The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama |
Based on | The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines |
Screenplay by | Tracy Keenan Wynn |
Directed by | John Korty |
Starring | Cicely Tyson Barbara Cheney Richard Dysart Katherine Helmond Michael Murphy Odetta Thalmus Rasulala |
Theme music composer | Fred Karlin |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producers | Robert W. Christiansen Rick Rosenberg Philip Barry Jr. |
Production locations | Natchez, Mississippi Woodville, Mississippi Ashland-Belle Helene Plantation - State Highway 75, Geismer, Louisiana Ryan Airport - 9430 Jackie Cochran Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana The Cottage Plantation - 10528 Cottage Lane, St. Francisville, Louisiana |
Cinematography | James Crabe |
Editor | Sidney Levin |
Running time | 110 minutes |
Production company | Tomorrow Entertainment |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | January 31, 1974 [1] [2] [3] |
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman is an American television film based on the novel of the same name by Ernest J. Gaines starring Cicely Tyson as the titular heroine. The film was broadcast on CBS on Thursday, January 31, 1974. [1] [2] [3]
Directed by John Korty, the screenplay was written by Tracy Keenan Wynn and executive produced by Roger Gimbel. [4] [5] It stars Cicely Tyson in the lead role, as well as Michael Murphy, Richard Dysart, Katherine Helmond, and Odetta. The film was shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, [6] and was notable for its use of very realistic special effects makeup by Stan Winston and Rick Baker for the lead character, who is shown from ages 23 to 110. [7] The film is distributed through Classic Media.
The time is the early 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Jane (played by Cicely Tyson), a former slave, is celebrating her 110th birthday. Two men tell her that a little girl is going to a segregated water fountain; she gets arrested because she is black. The next day Jane is interviewed by a journalist named Quentin Lerner (played by Michael Murphy) and she tells the story of her life. The climax of the story shows Jane going to the water fountain to desegregate it; her lifespan has bridged the time of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement.
Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson was an American actress known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson received various awards including three Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Tony Award, an Honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award.
Northern Exposure is an American comedy-drama television series about the eccentric residents of a fictional small town in Alaska, that ran on CBS from July 12, 1990, to July 26, 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. It received 57 award nominations during its six-season run and won 27, including the 1992 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, two additional Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globes.
Colleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early dramas on live television, and performances in Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. One of her last roles was playing Marilla Cuthbert in the Kevin Sullivan television adaptations of the Anne of Green Gables series and her reprisal of the role in the subsequent TV series Road to Avonlea. In the United States, Dewhurst won two Tony Awards and four Emmy Awards for her stage and television work. In addition to other Canadian honors over the years, Dewhurst won two Gemini Awards for her portrayal of Marilla Cuthbert; once in 1986 and again in 1988. It is arguably her best known role because of the Kevin Sullivan produced series’ continuing popularity and also the initial co-production by the CBC; allowing for rebroadcasts over the years on it, and also on PBS in the United States. The initial broadcast alone was seen by millions of viewers.
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Daytime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. The first ceremony was held in 1974, expanding what was originally a prime time-themed Emmy Award. Ceremonies generally are held in May or June.
Stanley Winston was an American television and film special make-up effects artist, best known for his work in the Terminator series, the first three Jurassic Park films, Aliens, The Thing, the first two Predator films, Inspector Gadget, Iron Man, and Edward Scissorhands. He won four Academy Awards for his work.
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman is a 1971 novel by Ernest J. Gaines. The story depicts the struggles of Black people as seen through the eyes of the narrator, a woman named Jane Pittman. She tells of the major events of her life from the time she was a young slave girl in the American South at the end of the Civil War.
Richard Allen Dysart was an American actor. He is best known for his role as senior partner Leland McKenzie in the television series L.A. Law (1986–1994), for which he won a 1992 Primetime Emmy Award as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series after four consecutive nominations. In film, he held supporting roles in The Hospital (1971), Being There (1979), The Thing (1982), Mask (1985), Pale Rider (1985) and Wall Street (1987).
The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements in Miniseries or Television Movie.
Richard Alan Baker, known professionally as Rick Baker, is an American retired special make-up effects creator and actor. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker has won the Academy Award for Best Makeup a record seven times from a record eleven nominations, beginning when he won the inaugural award for the 1981 horror comedy film An American Werewolf in London.
Olivia Carlena Cole was an American actress, best known for her Emmy Award-winning role in the 1977 miniseries Roots.
Edward James Scott is an American soap opera producer. Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, Scott earned a Bachelor of Arts from California State University at Northridge with a double major of anthropology and broadcasting journalism. He has been married since 1985 to actress Melody Thomas Scott, who is recognized for her role as Nikki Newman on The Young and the Restless. The couple have three daughters: Jennifer, Alexandra, and Elizabeth. They renewed their wedding vows on their 20th wedding anniversary in an Entertainment Tonight special, ranked #1 in its timeslot.
John Korty, was an American film director and animator, best known for the television film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and the documentary Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?, as well as the theatrical animated feature Twice Upon a Time. He has won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and several other major awards. He is described by the film critic Leonard Maltin as "a principled filmmaker who has worked both outside and within the mainstream, attempting to find projects that support his humanistic beliefs".
A Lesson Before Dying is a 1999 American made-for-television drama film adapted from the 1993 Ernest J. Gaines novel of the same name. It won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie and a Peabody Award.
The 26th Emmy Awards, later known as the 26th Primetime Emmy Awards, were handed out on May 28, 1974. Johnny Carson hosted the ceremony. Winners are listed in bold and networks are in parentheses.
Roderick Maurice Perry was an American actor best known for his role as Sgt. David "Deacon" Kay in the 1970s TV series S.W.A.T. Perry also played leading roles in two blaxploitation movies in the mid-1970s: The Black Godfather (1974) and The Black Gestapo (1975). Other TV appearances include Barney Miller, Good Times, Babylon 5, and the 1974 TV movies The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Trapped Beneath the Sea. In the 2000s, Perry had a cameo role in the 2003 film version of S.W.A.T., playing the father of the character he portrayed three decades earlier in the TV series, played on this occasion by LL Cool J.
Roger Gimbel was an American television producer who specialized in television movies. Many of Gimbel's television films dealt with real-life events, including Chernobyl: The Final Warning, S.O.S. Titanic, The Amazing Howard Hughes, and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Often, Gimbel's films also focused on serious societal problems, including mental illness, war, and domestic abuse. Gimbel produced more than 50 television films and specials, which earned eighteen Emmy Awards.
The Trip to Bountiful is a play by American playwright Horton Foote. The play premiered March 1, 1953, on NBC-TV, before being produced on the Broadway stage from November 3, 1953, to December 5, 1953.
Tracy Keenan Wynn is an American screenwriter and producer, whose credits include The Longest Yard, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and The Deep (1977).
Hit Lady is a 1974 made-for-TV film which aired on October 8, 1974. Starring Yvette Mimieux as artist and assassin Angela de Vries, it was written by Mimieux and directed by Tracy Keenan Wynn.