Frederick Douglass: Slave and Statesman / The Sty of the Blind Pig
This program is presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Part of the UCLA Film & Television Archive screening series “Going My Own Way”: Celebrating Ivan Dixon.
In innumerable productions over his pioneering career, Ivan Dixon’s multifaceted talents would far exceed the fame he achieved in his starring role on the 1960s sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. During his five seasons with Hogan, Dixon purposely utilized his time on set to learn filmmaking, observing episodes as they were directed and edited. Despite the security the series provided, Dixon, one of the first African American regulars on network television, left the popular program to pursue other ambitions. He went on to a highly successful career as a feature film and television director, helming numerous episodes for a diverse range of programs, including several innovative productions for public television: “Frederick Douglass: Slave and Statesman” and Hollywood Television Theatre: “The Sty of the Blind Pig.”
Frederick Douglass: Slave and Statesman (2/16/1983)
Directed by Ivan Dixon, this powerful one-person show stars William Marshall (Blacula) as abolitionist and trusted Lincoln advisor Frederick Douglass. Based on Douglass’ essential writings, Sylvia Jarrico’s teleplay dramatizes the highly influential thinker’s life from the period surrounding his birth as an enslaved person through Reconstruction. Dixon trains his incisive video lens directly on Marshall as he addresses the audience, channeling Douglass’ profound insights on slavery, emancipation, suffrage and equal rights for all.
DCP, color, 57 min. A KCET Production in Association with William Marshall. Producer: Patrica Kunkel. Director: Ivan Dixon. Writer: Sylvia Jarrico. With: William Marshall.
Hollywood Television Theatre: “The Sty of the Blind Pig” (5/31/1974)
KCET’s dynamic production of Philip Hayes Dean’s critically acclaimed play examines the volatile relationship between a domineering mother (Madie Norman) and her yearning daughter (Mary Alice), torn by generational change amidst the backdrop of the burgeoning civil rights movement. Directed with escalating urgency and tension by Ivan Dixon, the incisive character drama features a harrowing, tour-de-force lead performance by Emmy, Obie, and Tony Award-winner Mary Alice (Fences).
DCP, color, 90 min. A KCET Production. Executive Producer: Norman Lloyd. Producer: George Turpin. Director: Ivan Dixon. Writer: Philip Hayes Dean. With: Mary Alice, Scatman Crothers, Madi Norman, Richard Ward.
The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a division of UCLA Library, and presents its public programs in the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer, among other venues. For more information about the Archive, visit cinema.ucla.edu.