TopBilled Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Sidney Poitier will be Star of the Month in September, and that's a good thing. It's the second time he's been honored. But shouldn't more ethnic stars receive this kind of tribute? Some possibilities: Carmen Miranda Ricardo Montalban Dorothy Dandridge Keye Luke Anna May Wong Paul Robeson Lena Horne Fernando Lamas Dolores Del Rio Woody Strode Diahann Carroll Cesar Romero Lupe Velez 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 How about Jim Brown? His list of film credits is better than you might think. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Wouldn't mind a month of Bruce Lee movies, either. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 10 minutes ago, jakeem said: How about Jim Brown? His list of film credits is better than you might think. Yes, good suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaytonf Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Setsuko Hara. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sukhov Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Ruan Lingyu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewhite2000 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Okay, I have a bunch of rambling thoughts that I'm gonna devote a couple of sentences to each: I don't want to sound like Debbie Downer. We've all got our favorites, but anyone who watches TCM regularly knows that a Japanese actress who made no or next to no English-language films getting honored as Star of the Month is extremely unlikely. I would say the most realistic possibility outside of Poitier is Anthony Quinn, who was last Star of the Month in 2006. Perhaps you didn't list him because he's been honored already. He was three-quarters Mexican ... at least going back a couple of generations. We all have to radically reconsider what race really means anymore. I have to smile at all thought of all those mostly long-ago dead spouters of theories of racial purity and racial superiority rolling over in their graves when anyone who takes one those mouth swab samples today finds out that they're at least a fraction of a per cent of a half dozen different races each! I like all of the suggestions in the OP. Seems like Montalban would be extremely likely, given all the work he did at MGM. Carmen Miranda would require getting quite bit of material from Fox, I think. Lena Horne has had multiple SUTS days, I think. She's a bit problematic, because a lot of her movies, she just came in and sang her showpiece number and had nothing to do with the plot at all. This, unfortunately, was the way the studio was most comfortable using her. Cesar Romero I would think would certainly be doable. My knowledge of the body of work of some of these performers is a little sparse, I must admit. Don't really know too much about Dorothy Dandridge's career or how much Keye Luke did other than being Number One Son and of course Gremlins. I don't know how eager TCM would be to air those Charlie Chan films anymore with a white guy always playing Chan. I honestly don't know how many movies Paul Robeson was in. If we are allowed to consider outside the realm of stars and also consider supporting players, I would vote for Phlip Ahn, who seemed (incredibly for the time) to insist upon only playing dignified roles. Also Hattie McDaniel, whom it seems must have made about a thousand movies. But I suppose they wouldn't qaulify, given the usual size of their roles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewhite2000 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Had another thought: I watched a Bob Hope-Eva Marie Saint romantic comedy I'd never heard of called That Certain Feeling on YouTube the other night, and Pearl Bailey was an absolute standout. She was saddled with a role of a domestic, unfortunately typical of those days: we don't get any concept of what her character's life is like other than helping all these neurotic white people with their love lives, but she comes across as smarter than all of them and has great comic timing. I have no idea how many movies she made, but she was also great in The Landlord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaDoria Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 I would love a Hattie McDaniel month. Even though her parts may have been small they were often the highlight of the film for me. I watch "Alice Adams" primarily for her hilarious dinner scene. What I would really love would be "character actor of the month." We could have Hattie, Beulah Bondi, so many great ones with huge bodies of work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cigarjoe Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 I don't know if I'd call Carmen Miranda. Ricardo Montalban, Fernando Lamas, Dolores Del Rio, Cesar Romero and Lupe Velez non Caucasian. Anyway these below.... Pedro Armendariz - 128 credits Philip Ahn - 186 credits Isabella Rossellini - 87 credits James Hong - 443 credits Victor Wong - 38 credits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedya Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Don't forget an Arab like Omar Sharif. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 8 hours ago, jakeem said: Wouldn't mind a month of Bruce Lee movies, either. Do you mean to include all his Chinese film work( dating back to 1941)? or just the work as an adult.? And if we're mentioning Asians, how about PHILIP AHN, who has over 100 films under his belt, but too, several of them uncredited roles. But not the majority. Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 11 hours ago, cigarjoe said: I don't know if I'd call Carmen Miranda. Ricardo Montalban, Fernando Lamas, Dolores Del Rio, Cesar Romero and Lupe Velez non Caucasian. I was trying not to use the word 'minority' or the phrase 'non-white.' I didn't want to make this a discussion about skin color. More about how TCM could represent other cultures or ethnicities in its selection of Stars of the Month. But the truth is that with the exception of Poitier, all their honorees for Star of the Month have been white. Also, I know people will say that some of the ones mentioned earlier in the thread were not stars on the level of Clark Gable or Bette Davis. But most of them did have lead roles, even if they were leads in B-films; and these people are still stars to their fans. In the case of someone like Keye Luke, he should be celebrated. He had a contract with MGM at a time when no other Asians were under contract at the studio. He appeared in several popular movie franchises, playing significant roles. He went on to do a lot of television work, and he was still making films in 1990, when he was cast in a Woody Allen picture. His accomplishments should be noted, not overlooked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 24 minutes ago, Sepiatone said: Do you mean to include all his Chinese film work( dating back to 1941)? or just the work as an adult.? Just his 1960s and 1970s output, including a two-part episode of "The Green Hornet," his memorable scenes opposite James Garner in "Marlowe" and a documentary or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewhite2000 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 1 hour ago, Sepiatone said: And if we're mentioning Asians, how about PHILIP AHN, Gee ... wish I'd thought of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cigarjoe Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 I did mention Ahn before either of you 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 25 minutes ago, cigarjoe said: I did mention Ahn before either of you Sewhite's post was 10 hours ago. Yours was 7 hours ago. I'll mention Philip Ahn, too. Philip Ahn. I'll also mention Richard Loo (172 credits) and Sessue Hayakawa (107 credits). I mentioned Tatsuya Nakadai (162 credits) and Takashi Shimura (278 credits) in the SUTS thread. Either one would be a good choice. And of course Toshiro Mifune (186 credits). 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Somnambula Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 https://mash.fandom.com/wiki/Philip_Ahn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cigarjoe Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 20 minutes ago, LawrenceA said: Sewhite's post was 10 hours ago. Yours was 7 hours ago. You're right I missed it, my bad. Apologies to Sewwhite That's the correct way to respond when your wrong..... Now if I was a Twump Reped-lick-can I say it was fake news.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess of Tap Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 22 minutes ago, LawrenceA said: Sewhite's post was 10 hours ago. Yours was 7 hours ago. I'll mention Philip Ahn, too. Philip Ahn. I'll also mention Richard Loo (172 credits) and Sessue Hayakawa (107 credits). I mentioned Tatsuya Nakadai (162 credits) and Takashi Shimura (278 credits) in the SUTS thread. Either one would be a good choice. And of course Toshiro Mifune (186 credits). Neither here nor there, but Sessue Hayakawa should have won that Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "Bridge". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 11 hours ago, sewhite2000 said: I would vote for Phlip Ahn, who seemed (incredibly for the time) to insist upon only playing dignified roles. I guess it all depends on what a dignified role is; Ahn played criminal roles; e.g. hired killers. But why not; he was an actor. (and I highly doubt he had the clout to determine what roles he would play). Anyhow, for TCM to select any non-Caucasian actor as SOTM (or even a day of SUTS), the majority of the films shown should be English language films. The Asian actor I would feature would be Victor_Sen_Yung. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arteesto Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 I would like to see Keye Luke receive the honor. I just checked and he has more than enough movies to fill up a month. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 I wouldn't count on any of those listed being chosen any time soon. Not due to ethnicity, but TCM is all about STARS and familiar faces. I'd say Del Rio and Velez probably have the most star power, but probably will never be picked as they arent well known and TCM would probably have a hard time renting films from various studios to showcase them. At best a SUTS days is the best one could hope for most of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 8 minutes ago, Arteesto said: I would like to see Keye Luke receive the honor. I just checked and he has more than enough movies to fill up a month. Keye Luke and Victor_Sen_Yung were in a many of the same films (e.g. Charlie Chan films, , but Yung was in many more 1st Rate \ A production films like: The Letter, Across the Pacific (which Luke is in too but in a much smaller role), Moontide, The Breaking Point, Women on the Run, The Blue Gardenia, The Shanghai Story (a Ruth Roman Edmond O'Brien film I haven't seen, and since a Republic film one TCM likely wouldn't lease), and The Left Hand of God. Of course all were minor roles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 52 minutes ago, Hibi said: I wouldn't count on any of those listed being chosen any time soon. Not due to ethnicity, but TCM is all about STARS and familiar faces. I never honestly expect TCM to listen to any of my suggestions about anything. If I was only interested in predicting what the TCM brass were going to schedule, then I'd simply copy 'n paste one of the old schedules over and over again. In other words, I don't expect them to change anything from their S.O.P. My suggestions are always what I would like to see, not what I expect them to show. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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