King (miniseries)

King is a 1978 American television miniseries written and directed by Abby Mann, based on the life of Martin Luther King Jr., the American civil rights leader. It aired for three consecutive nights on NBC from February 12 through 14, 1978.

King
DVD cover
Written by	Abby Mann
Directed by	Abby Mann
Starring	Paul Winfield Cicely Tyson
Music by	Billy Goldenberg
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	3
Production
Executive producer	Edward S. Feldman
Producer	Paul Maslansky
Cinematography	Michael Chapman
Editors	Byron "Buzz" Brandt Rich Meyer David Berlatsky
Running time	300 minutes
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	February 12 (1978-02-12) – February 14, 1978 (1978-02-14)

Production

Several real-life figures from the Civil Rights Movement had minor roles in the production, including then-Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson, King's sister Christine King Farris, his niece Alveda King, and his four children: Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter and Bernice. Donzaleigh Abernathy, Tony Bennett, Julian Bond and Ramsey Clark each portrayed themselves.

Reception

The miniseries earned nine Emmy Award nominations, including nominations for actors Paul Winfield, Cicely Tyson and Ossie Davis.

Though heavily promoted, the series met with controversy and was a huge ratings disappointment. The first installment was the lowest rated of all 64 prime time programs for the week of its debut.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Cast

• Paul Winfield as Martin Luther King Jr.
• Cicely Tyson as Coretta Scott King
• Tony Bennett as himself
• Roscoe Lee Browne as Phillip Harrison
• Lonny Chapman as Chief Frank Holloman
• Ossie Davis as Martin Luther King Sr.
• Cliff DeYoung as Robert F. Kennedy
• Al Freeman Jr. as Damon Lockwood
• Clu Gulager as William C. Sullivan
• Steven Hill as Stanley Levison
• William Jordan as John F. Kennedy
• Warren J. Kemmerling as Lyndon B. Johnson
• Lincoln Kilpatrick as Jerry Waring^[7]
• Kenneth McMillan as Theophilus E. "Bull" Connor
• Howard E. Rollins Jr. as Andrew Young
• David Spielberg as David Beamer
• Dolph Sweet as J. Edgar Hoover
• Dick Anthony Williams as Malcolm X
• Art Evans as A.D. King
• Frances Foster as Alberta Williams King
• Tony Holmes as Martin Luther King III
• Felecia Hunter as Yolanda King
• Roger Robinson as Fred Shuttlesworth
• Ernie Lee Banks as Ralph Abernathy
• Donzaleigh Abernathy as herself
• Alveda King as Babysitter
• Julian Bond as himself
• Ramsey Clark as himself
• Christine King Farris as Ferris Church Soloist
• Maynard Jackson as Wallace Whitmore
• Bernice King as Student
• Dexter Scott King as Student #2
• Martin Luther King III as Rev. Briggs
• Yolanda King as Rosa Parks

Annazette Chase was considered to portray Coretta Scott King.^[8]

Home media

The miniseries was released on DVD on January 11, 2005.

See also

• Civil rights movement in popular culture
• Notable film portrayals of Nobel laureates

References

1. (16 February 1978). ABC Tops in Ratings, Desert Sun
2. (20 April 1978). 'Holocaust' Sweeps TV Ratings, Santa Cruz Sentinel ("NBC suffered disastrous ratings on 'King'") (Associated Press story)
3. Fuller, Jennifer. Dangerous fictions: race, history, and King, in Cinema Journal (Vol 49, Issue 2) (Winter 2010)
4. Cameron, Chris (4 January 2015). King of (Media) Kings, African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS)
5. Winfrey, Carey (16 February 1978). $5 Million TV Documentary Show Is Regarded as a Rating Disaster, The New York Times, p. C19.
6. Wilkins, Roger (16 February 1978). Controversy on Film's Accuracy Flares Up Among Black Activists, The New York Times, p. C19.
7. Waring is a fictitious character. In real life, his actions as depicted in the miniseries were performed by C. T. Vivian.
8. Kleiner, Dick (3 May 1977). "Beauty a Handicap, Miss Raffin Finds". Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 25 April 2016.

External links

• King at IMDb