Tribute to Director Stan Lathan: Go Tell It on the Mountain
This program is presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Part of the UCLA Film & Television Archive screening series Archive Television Treasures. Learn more at cinema.ucla.edu.
In person: writer-director Reginald Hudlin, producer-director Stan Lathan, NYU Associate Professor Josslyn Luckett
In a trailblazing entertainment industry career spanning over half a century, producer-director Stan Lathan continues to leave an indelible creative mark. His groundbreaking work in television began with directing the PBS public affairs and documentary series Say Brother and Black Journal, which were produced to give voice to Black communities following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Later summoned by Redd Foxx to work on Sanford and Son as one of the few Black directors in primetime television, Lathan went on to helm episodes for a wide range of hit series, from Hill Street Blues to Roc. A formidable talent, he also directed numerous pilots that launched highly successful series, including Amen and Moesha.
In a career of milestones, following his theatrical feature Beat Street (1984), Lathan partnered with Russell Simmons to create Def Comedy Jam and Def Poetry Jam for HBO, the latter garnering the duo a Peabody Award. Among multiple Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards and too many other major awards to mention, Lathan was recognized with a CINE Golden Eagle and an American Film Festival Blue Ribbon for directing the American Playhouse telefilm Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985). In perhaps the highest accolade possible, cultural titan James Baldwin publicly pronounced his love of the TV adaptation of his seminal work.
Join us as we celebrate Stan Lathan with a screening of Go Tell It on the Mountain, introduced by NYU Associate Professor Josslyn Luckett.
American Playhouse: "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (1/14/1985)
Adapted from James Baldwin’s semi-autobiographical novel, this acclaimed television production won the approval of the author himself, with the literary and cultural giant telling the New York Times that he was “very, very happy about [the film] ... it did not betray the book.” Through flashbacks, award-winning director Stan Lathan powerfully interweaves painful family histories that inform the life of sensitive, burgeoning author John Grimes (James Bond III). Against the forces of religion, racism and poverty during the Great Depression, the 14-year-old Grimes begins a path of profound self-discovery and possibilities, impeded by his emotionally abusive, preacher step-father (Paul Winfield).
DCP. PBS. Production: Learning in Focus. Executive Producer: Robert Geller. Director: Stan Lathan. Adapted from the novel by James Baldwin. Writers: Gus Wallace, Leslie Lee. With: James Bond III, Paul Winfield, Alfre Woodward, Ving Rhames, Giancarlo Esposito, Olivia Cole, Rosiland Cash, CCH Pounder.
The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a division of UCLA Library, and presents its public programs in the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer, among other venues. For more information about the Archive, visit cinema.ucla.edu.
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