Moviemakers

Ralph Cooper

Bill Thompson

In 1935, a young actor, screenwriter, and dancer had an idea.

He started a weekly amateur night competition at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, in New York City. And before long, Ralph Cooper and his amateur night at the Apollo became a major influence in Black Entertainment.

Over the next five decades, Cooper’s amateur night made hundreds of previously unknown performers into Stars.

I met Ralph Cooper in 1991, when he wrote A Memoir of his many years at the Apollo.

So here now, from 1991, Ralph Cooper.

Ralph Cooper died in 1992, at the age of 84.

Robert Evans

Bill Thompson

As a Young Man, Robert Evans wasn’t even in Show Business.

Photo: Angela George

Then one day, just like something out of a storybook, actress Norma Shearer spot of him and thought he would be great to be in a movie.

The rest, as they say, well,…

From an acting career, Evans became a movie producer. And in the 60s and 70s some of his movies are now Classics. Movies like Rosemary’s Baby, Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown.

But a drug-related conviction in 1980 was a major setback to Evans, and he never came back to his former glory. His last movie in 2003 was How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

In 1994, Evans wrote A Memoir, a book he had always thought about writing, and that’s when I met him.

And even if you somehow don’t find his stories interesting, I guarantee you’ll be mesmerised by this man’s magnificent voice.

So here now, from 1994, Robert Evans

Robert Evans died in 2019. He was 89.

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