Melvin Van Peebles Explained

Melvin Van Peebles
Birth Name:Melvin Peebles
Birth Date:1932 8, mf=yes
Birth Place:Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Death Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Other Names:Brer Soul, Block
Children:4, including Mario Van Peebles
Years Active:1955–2021
Spouse:Maria Marx

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 early 2020s. His feature film debut, The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967), was based on his own French-language novel French: [[La Permission]] 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 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 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 French: [[Le Conte du ventre plein]] (2000) and the absurdist film Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha (2008). His son, filmmaker and actor Mario Van Peebles, appeared in several of his works and portrayed him in the 2003 biographical film Baadasssss!.

Early life and education

Born Melvin Peebles[1] in Chicago, Illinois, he was the son of Edwin Griffin and Marion Peebles.[2] In 1953 Peebles graduated with a B.A. in literature from Ohio Wesleyan University and, 13 days later, joined the Air Force, serving for three and a half years.[3] He added "Van" to his name when he lived in the Netherlands in his late 20s.[4]

Career

Early years

He worked as a cable car gripman in San Francisco, California.[3] 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.[3]

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."[3]

After Van Peebles completed his first short films, he took them with him to Hollywood 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, 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.[5] 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 leading a post-film discussion.[6]

When Vogel went to Paris shortly after, he brought Van Peebles's films to show Henri Langlois and Mary Meerson at the French: [[Cinémathèque Française]]. 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 probably by Mary Meerson and/or Lotte Eisner, founders of the French: [[Cinémathèque Française]], on the strength of his short films.[7] In France, Van Peebles created the short film French: Les Cinq Cent Balles (500 Francs) (1961) and then established himself as a writer. He did investigative reporting for France Observateur 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.[8]

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 form of songwriting, where the lyrics were spoken over the music. This style carried over to Van Peebles' debut album, Brer Soul.[3]

Van Peebles was a prolific writer in France. He published four novels and a collection of short stories. He completed at least one play, French: La Fête à Harlem which was also released as a novel, and which he would later make into the musical Don't Play Us Cheap (1970).[9] Roger Blin directed French: La Fête à Harlem with the French: Les Griots theatrical troupe for the French: Festival du jeune théâtre in Liège, Belgium in September 1964.[10] Van Peebles made his first feature-length film, The Story of a Three-Day Pass (French: La Permission) (1968) based on a novel by the same title. The film caught the attention of Hollywood producers who mistook him for a French auteur after it won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival as the French entry.[11] Van Peebles's first Hollywood film was the 1970 Columbia Pictures comedy Watermelon Man, written by Herman Raucher. Starring Godfrey Cambridge, the movie 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.[12] 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 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 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 and then moved to Broadway, running for 325 performances in 1971–72.[13] The show was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score.[14]

As his intended follow-up to Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, Van Peebles made the musical film Don't Play Us Cheap.[15] The film was an adaptation of an earlier stage musical of the same name which Van Peebles had created for performances at San Francisco State College in November 1970.[9] At the time of the film's creation in 1971, a Broadway production of the stage musical was not planned, but the failure to find a distributor for the completed film led to Van Peebles' decision to bring the musical to Broadway in 1972 for a production of the play at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.[15] [9] 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.[16] The previously shot film version was later released on January 1, 1973.[17]

In 1977, Van Peebles was one of four credited screenwriters on the film Greased Lightning, about the life of pioneering Black NASCAR driver Wendell Scott. He was originally the director of the film as well, but was replaced by Michael Schultz.[18]

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.[19] For Waltz of the Stork, he wrote book, music, and lyrics, as well as producing the show and playing the lead role. It ran for 160 performances in 1982.[20]

In the 1980s, Van Peebles became an options trader on the American Stock Exchange while continuing to work in theater and film.[21] [22]

In 1995, he co-starred in the American live-action version of Japanese manga Fist of the North Star, alongside Gary Daniels, Costas Mandylor, Chris Penn, Isako Washio, Malcolm McDowell, Downtown Julie Brown, Dante Basco, Tracey Walter, Clint Howard, Tony Halme, and Big Van Vader.[23]

2005–2009

In 2005, Van Peebles was the subject of a documentary entitled How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It). Also in 2005, Van Peebles was the subject of the documentary , which also featured Ossie Davis and Gordon Parks in the same room. It was moderated by Warrington Hudlin.[24]

In 2005, it was announced that Van Peebles would collaborate with Madlib for a proposed double album titled Brer Soul Meets Quasimoto. However, nothing further was issued about this project from the time that it was first announced.[25]

In 2008, Van Peebles completed the film Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha, which was the Closing Night selection for Maryland Film Festival 2008, and appeared on All My Children as Melvin Woods, the father of Samuel Woods, a character portrayed by his son, Mario.[26] [27]

In 2009, Van Peebles became involved with a project to adapt Sweet Sweetback into a musical.[28] A preliminary version of this was staged at the Apollo Theater 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.[29]

2011–2019

In 2011, Van Peebles started doing shows in NYC with members of Burnt Sugar, under the name Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative.[30] Van Peebles said that the band is called Laxative because they "make shit happen".[31] In November 2011, Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative performed his song "Love, That's America" at Zebulon Cafe Concert, two weeks after the venue showed the original video for this song involving Occupy Wall Street footage,[32] which was uploaded to YouTube in October 2011.[33]

On August 21, 2012, he distributed a new album, on vinyl only, called Nahh... Nahh Mofo.[34] [35] [36] [37] This album was distributed at his birthday celebration at Film Forum.[38] 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,[39] [40] which was announced on his Facebook page.[41]

On May 5, 2013, he returned to the Film Forum for a screening of Charlie Chaplin'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 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".[42] 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.[43] [44] [45]

In 2019, Burnt Sugar presented the film Sweetback in Brooklyn while playing their own interpretation of the soundtrack. Van Peebles appeared at the presentation.[46]

Personal life

Melvin Van Peebles married Maria Marx, a German actress. They lived in Mexico for a period in the late 1950s, where he painted portraits. Their son, actor and director Mario Van Peebles, was born while they resided in Mexico. The family subsequently returned to the United States.[47]

Death

Van Peebles died on September 21, 2021, at his home in Manhattan, New York, at the age of 89.[48] [49] He is survived by his sons, Mario and Max, and his daughter Marguerite.[50]

Awards and honors

Bibliography

Filmography

YearFilmCredited as Notes
DirectorProducerWriterComposer
1957Three Pickup Men for HerrickShort
1957Sunlight Short
1961French: Les cinq cent balles (French: 500 Francs)Short; included in a 2023 Icarus Films collection, Early Short Films of the French New Wave[67]
1967The Story of a Three-Day Pass (also known as French: [[La Permission]])from his novel French: La Permission
1969Slogan Screenwriter, Directed by Pierre Grimblat.
1970Watermelon Man
1971Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Songalso actor and editor
1973Don't Play Us Cheapalso editor
1976Just an Old Sweet Song (also known as Down Home)made for television; screenwriter and theme song
1977Greased Lightning screenwriter
1981The Sophisticated Gents made for television; actor, screenwriter, song "Greased Lightning" and associate producer
1987The Day They Came to Arrest the Bookmade for television; screenwriter; based on 1982 novel by Nat Hentoff[68]
1989Identity CrisisAlso actor and co-editor
1995Pantherbased on his novel Panther, also actor
1996Vrooom Vroom Vroooomlater included in Tales of Erotica, also known as Erotic Tales. Also editor
1996Gang in BlueCo-director and also actor
1998Melvin Van Peebles' Classified XDocumentary; screenwriter, actor and executive producer
2000French: [[Le Conte du ventre plein]] (also known as Bellyful)
  • Delegate Producer; based on a short story from 1966 book Le Chinois du XIVe[69]
2008Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha based on his own graphic novel

Music videos

Other writing credits

As himself

Other acting-only credits

Plays

Discography

See also: List of songs recorded by Melvin Van Peebles.

See also: Melvin Van Peebles discography.

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia: Greasley. Philip A.. Melvin Van Peebles. Dictionary of Midwestern Literature. Volume 1: The Authors. 505. Bloomington, Indiana. Indiana University Press. 2001. 0253108411.
  2. News: September 25, 2021. Corrections: Sept. 25, 2021. en-US. The New York Times. September 26, 2021. 0362-4331.
  3. Book: James, Darius . That's Blaxploitation!: Roots of the Baadasssss 'Tude (Rated X by an All-Whyte Jury) . 1995 . St. Martin's Press . 0-312-13192-5 .
  4. News: Melvin van Peebles obituary. The Guardian. Chris . Wiegand. September 23, 2021.
  5. MacDonald. Scott. 1997. Cinema 16: Documents Toward a History of the Film Society. Wide Angle. 19. 1. 3–48. 10.1353/wan.1997.0001. 191566024. 1086-3354.
  6. Book: Ellison, Ralph. Trading twelves : the selected letters of Ralph Ellison and Albert Murray. 2010. Vintage eBooks. 978-0-307-56074-2. 681584951.
  7. "French: Entretein avec Melvin Van Peebles." French: Cahiers du Cinéma #308. February 1980. pp. 14–16.
  8. Book: Himes, Chester. My Life of Absurdity. Thunder's Mouth Press. 1976. New York. 291.
  9. Book: A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, Or Involving African Americans. Bernard L. Peterson. 1993. 9780313266577. Greenwood Press. Don't Play Us Cheap!. 112.
  10. Web site: Fête à Harlem – Spectacle – 1964.
  11. Web site: Interview with Melvin Van Peebles – Bay Area Television Archive . Diva.sfsu.edu . March 2, 2020.
  12. Web site: Kohn. Eric. September 27, 2021. Mario Van Peebles on His Father's Greatest Legacy: 'He Put Black Power on the Screen for the First Time'. January 3, 2022. IndieWire. en.
  13. Web site: Melvin Van Peebles, Influential Director, Actor and Writer, Dies at 89. Variety. Carmel. Dagan. September 22, 2021. September 24, 2021.
  14. Web site: Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death. IBDB. September 24, 2021.
  15. Web site: Don't Play Us Cheap Review . Unterberger . Richie . AllMusic . 2022-11-06.
  16. Web site: Don't Play Us Cheap!. IBDB. September 24, 2021.
  17. Web site: Synopsis . Deming . Mark . AllMovie . 2022-11-06.
  18. News: 'Greased Lightning': A Sketchy Saga of a Stock-Car Career. The Washington Post. Gary. Arnold. July 16, 1977. September 24, 2021.
  19. Web site: Reggae. IBDB. September 24, 2021.
  20. Web site: IBDB. Waltz of the Stork. September 24, 2021.
  21. News: Booker . James . March 27, 1984 . James Booker's N.Y. . . 11 . March 15, 2014 .
  22. News: Wylie . William H. . March 11, 1986 . Movie director weighs his options . . D2 . March 15, 2014 .
  23. Fist of the North Star. 1999. Randel. Tony. en. WinStar TV & Video. United States. 1-57252-654-8. DVD.
  24. Web site: 'Unstoppable: A Conversation w/ Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks & Ossie Davis' – a Documentary in Need of a Re-Release. Tambay A. . Obenson. June 13, 2014 . June 14, 2014 . Indiewire.com . https://archive.today/20140615101959/http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/unstoppable-a-conversation-w-melvin-van-peebles-gordon-parks-ossie-davis-a-documentary-in-need-of-a-re-release . June 15, 2014 . dead .
  25. Web site: Madlib & Melvin Van Peebles – Brer Soul meets Lord Quas . Stonesthrow.com . October 1, 2005 . February 10, 2013.
  26. Web site: Melvin Van Peebles . Daniel Robert. Epstein. SuicideGirls.com. January 19, 2006 . June 23, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929103016/http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Melvin+Van+Peebles/ . September 29, 2007 . dead .
  27. News: The MVP of Black Cinema. Greg . Tate. January 13, 2006 . March 3, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070323130038/http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0603,tate,71754,20.html . March 23, 2007 . dead .
  28. Web site: The Apollo Salon Series. ApolloTheater.org. The Apollo Theater Foundation. https://web.archive.org/web/20080511144604/http://www.apollotheater.org/SALON_SERIES.html . May 11, 2008 . April 14, 2020.
  29. Web site: Unmitigated Truth: Life, a Lavatory, Loves, and Ladies . NYTheatre.com . Martin . Denton . June 22, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090629211529/http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/showpage.php?t=unmi8570 . June 29, 2009 .
  30. NYC: Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative . Uptown . January 3, 2011 . February 10, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110728185116/http://uptownmagazine.com/2011/01/nyc-melvin-van-peebles-wid-laxative/ . July 28, 2011 . dead .
  31. Web site: Melvin Van Peebles With Laxative, Zebulon Cafe Concert, May 12, 2011 . Zebuloncafeconcert.com . May 12, 2011 . February 10, 2013.
  32. Web site: The winter of our discontent . Zebuloncafeconcert.com . November 8, 2011 . February 10, 2013.
  33. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Web site: Occupy Wall Street montage to the song "Love, That's America" by Melvin Van Peebles #OWS, YouTube . YouTube.com . October 26, 2011 . February 10, 2013.
  34. Web site: Give The Drummer Some 10/05/12 . WFMU.org . February 10, 2013.
  35. Web site: The cat is out of... . https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/142695989120449/189774071155049 . February 26, 2022 . limited. Facebook . February 10, 2013.
  36. Web site: Melvin Van Peebles – Fireside Chat . December 21, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131221041547/http://www.rbmaradio.com/shows/melvin-van-peebles-fireside-chat . December 21, 2013 . dead .
  37. Web site: Melvin Van Peebles: Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards . TV Guide . March 22, 2019.
  38. Web site: vagabond . Melvin Van Peebles | #nothingtobegainedhere . nothingtobegainedhere.wordpress.com . August 22, 2012 . March 22, 2019.
  39. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Web site: (official video) Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative – Lilly Done the Zampoughi . YouTube . November 9, 2012 . February 10, 2013.
  40. Web site: Lilly Done the Zampoughi Every Time I Pulled Her Coattail (2012) . IMDb. June 30, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170211233753/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2605674/ . February 11, 2017 . dead .
  41. Web site: We have a new video... . https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/142695989120449/482238985132069 . February 26, 2022 . limited. Facebook . November 10, 2012 . February 10, 2013.
  42. News: At 81, Still a Master of Reinvention . The New York Times . John. Leland. September 19, 2013.
  43. Web site: Methane Momma (2016). IMDb.com.
  44. Web site: From The Vaults – Photos: Melvin Van Peebles Records For Heliocentrics. Now-Again Records Newsletter. February 24, 2018. September 30, 2014.
  45. Web site: Kesh. Jonathan. 5 Cool Sci-Fi Shorts From the 2018 Philip K. Dick Film Festival. Outerplaces.com . en.
  46. Web site: Movies on Myrtle: Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Redux, Remix & Requiem Rescheduled! . Fort Greene Park Conservancy . fortgreenepark.org . March 2, 2020.
  47. Wankoff, Jordan, and Deborah A. Ring. "Van Peebles, Melvin." Contemporary Black Biography, edited by Derek Jacques, et al., vol. 95, Gale, 2012, pp. 160–164. Gale eBooks.
  48. Web site: Melvin Van Peebles Dies: Iconic Filmmaker, Actor, and Novelist Was 89 . Mike. Barnes. Indiewire. September 22, 2021.
  49. Web site: Grobar. Matt. September 22, 2021. Melvin Van Peebles Remembered: Spike Lee, David Alan Grier & Barry Jenkins Among Those Paying Tribute To Cinema's "True Revolutionary". September 23, 2021. Deadline. en-US.
  50. News: Melvin Van Peebles, Champion of New Black Cinema, Dies at 89. The New York Times. Douglas. Martin. September 22, 2021.
  51. Web site: November 23, 2020. Melvin Van Peebles. December 13, 2021. GRAMMY.com. en.
  52. Book: Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame 1976. Cultural and Ethnic Affairs Guild of the Oakland Museum Association. 1976. 39.
  53. Web site: Archives . L. A. Times . 1987-06-30 . PEE-WEE AND CBS PREVAIL WITH EMMYS . https://web.archive.org/web/20230804135051/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-06-30-ca-1349-story.html . 2023-08-04 . 2023-09-10 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  54. Web site: Distinguished Achievement Citation . 2023-09-10 . Ohio Wesleyan University . en.
  55. News: Brozan . Nadine . 1994-12-15 . CHRONICLE . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-03-05 . 0362-4331.
  56. Web site: Petersen. Scott. August 31, 1999. FESTIVALS: Chicago's Underground Marketplace – of Fun & Ideas. January 3, 2022. IndieWire. en.
  57. Web site: Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 15 – TRIBUTE TO MELVIN VAN PEEBLES. December 23, 2021. www.govinfo.gov.
  58. News: June 2, 2001. Vital Reissues: Melvin Van Peebles, Ghetto Gothic. 32. Billboard. December 23, 2021.
  59. Web site: Guerrasio. Jason. September 17, 2008. Melvin Van Peebles to be Honored at Gothams. January 3, 2022. Filmmaker Magazine. en-US.
  60. Web site: Jackson. Angelique. November 10, 2021. Ava DuVernay to Receive Inaugural Melvin Van Peebles Trailblazer Award at Celebration of Black Cinema & Television. December 13, 2021. Variety. en-US.
  61. Web site: 2022-06-26 . Equal Justice Now Announces Honorees and Host for the 2nd Annual Attorney Benjamin Crump Equal Justice Now Awards, in Los Angeles on June 10 . 2022-06-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220626163642/https://www.blackenterprise.com/equal-justice-now-announces-honorees-and-host-for-the-2nd-annual-attorney-benjamin-crump-equal-justice-now-awards-in-los-angeles-on-june-10/ . June 26, 2022 .
  62. Web site: Chester Himes papers, 1933–1984 Amistad Research Center . 2022-12-24 . amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu.
  63. Web site: 2023-01-31 . Le Chinois du XIVe . 2023-03-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131232910/https://www.nouvelles-editions-wombat.fr/livre-I20.html . January 31, 2023 .
  64. Book: Aint supposed to die a natural death . WorldCat.org . 1973 . 595072. (book)
  65. Book: Van Peebles, Melvin . Panther: A Novel . Google Books . March 22, 2019. 9781560250968 . 1995 . Thunder's Mouth Press .
  66. Book: Himes, Chester B. . Yesterday Will Make You Cry . 1999 . W. W. Norton & Company . 978-0-393-31829-6 . en.
  67. Web site: Icarus Films: Early Short Films of the French New Wave . https://web.archive.org/web/20230905173427/https://icarusfilms.com/if-nwsh . 2023-09-05 . icarus FIlms.
  68. News: Harmetz . Aljean . 1987-07-08 . 'Promise' Wins Humanitas . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-09-06 . 0362-4331.
  69. News: Movies; An American Who Went to Paris . en . The New York Times . 2023-03-25.
  70. Web site: Thompson. Lisa B.. Don't Play Us Cheap: The Sacredness of Saturday Night, or the Gospel According to Melvin Van Peebles. September 28, 2021. December 23, 2021. The Criterion Collection. en.
  71. News: Gussow. Mel. February 27, 1973. Van Peebles Offers Roukin One-Man Show. en-US. The New York Times. December 23, 2021. 0362-4331.
  72. Web site: Melvin Van Peebles. December 23, 2021. Playbill. en.
  73. News: Gussow. Mel. April 10, 1983. THEATER:'CHAMPEEEN!' CELEBRATES BESSIE SMITH. en-US. The New York Times. December 23, 2021. 0362-4331.
  74. News: Holden. Stephen. July 16, 1984. THEATER: 'STORK BOOGIE,' BY MELVIN VAN PEEBLES. en-US. The New York Times. December 23, 2021. 0362-4331.
  75. Web site: Bacalzo. Dan. June 23, 2009. Unmitigated Truth: Life, a Lavatory, Loves, and Ladies TheaterMania. December 23, 2021. www.theatermania.com. en-US.