Carson: The whole process of it was very organic and collaborative. Kim Fields says she has a development deal with Lifetime and just directed an episode of Insecure, which featured Alexander acting in KevYn, the Insecure Season 3 show-within-a-show that harkens back to Living Single. Its a transcending chemistry. The comedian said his memory after that is vague, but he found out he crashed into another car, and the only reason the actor is alive is that he put on his seat belt with his last shred of sanity. So we knew we had something special, but just to be, just constantly still on TV for 25 years? He has also guest-starred on such shows as Nashville, Black Lightning, Star, and Last Call, and had roles in the films Hunther (2022) and Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (2023). Two years into his stint on that show, Henton was in a serious car accident that required significant reconstructive surgery to his face yet Henton was only away from the set for six weeks before he was back to work. His vision for the show is crystal clear and my job is to just not get in the way. Carson: [Hair] was talked about when I first got hired. lists Login Alexander: T.C. When we were filming that, you could feel the anticipation in the warehouse, in the studio. Kyle was initially Overton's roommate, and in a lot of ways, the two were complete opposites. See our privacy policy. Queen and the whole cast had been doing the show, obviously, for a while and had more on-camera experience than I did, so what was really great is that from the very beginning, I felt like they welcomed me in and made me feel like a part [of the family]. All Rights Reserved. . As per his personal life, he has a daughter, Nicole, with actress Michelle Delaney. It was fun and it was easy. Photo: Leon Bennett / Stringer (Getty Images) . There was a time, back in 2017, when a reboot of Living Single produced by Queen Latifah was announced. The most active he seems to be in the public sphere is via his Instagram account, but he largely uses that to post pictures and inspirational messages while sharing very little in the way of personal details. A childhood friend of Khadijah's (Queen Latifah), Scooter shows up in her life again when his music producer career and her journalist job bring them into each other's orbits. "Friends" might never have existed without "Living Single,", focusing most of her attention on directing, first appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", main or recurring cast member on multiple shows, ramped up her time in the director's chair, career as a life coach and motivational speaker, first female rapper to be nominated for an Academy Award, first rapper to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fans immensely loved his character, and he earned an Image Award . It was there from inception. because I knew they were gonna put [Coles] in a sundress, they were gonna put [Latifah] in shorts and, you know, the Hawaiian shirt, that sorta thing, [Alexander] could easily rock a bikini, and I was like, [Sings] Aaaand what about Kimmy? I had a totally different person in my head, I had a totally different visual in my head, because I didnt really know that Erika was that funny, even though she had done The Cosby Show. Alexander: Kim Fields was the biggest freakout for me, because Id grown up watching her in [The] Facts of Life. Since its sudden cancellation in 1998, the Living Single cast has gone on to lead some impressive careers, which we will take a deeper look at here, starting with hip-hops First Lady.. I just dont know that its gonna happen. Lee Bowser was more direct: There is no reboot without Khadijah and Max. Through a representative, Queen Latifah declined to comment, but Alexander expressed measured misgivings. was probably the most influential in his style, and Ceci was open to it. So it was almost like I was Cecis paper doll, and again that made it really fun, going to the wardrobe fittings every week to see all that she had pulled, even with the wigs, too. Im from Arizona, so I came in looking like I just hitchhiked there. After "Living Single" ended, Henton would immediately move on to the main cast of another successful sitcom, "The Hughleys." But what have they all been up to in the years since the series ended? Although The Hughleys perfectly showcased Hentons star power, one cannot forget where he began. Expect the unexpected from us. I really did not know what a tremendous actor she was, both comedically and dramatically. The series followed the lives of six friends living in a Brooklyn brownstone and featuredQueen Latifah, Coles, Erika Alexander, Kim Fields, John Henton and T.C. The actress' dive into reality continued as she competed in season 22 of Dancing With the Stars in 2016, finishing in 8th place. And Im like, Im for that, but Im not gonna diss men. Youre not competing with them, youre having a dialogue. I had a very low fade, and when I finished I had just enough for my hairdresser, Debra Hare-Bey of Red Salon [now OMhh Beauty Oasis] in Brooklyn, to catch it. The ageless beauty has one of the most positive streams of thoughts you can find online. I turned those lemons into lemonade. "She really is someone who jumps into everything with excellence and jumps into everything, as I said before,with knowing fully who she is," Coles added. To not be afraid to show somebody sleeping with a headscarf on. I wish more men dressed like that these days! To work with somebody who was already well-defined and had built a brand and had been a trailblazer was really exciting. I mean, shes based a lot on me. She wasnt just about a suit or working at Flavor. Twenty-five years later, The Atlantic caught up with some of the shows cast and crew members to talk about how they did it and why that still matters. Williams' most notable characters also include Wyatt Mathewson, the hitman from the popular series Prison Break, and Tucker Jones, Miranda Bailey's first husband on Grey's Anatomy. A lot of times, African Americans are portrayed in one light and we dont get to show the rainbow. She would always have the hat and the gloves and the jewelry. The casts rapport was dynamic, but Living Single also presented audiences with six distinct personalitiesto love, root for, disagree with, roll their eyes at, and laugh alongside. Being the actor who played Khadijah's love interest (a notable music producer), Cress Williams is also well known for his participation in the era-defining Beverly Hills, 90210 as D'Shawn Hadell. [Henton is] a gentleman and I never once felt weird with him. I was so young and so nave and so eager, that I just took my role in the casting process to the next level. Kim was really boring, making a big deal about not wanting to be away from her children during one of the RHOA trips. But I didnt think at the time, Oh snap, this is gonna be iconic. In true sitcom fashion, the two do officially become a couple by the end of the series after several false starts and apparent dead ends. It was and remains an impressive feat. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. So to work with someone who was so known and so proficient at what she did, so excellentactually, to be honest, I was a little intimidated because I thought, Shes Queen Latifah. Shaun Baker, who played Russell, did just fine though. And she said, I dont know. A sense of pride, that were not a monolith. The mix of class was definitely intentional, because were not a monolith and we also, at the time, didnt have that many depictions of us. Before "Living Single," John Henton was a stand-up comedian who got mainstream exposure after his first appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1991. If he was like, Nah, nah just give me some jeans and a T-shirt, it would not have been as interesting. Unlike Will Smith, who was an unknown quantity as an actor when he first started on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," rapper Queen Latifah had already been showcasing her acting talents prior to "Living Single." Hello Kim i just wanted to say hello and i think your a princess cut diamond. Ceci: What I liked about [Khadijah] was she was still like, keepin it real. With Kim Coles, Erika Alexander, Terrence 'T.C.' Carson, John Henton. At the end of every season I would be like, Oh my god, I cannot believe that I was able to buy for every, likebecause a lot of times, these episodes had five [wardrobe] changes for Queen Latifah, six changes for Kim Coles, she said. Those were all things that were, again, very structured. Lee Bowser noted that some of the inspiration, once again, came from her own life: Im married to the guy that is the inspiration for Kyle. And his Africanness, I dont think they were looking for that, but I thought it was really important to show how someone could be on Wall Street but still connected to their heritage and still infuse how they lived and dressed with their heritage and still make it work in todays world. In 2005, he began two of his most famous recurring voice roles: Mace Winduin various"StarWars"titlesand Kratos from"God of War." Lee Bowser: I developed a rapport with one of the development executives at Warner Bros., a guy named David Janollari, whos still a dear friend. That cast, we had more funyou know, people would always say, Boy, looked like yall was having a good time making it. You can also catch in Star on the Fox network. So I knew about hard work. Thats my recurring theme. Carson: There was a love [Kyle] had for all the women on the show, all of his sisters that he really didI think the fact that Maxine challenged him the most was the thing that he liked. Synclaire is Khadijah's cousin, Regina is her childhood friend, and Max her best friend from college. I remember especially back then, I was tall but I had such a young-looking face. and I was like Oh my god, I love her. Advertisement. I was in New York. Regine was a great character if you loved clothes. One example of that would be when we were testing the Overton-Synclaire relationship and we brought in Shemar Moore, and he kissed Synclaire. Yvette Lee Bowser -- who has been involved with severaliconic Black series, includingA Different World,Half & HalfandDear White Peopleand the recentRun the World-- created and executive produced the series. It has to, right?". And I would spend so much time, like really a lot of time, picking out the right pocket square, the right shirt, the right suit, the right pinstripe, the right shoes, right everything. My whole life story just laid bare for the audience to pick apart and hopefully be amused. So I think it really set a beautiful tone to start a career as an African American. Along with fellow Fox series "Martin," it was among the first network sitcoms to focus primarily on agroup of Black professional twentysomething friends without some forced gimmick to tie the whole thing together. Over the course of its five-season run, Living Single followed the lives of six main characters, with a Brooklyn brownstone as their home and the shows primary backdrop. I cant walk worth beans on shoes, so thats where you get the walk. Jackson appeared in the film Deliver Us From Eva (2003) as well as the TV series The Parkersand The Division. Its neat, its not hanging all over the place, its neat, its not, so why not have it? Twenty-five years after its premiere, the cast and crew of Yvette Lee Bowsers iconic ensemble sitcom talk about the shows classic characters, memorable looks, and impact on how Hollywood tells black stories. 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He was really down for that. You may be thinking of the television show Friends, but the original idea was executed on Living Single on Fox television in 1993. "You know, being challenged and just telling a story that we can bring home to peoples houses, bringing it right into your living room and having people connect with it, see you on the streets and naming their kids after you.". Or, as Lee Bowser said, Being able to ensemble that cast was akin to catching lightning in a bottle.. I love men. Most recently, she has shifted focus to a career as a life coach and motivational speaker, primarily for entrepreneurs and people within the business world. I went up to Yvette and I asked her, I said, Where are the guys from? So I'm not surprised that she is graduating to iconic even this early in her career, I believe she's just getting started," theLiving Singlealum shared. And I think that has everything to do with how Maxine Shaw approached life. Her "Living Single" character was Max, the only of the core six characters to not live in one of the two apartments that the others all live in for much of the series. She was a veteran on there. Fields: That chemistry is beyond real. Ive got to have this, man. Coles: Yvette and I sat down, Latifah and I sat down. Born Dana Elaine Owens in New Jersey in 1970, Queen Latifahs groundbreaking emergence into the rap music scene in the late 1980s paved the way for her to be cast on Living Single, which would lead to a very successful movie career, including her Oscar-nominated role in Chicago from 2002. What theyre watching is very delicate, and again, it has nothing to do with even the words on paper. HEY KIM DID YOU REALLY DATE QUEEN LATIFAH ? Kim Coles AKA Synclaire Kim Coles has been keeping busy via social media and touring the country alongside her onscreen boo, John Henton, no disrespect to Ms. Cole's hubby. It was a revolutionizing concept for its time when six twenty-somethings black young adults were the focus of a comedy that dealt with every day problems in New York City. If you've been waiting for updates on a possible reunion of theLiving Singlecast, get in line! I would show up early for rehearsal, and thats all I can speak to. And so I got a chance to be involved in all of that. We were what is right now called working poordumpster diving, all thatamidst the first 11 years of my life in a hotel called Starlight [Pines], off Route 66. She brought a book (to read) for one of their "parties" that took place on a boat. It was a very tough way to go; I was born in the mountains of Arizona. Were really friends before Friends was friends. Coles: I got the chance to co-design [Synclaires] wedding dress. I used to look at movies with Gene Kelly and the woman that they would partner him with, and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and you wonder how they move almost in sync. Search for John Henton and Kim photos and over 100 million other current images and stock photos at IMAGO. My hairstyle was made out of knitting yarn. People just broke out laughing. Synclaire (Kim Coles) hasn't had a date in months, then a veterinarian (Thomas Mikal Ford) asks her out, and suddenly she has a social calendar along with another dogged admirer. Kim Coles. [Laughs.]. Luckily, we sat down with a couple stars of the show Kim Coles "Synclaire", TC Carso n "Kyle" and John Henton "Overton" to talk about where their characters would be in 2017 (You know it was a hilarious . Created by Byron Allen's Allen Media Group,theGrio Awardscelebrate excellence in film, music, comedy, television, sports, philanthropy, business, fashion, social justice, environmental justice, education and the cultural icons and innovators, whose many contributions positively impact America. So I was like, Whos this guy outta Chicago?! So I am a lover of people, I amIm not as naive as Synclaire was, I dont necessarily love animals, but my point of view is one of joy and love and laughter and positivity. She grew up without a dad, she is from the hood. That we are strong, we are determined, we have tenacity, but we are vulnerable as well.. Thats how I got into the fold. Five years of doing something is a long time. Putting his suit looks together was probably one of the more fun ensembles that I looked forward to doing because Im like a tie connoisseur, honey. and I was like, Really? He had a long plan. [Henton] took that very personally.. They were very, very protective of the characters, Lee Bowser said. I just landed this deal with Warner Bros. and Fox to develop a show with Kim Coles and Queen Latifah. We made our point with a lot of laughs. If we were athletes playing at the professional level, the best thing you can do is play loose and I think thats what we did. Thats my story. Teen Titans, and even the video game adaptation of Greys Anatomy from 2009. Having cut her teeth writing on shows like A Different World and Hangin With Mr. Cooper, Lee Bowser was ready for the chance to create a world that revolved around the kinds of black characters she knew best. When you go backstage and you see all the inner workings, the behind the scenes, the process, people either making the costumes and the sets, and getting the wigs and the makeupjust that entire processthats the part that was so magical to me as a kid. It was a very well-written episode. John Henton, who played Overton Wakefield Jones on the show, even survived a near-fatal car crash. I just think that thats the impact, and thats how the show got over there. My battle for Maxine. The 90s were kind to him, but in 2000, he got into an accident that almost ended his life. The rest of the cast was largely rounded out by stand-up comedians and others who were fairly new in their acting careers, save for one particular actor who had already been in the business for 20 years when "Living Single" debuted. John Henton, Overton in the show, booked the role of Milsap Morris in The Hughleys which aired from 1998 to 2002. Max is from a very different place than Khadijah is, but you believe that these two girls went to college together and became the truest, bluest friends, and are to this day. Getting six series-regular actorsand even more guest starsto mesh perfectly is no simple science. photos, And an honesty to a fault, because they were honest with each other, and yet the passion and the lust was there. And I can only speak for myself. Check out what the cast of Living Single is doing now. But Ceci, whos now doing wardrobe for Dear White People, the show helmed by Lee Bowser mentee Justin Simien, wrangled seasons worth of looks for characters of all different stylistic leanings and body types. Lee Bowser: Erika came in as part of the casting process and just blew us away. I love you! Post-Living Single, the actor starred on ABC's The Hughleys with D.L. So I would hope that people would take a sense of pride in who they are, and the culture and the people that they come from. Whoopi Goldberg, who was known for being funny and kind of flat. The 50 greatest TV and movie detectives of all time. Reggie Mckiver and Kim Coles were divorced in Aton Edwards and Kim Coles were divorced in 1 See So I'm gonna stay in a state of yes, it will happen one day. John Henton and Kim Coles on July 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images. She took on the role of Tess Shoemaker in Freeform's sci-fi drama Beyond. First of all, can we talk about how great everyone looks some 25 years later? When the show came to an end after five years, Henton was proud and pleased . Its absurd, the kente cloth sheet. Carson did have a bit of a reputation for bringing his distinct, Afrocentric flair to everything Kyle Barker did, said, andmost importantlywore. But we never went away. Queen Latifah and Kim Coles made talent-holding deals with Warner Bros. and their mandate was for the studio network to engage a black writer to create something for them. To take Max out of the show is to take me out of the show, and Id rather not do it. Help us build our profile of Kim Coles! Cookies help us deliver our Services. Living Single: The Reunion Show: Directed by Jay Silverman. Nobody expected that, but we knew we had something good and we knew that it would be memorable because of the crowd response that we got and we started getting the fan mail and people really liking what we did. It featured six African-American comedians and the story centered around four single ladies living in New York City. Dont miss to subscribe to our news feeds, kindly fill the form below. Henton had gone to a party to celebrate Halloween, and since it was his first summer off, he drank more than he should have. Playing Regine Hunter on Living Single saw the resurgence of Kim Fields sitcom stardom just five years after her stint as Dorothy Tootie Ramsey on The Facts of Life ended in 1988. sweet, dopey handyman Overton (John Henton) and suave womanizer Kyle (Terrence "T.C . And they felt like I could also bring that to the table. Carson is what most people will never experience, hes my comedic partner. Apr 19, 2019 07:45 P.M. John Henton, who played Obie Jones on "Living Single," survived a near-death crash that almost ended his life. Well, do you know what it costs to live in New York? And Id come up with what Id thought was a very good concept and my dear friend Rocky Carroll is who I was asking, Hey would you be the male counterpart? And she put in these new things she had created, literally just created, called Nu-Locs. And so thats when I knew that, wow, people were really resonating with this. My father used to take me as a little girl in elementary school to this lil tiny lil hole in the wall place downtown, California Tie Shop. Carson. Erika Alexander, Maxine Shaw: I was living in New York, Id just finished a series on ABC called Going to Extremes that didnt get picked up. Over 25 years ago, a determined 27-year-old writer named Yvette Denise Lee (now Yvette Lee Bowser) found herself with a rare, welcome opportunity: the chance to create a show around the comic legend Kim Coles and the rap phenom Queen Latifah. Delaney is 18 years his junior, and, since the comedian has not spoken about his relationship with her in recent times, they are very likely to have split already. The damage to his appearance was so terrible that surgeons couldnt recognize him. Williams: What I remember about the 90s is the cut of, likeactually I was on set just, I think it was actually just yesterday, because I was wearing a pair of pants that were a little tight, a little bit on the skinny side, and I was like, ugh, and my wardrobe guy was like, Yeah, but you look good in these.
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