Quincy Jones Movies

The biggest surprise surrounding The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's obligatory "It's a Wonderful Life" parody is that the episode was NOT originally telecast at Christmastime. Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) is shocked when Will (Will Smith) is accepted at Princeton University--and he himself is not! Actually, it has nothing to do with Carlton's qualifications, but with his misguided effort to imitate Will in front of the Princeton recruiter. Even so, Carlton is angry, so much so that he ends up getting suspended from high school. Convinced that the world would be better off if he'd never been born, Carleton is convinced otherwise by the timely arrival of his guardian angel---played by singer Tom Jones (Another "Jones", Quincy by name, appears as himself). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The extraordinary life of Quincy Jones -- one of the 20th century's most influential and talented composers, musicians and music producers -- provides the basis of this offbeat, free-form documentary tribute. With little regard for formal timelines and traditional documentary biography methods, the film is an amazing patchwork of personal insights featuring a constellation of music stars including his long-time friend Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Herbie Hancock, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie and rappers Big Daddy Kane and Flavor Flav, as well as politicians, filmmakers and other important people. Some of the most moving scenes involve Jones returning to his childhood home in Chicago and recounting honest and painful memories from his childhood. Jones does not shy from discussing everything -- from his mother's mental illness, to his marital problems, to his serious health conditions. He also looks frankly at his career. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single one hour special), Will (Will Smith) and the Banks family continue shopping at the mall in preparation for a Halloween party. Along the way, Will and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) compete for the attentions of a toothsome lass named Melinda (Paris Vaughn), with Will trying to impress the girl by listing all the "celebrities" he's met in his lifetime (most of whom appear as themselves in a highly fanciful series of flashbacks). Meanwhile, Vivian (Janet Hubert-Whitten) enjoys a brief moment in the spotlight as a mall singer; gadget-happy Philip (James Avery) threatens to buy out an entire electronics store; and Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali) is falsely accused of shoplifting. Things come full circle when Melinda shows up for the party--along with two unexpected "guests." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 1990 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Quincy Jones , who also serves as the musical guest. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide

Writer-director Richard Brooks' final film features a weak script and poor acting but high energy direction in a tale of compulsive gambling in Las Vegas. Ryan O'Neal stars as Taggart, a sports reporter obsessed with gambling. As Taggart gets deeper and deeper into debt, he compounds his problems with assorted loansharks and gambling operators. Taggart has already lost his wife because of his compulsive gambling, but he takes up with big-timer Charley (Giancarlo Giannini), hoping to make a killing and settle the score. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Initially influenced by the jazz stylings of, among others, crooner Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) developed his own distinct sound and style. This video offers a view from inside the recording booth as "Old Blue Eyes" lays down some tracks. Viewers get to see "The Chairman of the Board" perform renditions of "The Best of Everything," "Until the Real Thing Comes Along," "It's All Right With Me," "How Do You Keep the Music Playing," "A Hundred Years From Today," "After You've Gone," "Teach Me Tonight," "If I Should Lose You," "Stormy Weather," "Mack the Knife," and "L.A. Is My Lady."- ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide

This routine film should have been called the "rock singer's husband" because it is about the life of a baseball player affected by his love for a singer. Darryl Palmer (Michael O'Keefe) plays for the Atlanta Braves, and when he walks into a nightclub and sees an attractive woman singing (Rebecca DeMornay), he pulls up to home plate and is anxious to meet her. From then on, his persistence in courting her is unstoppable in spite of several unhappy setbacks, and finally their romance makes it to first base when she realizes she loves him too, and they are married. From that point onward, his career starts to soar, while her career begins to slide in the opposite direction. In fact, she has given up her job to go live with him on his home turf, and the sacrifice, in the end, proves to be too much. A separation is inevitable, and while he still has his teammates (Randy Quaid, Cleavant Derricks), he would rather have his wife back. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Sidney Lumet's The Wiz is the film version of the popular Broadway musical that retells the events of L. Frank Baum's classic novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz through the eyes of a young African-American kindergarten teacher who's "never been below 125th Street." Leaving a large family dinner to chase her dog into a snowstorm, Dorothy (Diana Ross) is swept up by a cyclone and transplanted to the land of Oz -- which looks suspiciously like a skewed version of the run-down Manhattan of the late '70s. Landing on top of the Wicked Witch of the East, the puzzled Dorothy is greeted by munchkins who peel themselves from a graffiti mural and sing to her about the Wiz (Richard Pryor), a powerful wizard living in Emerald City who can help her get home. On her journey down the yellow brick road, she encounters a garbage-stuffed scarecrow (Michael Jackson) in a junkyard, a broken-down tin man (Nipsey Russell) caught in the decay of an old amusement park, and a cowardly lion (Ted Ross) posing as a stone statue outside a museum. The quartet tangles with a subway station that comes to life, a poppy den, and a gaggle of motorcycle henchman on their way to the Wiz -- who orders them to kill the Wicked Witch of the West (a sweatshop tyrant) before he will grant them their wishes. The Wiz has about double the large-scale production numbers of The Wizard of Oz (1939), with songs written and composed by Charlie Smalls. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Season six of Sanford and Son was launched on September 24, 1976, with the series' only two-part episode -- and also one of its funniest -- "The Hawaiian Connection," largely filmed on location in Honolulu and its environs. Then it was back to South Central Los Angeles, where irascible Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) and his long-suffering son Lamont (Demond Wilson) divided their time between their junk business and their new enterprise, a boarding house called the Sanford Arms. Most of the series' familiar recurring characters were still in attendance. LaWanda Page continued to wield her heavy purse and spout Scripture as Fred's contentious sister-in-law Aunt Esther, with Raymond Allen occasionally showing up as Esther's mild-mannered husband, Woodrow, and Eric Laneuville making a handful of appearances as Esther and Woody's newly-adopted son Daniel. Fred Sanford persisted in his romantic relationship with his erstwhile fiancée, nurse Donna Harris (Lynn Hamilton), while son Lamont made preparations to wed the widowed Janet Lawson (Marlene Clark) and adopt Janet's son Roger (Edward Crawford). Additionally, the Sanfords played host to a variety of male chums, among them Bubba (Don Bexley), Rollo (Nathaniel Taylor), and, from time to time, Grady Wilson (Whitman Mayo, whose own spin-off series Grady had recently been canceled). Absent from the proceedings were neighborhood cops Smitty and Hoppy, previously played respectively by Hal Williams and Howard Platt. At the end of season six, it would seem that Lamont was headed to the altar, while Fred would continue maintenance of both Sanford and Son Salvage and the Sanford Arms. Though its ratings had slipped a bit, Sanford and Son still enjoyed a robust prime-time viewership, and was now being seen in rerun form as part of NBC's weekday schedule. Its future as a Friday-night fixture appeared to be completely secure. But appearances can be deceiving. Having been offered his own weekly ABC variety show, Redd Foxx opted to leave Sanford and Son for good and all. The series' producers were all prepared to continue the property under the new title The Sanford Arms, with Demond Wilson promoted to top billing. Unfortunately, Wilson squabbled over what he felt was inadequate financial remuneration for taking over as sole series star, and also took a walk. After the final nighttime telecast of Sanford and Son on September 2, 1977, The Sanford Arms was launched as scheduled on September 16. Many of the old Sanford regulars -- LaWanda Page, Whitman Mayo, Raymond Allen -- were still on board, but without the combined star power of Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson, this "new" series floundered and sank within four weeks of its premiere. Three years later, Redd Foxx tried to make the magic happen again with the "revival" project Sanford, with only Foxx and Nathaniel Taylor (Rollo) repeating their roles from the original series. Alas, audiences were unable to shake their pleasant memories of the old Sanford and Son, and Sanford was quietly terminated after a single season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season four of Sanford and Son was ushered in on Friday, September 13, 1974, with wonderful news for longtime fans of the series: after a well-publicized volley of recriminations between star Redd Foxx and the series' producers over Foxx's numerous (and somewhat bizarre) contractual demands, the actor was back to stay in the role of irascible Los Angeles junk dealer Fred Sanford. Before long, it was "business as usual," with Fred ruling the roost over his backyard junk business and his long-suffering son Lamont seeking out better means of making a living. Likewise, Fred resumed his ongoing war of words with his Bible-quoting, purse-swinging sister-in-law Esther (LaWanda Page), and his hot-and-cold engagement to nurse Donna Harris (Lynn Hamilton). Having more or less replaced Fred as head of the Sanford household during the waning months of season three, Whitman Mayo was back as Fred's oldest friend Grady Wilson, though by the end of season four Mayo would himself temporarily exit the series to star in his own spin-off sitcom, the short-lived Grady. Other regulars returning to the Sanford fold during the 1974-1975 season were Hal Williams and Howard Platt as police officers Smitty and Hoppy, Don Bexley as Fred's shifty pal Bubba, Nathaniel Taylor as Lamont's crony Rollo, and Gregory Sierra as rival junk dealer Julio Fuentes. Only one character of significance joined the series during this season: Pat Morita as Japanese-American restauranteur Ah Chew. The return of Redd Foxx performed wonders for Sanford and Son's ratings. Ranked third among America's most popular series during season three, the program was restored to the coveted "Number Two" spot during season four. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This concert documentary chronicles the many acts that appeared during Jesse Jackon's Operation PUSH exposition held in 1972 in Chicago. Featured concert performers include Marvin Gaye singing "What's Going On," The Temptations with "Papa Was a Rolling Stone, " and Bill Withers performing "Lean on Me." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide