Leslie Uggams Movies

Jerry Herman is a singer and songwriter who rose to fame on the strength of several hit Broadway shows, launched at a time when the rise of rock and roll was leading many to doubt the future of the American musical theater. Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey to parents with a love of musical theater, Jerry Herman staged his first show while he was in college in 1955, and shortly after graduation he wrote music and lyrics for an off-Broadway show that ran two years. But it was 1964's blockbuster hit Hello Dolly that made Herman a big name on Broadway, and his next show, Mame, was nearly as successful. While many of Herman's subsequent shows were critical successes, they failed to enjoy the same level of success, and the film versions of both Hello Dolly and Mame failed to capture the magic of the stage versions. But Herman enjoyed a surprise comeback with 1983's La Cage Aux Folles, and today he's regarded as one of the last great figures of Broadway's golden age. Filmmaker Amber Edwards pays homage to Herman and his songs with Words and Music by Jerry Herman, a documentary which features performances of some of Herman's best known songs along with stories of his career in music. Among the interview subjects and performers are Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury, Leslie Uggams, Michael Feinstein, Charles Nelson Reilly, Fred Ebb, Marge Champion and many others. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Leslie Uggams guest stars as Kris Temple, beloved high school chum of Clair Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad). As Clair and Kris gigglingly recreate their salad days by swapping gossip, wearing wigs and bursting into song, their husbands Cliff (Bill Cosby) and Herb (Ron Foster) take advantage of their wives' preoccupation to gorge themselves on a scrumptious dessert menu. Elsewhere, Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam) tries to get around her parents' "no dates until you're thirteen" rule by claiming that she is going on a "group outing" with two girls and three boys. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this made-for-TV movie, a singer (Loni Anderson) travels to Chicago during the 1920s to seek revenge against the gangster who killed her boyfriend. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Based on the best-selling memoirs of Lillian Rogers Parks, the NBC miniseries Backstairs at the White House traces over five decades of American political history as witnessed from the vantage point of the servants' quarters. Played by Tania Johnson as a teenager and by Leslie Uggams as an adult, Lillian Rogers Parks served for 52 years as a maidservant at the White House. Though crippled early on with polio, Lillian diligently and loyally stuck to her duties -- and her own rock-solid set of principles and ideals -- through eight highly different Presidential administrations, often (and occasionally reluctantly) acting as friend and confidante to the First Lady of the moment. The large and stellar cast included a number of top-rank film and TV actors, obviously having the time of their lives impersonating such presidents as William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and their respective wives. Also in the cast were several African-American veterans from the landmark TV miniseries Roots. Earning 11 Emmy Award nominations, the nine-hour Backstairs at the White House was seen in five installments from January 29 to February 19, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this melodrama a mother tries to compensate for her feelings of inadequacy and failure as a parent to her own children by taking in a troubled foster child. As she struggles to make up for her past mistakes, her jealous daughters mistreat the girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

One of Hollywood's great directors, Vincente Minnelli, turns a jaundiced eye towards the film industry in this drama about the inner workings of the movie business. Jack Andrus (Kirk Douglas) is an actor whose career has gone into a tailspin along with his personal life; after a severe bout with alcoholism, a messy break-up with his wife, a life-threatening auto accident, and a nervous breakdown, Andrus has spent three years in a private mental hospital in Connecticut. Andrus is approached by Maurice Kruger (Edward G. Robinson), a noted filmmaker who worked many times with Andrus in the past, offering him a small role in his next picture, and with the blessings of his doctors, the actor flies to Rome to return to work. However, once he arrives, Andrus finds the project is in chaos -- his role has been recast, Kruger is constantly battling with producer Tucino (Mino Doro), leading man Davie Drew (George Hamilton) is squabbling with both %Kruger and his girlfriend Veronica (Daliah Lavi), and the female lead (Rosanna Schiaffino) can't recite her dialogue in English. With the shooting in shambles, Kruger asks Andrus to take over the dubbing work in hopes of bringing the film in on schedule, and against his better judgement Andrus agrees. As Andrus tries to rise to this new challenge -- made all the more trying by the arrival of his ex-wife Carlotta (Cyd Charisse) -- the production receives its biggest setback when Kruger suffers a heart attack after a bitter argument with his wife (Claire Trevor). Andrus takes over the direction of the picture, and proves a capable hand for the job, bringing in the project on time and on budget. However, Kruger expresses resentment rather than gratitude, claiming that Andrus is trying to put an end to his career. Two Weeks In Another Town was adapted from a novel by Irwin Shaw. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this violent low-budget outing, an African-American singer is kidnapped and forced to endure all sorts of torments and indignities at the hands of a white, psycho Southern family. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Two seniors at an elite Washington, D.C. prep school forge a close relationship on the lacrosse field, only to find their growing bond tested in this drama inspired by a study that indicates interracial friendships end at age 14 for approximately 87 percent of American teenagers. Fiercely determined to succeed and build a brighter future outside of Anacostia, Tosha (Sonequa Martin) is an African-American scholarship student from one of Washington's poorest neighborhoods. Perhaps Tosha's polar opposite, Jessie (Louisa Krause) is a privileged white girl from Bethesda whose promiscuous tendencies threaten to become her undoing. Though the relationship shared between the two girls is most certainly of the love/hate variety, they both strive to gain a better understanding of one another's plight as society threatens to drive them ever farther apart. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi