Little Richard (film)

Little Richard
Genre	Biography, drama
Written by	Bill Kerby Daniel Taplitz
Directed by	Robert Townsend
Starring	Leon Jenifer Lewis Carl Lumbly Tamala Jones Mel Jackson Garrett Morris
Theme music composer	Velton Ray Bunch
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Iain Peterson
Editor(s)	Sabrina Plisco Marcelo Sansevieri
Running time	120 minutes
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	February 20, 2000

Little Richard is a 2000 biographical NBC television film written by Bill Kerby and Daniel Taplitz and directed by Robert Townsend. Based on the 1984 book, Quasar of Rock: The Life and Times of Little Richard, it chronicles the rise of American musical icon Little Richard from his poor upbringing in Macon, Georgia to achieving superstardom as one of the pioneers of rock and roll music and his conflicts between his religion and secular lifestyle, which leads to an early retirement following a 1957 tour of Australia, and later a comeback to secular performing during a concert in London in 1962.

The cast includes Leon as Little Richard Penniman, Jenifer Lewis as Richard's mother Leva Mae, or as she's listed in the movie credits, Muh Penniman, Carl Lumbly as Richard's stern father, Charles "Bud" Penniman, Tamala Jones as Richard's girlfriend Lucille (actually Audrey Robinson), Garrett Morris as Richard's preacher Carl Rainey and Mel Jackson as legendary producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell.

For his role as Penniman, Leon earned nominations for Best Actor in the Black Reel Awards and the NAACP Image Awards.

Awards and nominations

• Black Reel Awards
  • Nominated (Network/Cable - Best Actor) - Leon
• NAACP Image Awards
  • Nominated (Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special) - Leon
• Emmy Awards
  • Nominated (Outstanding Music Direction) - David Sibley

External links

• Little Richard at the Internet Movie Database

Little Richard
Studio albums	Here's Little Richard Little Richard The Fabulous Little Richard Pray Along with Little Richard Pray Along with Little Richard (Vol 2) The King of the Gospel Singers Little Richard Is Back (And There's a Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On!) Little Richard's Greatest Hits The Wild and Frantic Little Richard The Explosive Little Richard The Rill Thing Mr. Big The King of Rock and Roll The Second Coming Southern Child Friends from the Beginning - Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix Right Now! Talkin' 'bout Soul Little Richard Live God's Beautiful City Lifetime Friend Shake It All About
Live albums	The Incredible Little Richard Sings His Greatest Hits - Live! Little Richard's Greatest Hits: Recorded Live!
Singles	"Tutti Frutti" "Long Tall Sally" "Slippin' and Slidin'" "Rip It Up" "Ready Teddy" "She's Got It" "Heeby-Jeebies" "The Girl Can't Help It" "All Around the World" "Lucille" "Send Me Some Lovin'" "Jenny, Jenny" "Miss Ann" "Keep A-Knockin'" "Good Golly Miss Molly" "Ooh! My Soul" "True Fine Mama" Baby Face" "Kansas City" "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" "He's Not Just A Soldier" "He Got What He Wanted (But He Lost What He Had)" "Crying in the Chapel" "Bama Lama Bama Loo" "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" "Goodnight, Irene" "I Don't Know What You've Got (But It's Got Me)" "Poor Dog" "Commandments Of Love" "Freedom Blues" "Greenwood, Mississippi"" "In The Middle of The Night" "Call My Name" "Great Gosh A-Mighty!" "Operator" "Somebody's Comin'" "Twins"
Related topics	Discography Songs Albums Songs by Little Richard Billy Wright Robert Blackwell Art Rupe Esquerita Jimi Hendrix James Brown Larry Williams Little Richard (miniseries)
Book:Little Richard