Mary Meerson at the . Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, Van Peebles's marriage dissolved and his wife and children went back to the United States. Shortly thereafter, Van Peebles was invited to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

probably by Mary Meerson and/or

Lotte Eisner Lotte H. Eisner (5 March 1896, Berlin – 25 November 1983, Paris) was a German-French writer, film critic, archivist and curator. Eisner worked initially as a film critic in Berlin, then in Paris where in 1936 she met Henri Langlois with whom she ...

, founders of the , on the strength of his short films. In France, Van Peebles created the short film ' (''500 Francs'') (1961) and then established himself as a writer. He did investigative reporting for ''

France Observateur (), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...

'' during 1963–64, during which he profiled, and later became friends with, Chester Himes. Himes got him a job at the anti-authoritarian humor magazine '' Hara-kiri'', where Van Peebles wrote a monthly column and eventually joined the editorial board.

1965–1970

During 1965–66, ''Mad'' magazine attempted a French edition and hired Van Peebles as editor-in-chief during its run of only five issues. He began to write plays in French, utilizing the

sprechgesang (, "spoken singing") and (, "spoken voice") are expressionist vocal techniques between singing and speaking. Though sometimes used interchangeably, ''Sprechgesang'' is directly related to the operatic ''recitative'' manner of singing (in which p ...

form of songwriting, where the lyrics were spoken over the music. This style carried over to Van Peebles' debut album, ''

Brer Soul ''Brer Soul'' is the debut studio album of Melvin Van Peebles. Released in 1968, the album introduced Van Peebles as a recording artist, following his work as an independent filmmaker, playwright and novelist. It is notable for its use of sprechge ...

''. Van Peebles was a prolific writer in France. He published four novels and a collection of short stories. He completed at least one play, ' which was also released as a novel, and which he would later make into the musical ''Don't Play Us Cheap''. Roger Blin directed ' with the theatrical troupe for the in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...

, Belgium in September 1964. Van Peebles made his first feature-length film, '' The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' (') (1968) based on a novel by the same title. The film caught the attention of Hollywood producers who mistook him for a French

auteur An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...

after it won an award at the

as the French entry. Van Peebles's first Hollywood film was the 1970

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

comedy '' Watermelon Man'', written by Herman Raucher. The movie starring

Godfrey Cambridge Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell, he was acclaimed by '' Time'' in 1965 as "one of the country's foremost cele ...

tells the story of a casually racist white man who suddenly wakes up black and finds himself alienated from his friends, family, and job.

1970–1995

In 1970, Van Peebles directed filming of the Powder Ridge Rock Festival, which was banned by court injunction. After ''Watermelon Man'', Van Peebles became determined to have complete control over his next production, which became the groundbreaking '' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'' (1971), privately funded with his own money, and in part by a $50,000 loan from

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

. Van Peebles not only directed, scripted, and edited the film, but wrote the score and directed the marketing campaign. The film, which in the end grossed $15 million, was, among many others, acclaimed by the

Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

for its political resonance with the black struggle. His son Mario's 2003 film '' BAADASSSSS!'' tells the story behind the making of ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song''; father and son presented the film together as the Closing Night selection for

Maryland Film Festival The Maryland Film Festival is an annual five-day international film festival taking place each May in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival was launched in 1999, and presents international film and video work of all lengths and genres. The festival ...

2004. Van Peebles wrote the book, music, and lyrics for the stage musical '' Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'', which opened

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

and then moved to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, running for 325 performances in 1971–72. The show was nominated for seven

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. As his intended follow-up to ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'', Van Peebles made the musical film '' Don't Play Us Cheap''. However, he was unable to find a distributor, so he ended up producing a stage adaptation of the film. Van Peebles performed the same duties as his previous stage musical, as well as producing and directing. The show ran for 164 performances in 1972, earning Van Peebles another Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical. The previously shot film version was later released on January 1, 1973. In 1977, Van Peebles was one of four credited screenwriters on the film ''

Greased Lightning ''Greased Lightning'' is a 1977 American biographical film starring Richard Pryor, Beau Bridges, and Pam Grier, and directed by Michael Schultz. The film is loosely based on the true life story of Wendell Scott, the first Black NASCAR race winn ...

'', about the life of pioneering Black

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

driver Wendell Scott. He was originally the director of the film as well, but was replaced by Michael Schultz. Van Peebles was involved with two more Broadway musicals in the 1980s. He was a co-writer on the book for ''Reggae'', which closed after 21 performances in 1980. For ''

Waltz of the Stork ''Waltz of the Stork'' is a semi-autobiographical play written and originally performed by Melvin Van Peebles. It also featured his son Mario Van Peebles. The play originally ran for four months in 1982. It ran from January 5, 1982 to May 23, 1982. ...

'', he wrote book, music, and lyrics, as well as producing the show and playing the lead role. It ran for 160 performances in 1982. In the 1980s, Van Peebles became an

options Option or Options may refer to: Computing *Option key, a key on Apple computer keyboards *Option type, a polymorphic data type in programming languages *Command-line option, an optional parameter to a command *OPTIONS, an HTTP request method ...

trader on the

American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was know ...

while continuing to work in theater and film. In 1995, he co-starred in the American live-action version of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

Fist of the North Star is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially collected in 27 ' ...

,'' alongside Gary Daniels,

Costas Mandylor Costas Mandylor (born Konstantinos Theodosopoulos; 3 September 1965) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Kenny in ''Picket Fences'' and for portraying Mark Hoffman in the ''Saw'' films. Early life Mandylor was born i ...

, Chris Penn, Isako Washio,

Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is a British actor, producer, and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Alex DeLarge in ''A Clockwork Orange.'' He was born in the Horsforth suburb of Leeds and raised i ...

Downtown Julie Brown Julie Dorne Brown, better known as Downtown Julie Brown, is an English-born actress, television personality, SiriusXM DJ and former MTV VJ. Brown is best known as the host of the television music show ''Club MTV'', which ran from 1987 until 1 ...

, Dante Basco,

Tracey Walter Tracey Walter (born November 25, 1947) is an American character actor. He has appeared in more than 170 films and television series. Life and career Walter was born and grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the son of a truck driver. He has a ...

, Clint Howard,

Tony Halme Tony Christian Halme (January 6, 1963 – January 8, 2010) was a Finnish politician, athlete, author, actor, and singer. He was a member of the Finnish Parliament from 2003 to 2007, representing the True Finns party as an independent politician ...

, and

Big Van Vader Leon Allen White (May 14, 1955 – June 18, 2018), better known by his ring names Big Van Vader or simply Vader, was an American professional wrestler and professional football player. Throughout his career, he performed for New Japan Pro-Wrest ...

2005–2009

In 2005, Van Peebles was the subject of a documentary entitled ''

How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It) ''How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)'', is a 2005 documentary film directed and written by Joe Angio, and produced by Michael Solomon. The film follows Melvin Van Peebles through his illustrious musical, acting, and direct ...

''. Also in 2005, Van Peebles was the subject of the documentary '' Unstoppable: Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks, and Ossie Davis'', which also featured Ossie Davis and Gordon Parks in the same room. It was moderated by Warrington Hudlin. In 2005, it was announced that Van Peebles would collaborate with Madlib for a proposed

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

titled ''Brer Soul Meets Quasimoto''. However, nothing further was issued about this project from the time that it was first announced. In 2008, Van Peebles completed the film ''

'', which was the Closing Night selection for

2008, and appeared on ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...

'' as Melvin Woods, the father of Samuel Woods, a character portrayed by his son, Mario. In 2009, Van Peebles became involved with a project to adapt ''Sweet Sweetback'' into a musical. A preliminary version of this was staged at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a ...

on April 25–26, 2009. As well, he wrote and performed in a stage musical, ''Unmitigated Truth: Life, a Lavatory, Loves, and Ladies'', which featured some of his previous songs as well as some new material.

2011–2019

In 2011, Van Peebles started doing shows in NYC with members of Burnt Sugar, under the name Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative. Van Peebles said that the band is called Laxative because they "make shit happen". In November 2011, Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative performed his song " Love, That's America" at

Zebulon Cafe Concert Zebulon Café Concert, also known as Zebulon, is a music venue, bar, and restaurant located in Los Angeles, California. Zebulon was originally located in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, where it operated as a combined café/bar and hosted liv ...

, two weeks after the venue showed the original video for this song involving

Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest movement against economic inequality and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district, in September 2011. It gave rise to the ...

footage, which was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

in October 2011. Melvinvanpeebles ghettomother fan

On August 21, 2012, he distributed a new album, on vinyl only, called ''Nahh... Nahh Mofo''. This album was distributed at his birthday celebration at

Film Forum Film Forum is a nonprofit movie theater at 209 West Houston Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. It began in 1970 as an alternative screening space for independent films, with 50 folding chairs, one projector and a $19,000 annual budget. Kare ...

. On November 10, 2012, he released a video for the song " Lilly Done the Zampoughi Every Time I Pulled Her Coattail" to go with the album, which was announced on his Facebook page. On May 5, 2013, he returned to the

for a screening of

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is conside ...

's '' The Kid'' (1921) and was a judge at the Charlie Chaplin Dress-Alike Contest which was held after the screening. He wore a

bowler hat The bowler hat, also known as a billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849. It has traditionally been worn ...

and baggy pants in honor of Chaplin. In September 2013, Van Peebles made his public debut as a visual artist, as a part of a gallery featured called "eMerge 2.0: Melvin Van Peebles & Artists on the Cusp". It features "Ex-Voto Monochrome (A Ghetto Mother's Prayer)", one of many pieces of art he created to be on display in his home. In 2017, ''Methane Momma'', a short film directed by Alain Rimbert, featured Van Peebles and his narration of poetic work with accompaniment of music by

The Heliocentrics The Heliocentrics are an English, London-based musical collective that combines funk, jazz, psych, and library influences. The group is based around drummer and producer Malcolm Catto, bassist Jake Ferguson, guitarist Adrian Owusu, and multi-in ...

. In 2019, Burnt Sugar presented the film ''Sweetback'' in Brooklyn while playing their own interpretation of the soundtrack. Van Peebles appeared at the presentation.

Personal life

Melvin Van Peebles married a German woman, Maria Marx. They lived in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

for a period in the late 1950s, where he painted portraits. Their son, actor and director

, was born while they resided in Mexico. The family subsequently returned to the United States. Van Peebles died on September 21, 2021, at his home in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York, at the age of 89. He is survived by his sons, Mario and Max, and his daughter Marguerite.

Awards and honors

*1967: Critics' Choice Award for '' The Story of a Three-Day Pass''.

San Francisco Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in in ...

. *1972: Most Promising Book, Winner for ''Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death''.

Drama Desk Awards The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

. *1972: Best Score from an Original Cast Album, 2 nominations for '' Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death''.

15th Annual Grammy Awards The 15th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 3, 1973, at the Tennessee Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee. The event was the first Grammy ceremony not to be held in either New York City or Los Angeles (the 64th Grammys, staged in Las Vegas in 2 ...

. *1972: Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score, 2 nominations for ''Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'', 26th Tony Awards. *1973: Best Book of a Musical, nomination for '' Don't Play Us Cheap'', 27th Tony Awards. *1976: Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame *1999: Lifetime Achievement Award. 6th Annual

Chicago Underground Film Festival Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF), founded in 1993, is the longest running underground film festival in the world. It's an internationally recognized program providing a venue for documentary, experimental and avant-garde narrative film and ...

. *2001:

Commander of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

(French Legion of Honour) *2008: Tribute Award from the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

(MoMA).

Gotham Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published o ...

. *2021: The "Melvin Van Peebles Trailblazer Award," was named in honor of Van Peebles at the Critics Choice Association's fourth annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television. *2022: Honoree, 2nd Annual Attorney

Benjamin Crump Benjamin Lloyd Crump (born October 10, 1969) is an American attorney who specializes in civil rights and catastrophic personal injury cases such as wrongful death lawsuits. His practice has focused on cases such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, ...

Equal Justice Now Awards

Bibliography

* (As "Melvin Van") ''The Big Heart'', San Francisco: Fearon, 1957. With photographs by

, a book about life on San Francisco's cable cars. "A cable car is a big heart with people for blood. The people pump on and off—if you think of it like that it is pretty simple" (p. 21). * ' (1964); ''A Bear for the F.B.I.'', Trident, 1968. * ' (1965); ''The True American'', Doubleday, 1976. * ''La Reine des Pommes'' (1965); French translation and illustrations for a graphic novel adaptation of Chester Himes' ''A Rage in Harlem'' . * ' (1966) (short stories) * ' (''Harlem Party'') (1967) (novel) * ' (1967) * ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'', Lancer Books, New York, 1971. * ''Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'', Bantam, New York, 1973. * ''Don't Play Us Cheap: A Harlem Party'', Bantam Books, New York, 1973. * '' Just an Old Sweet Song'', Ballantine, New York, 1976. * ''Bold Money: A New Way to Play the Options Market'', Warner Books, New York, 1986, (nonfiction) * Melvin and Mario Van Peebles: ''No Identity Crisis'', A Fireside Book, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1990. * ''Panther'', Thunder's Mouth Press, 1995. * Introduction to the 1998 edition of Chester Himes' ''Yesterday Will Make You Cry'', 1997. *''Confessions of a Ex Doofus Itchy Footed Mutha,'' New York: Akashic Books, 2009, ISBN 9781933354866. With illustrations by Caktuz Tree, a graphic novel adaptation of the film with the same title.

Filmography

Other writing credits

* '' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song: The Musical'' (2008) writer, singer * ''Unmitigated Truth: Life, a Lavatory, Loves, and Ladies'' (2009) writer, performer

As himself

* ''Unstoppable'' (2005) * ''How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company'' (2005)

Other acting-only credits

* ''

O.C. and Stiggs ''O.C. and Stiggs'' is a 1987 American teen comedy film directed by Robert Altman, based on two characters that were originally featured in a series of stories published in '' National Lampoon'' magazine. The film stars Daniel H. Jenkins and ...

'' (1987) as Bob 'Wino Bob' * '' Jaws: The Revenge'' (1987) as Mr. Witherspoon * ''Taking Care of Terrific'' (1987) (television film) as 'Hawk' * '' Sonny Spoon'' (1988) (television series) as Mel Spoon * ''

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...

'' (1992) as Editor * '' Posse'' (1993) as Joe 'Papa Joe' * ''

Terminal Velocity Terminal velocity is the maximum velocity (speed) attainable by an object as it falls through a fluid ( air is the most common example). It occurs when the sum of the drag force (''Fd'') and the buoyancy is equal to the downward force of grav ...

'' (1994) as Noble * ''

'' (1995) as Asher * ''Living Single'' (1996) as Warner Devant * '' The Shining'' (1997) (miniseries) as Dick Hallorann * '' The Hebrew Hammer'' (2003) as Sweetback * '' BlacKout'' (2007) as George * ''

Redemption Road ''Redemption Road'' (also ''Black, White and Blues'') is a 2010 American film directed by Mario Van Peebles and starring Michael Clarke Duncan and Luke Perry. Premise In Tennessee, Bailey, a debt-straddled blues guitarist, is escorted acros ...

'' (2010) as Elmo * '' We the Party'' (2012) as 'Big D' * '' Peeples'' (2013) as Grandpa Peebles * '' Armed'' (2018) as Grandpa V

Plays

* '' The Hostage'' (Dutch National Theatre Tour, actor, writer, 1964) * '' Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'' (writer, 1971) * '' Don't Play Us Cheap'' (writer, 1972) * ''Out There by Your Lonesome'' (one-man play, 1973) * ''Reggae'' (co-librettist, 1980) * ''

'' (actor, writer, 1982) * '' Champeen'' (musical, writer, 1983) *''Waltz of the Stork Boogie'' (writer, director, 1984) *''Unmitigated Truth: Life, a Lavatory, Loves, and Ladies'' (musical, writer, 2009)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1968) * '' Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'' (1970) * ''

As Serious as a Heart-Attack ''As Serious as a Heart-Attack'' is a 1971 spoken word album by Melvin Van Peebles. This is Van Peebles third studio record. The album's cover can be briefly glimpsed on the bathroom door in Van Peebles' 1973 film ''Don't Play Us Cheap''. Track ...

'' (1971) * '' What the....You Mean I Can't Sing?!'' (1974) * '' Ghetto Gothic'' (1995) * ''Nahh... Nahh Mofo'' (2012) * ''The Last Transmission'' (2014, with

)

Compilations

* ''X-Rated By an All-White Jury'' (1997) – including ''Brer Soul'', ''Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'' and ''As Serious as a Heart-Attack''

Soundtrack albums

* '' Watermelon Man'' (1970) * '' Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'' (1971) * '' Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death'' (1972) * '' Don't Play Us Cheap'' (1972)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Peebles, Melvin 1932 births 2021 deaths African-American dramatists and playwrights African-American film directors African-American male actors African-American novelists American experimental filmmakers Film directors from Illinois American male actors Blaxploitation film directors American derivatives traders A&M Records artists Atlantic Records artists Capitol Records artists Stax Records artists Ohio Wesleyan University alumni American expatriates in Mexico American expatriates in France Writers from Chicago American male dramatists and playwrights American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American novelists Novelists from Illinois United States Air Force airmen 21st-century African-American people Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur African-American male writers