The Poor Chef Magazine

The Poor Chef Magazine

Bill Duke: A Filmmaker in the Business of Edutainment By: Laurie Lesser At first sight you may see Bill Duke and say, oh yea him! That’s right because he has spent much more time behind the camera in the last twenty years than in front of it. At second sight you may be arrested, a bit, by his size and skin tight shaven head; things like intimidating or an imposing African American Actor have been written about him. But when you look closer into his huge dark, warm eyes and his great big smile, when you know what his life is about, words more like calm, equanimity or humanitarian come to mind. And then when you speak to him and hear the sound of his voice, all slow and easy, you may be aware that you are in the presence of a deeply caring, gentle man. Although you may know Duke from his acting roles over the years, we may not connect the face in front of the camera with the name of the man who early in his career directed such films as A Rage In Harlem, starring Danny Glover, Forest Whitaker and Gregory Hines, about gangsters and Harlem, and love in its most pure expression; or Band Of Angels, set in post civil war time in the south, which traces the history of the Fisk University Jubilee Singers from their roots as a struggling opera company to their early success as gospel and spiritual singers. Now many years later and still behind the camera, Duke is in the development stages of Not Equally Broken, a book, by Bishop T.D. Jakes, the beloved pastor who started out in West Virginia with ten members in his church, and is now a celebrity, often mentioned by Dr. Phil whose public adoration for him is well known. This, Duke says, Is a powerful story of destruction and restoration. It offers insights into issues, many relationships face. Duke is also working on a project for HBO about the music scene in Detroit in the 1960’s, focusing on the rival between American Bandstand and Soul Train. Yes indeed Bill Duke is a big man, but not just in stature. He has grown, along with his films, more and more socially conscious through the years, as he has taken the responsibility of telling accurate stories more and more seriously. In the film Cover his commitment to taking personal responsibility hit the ground running as he tackled the subject of AIDS. This film was inspired by the heartache he experienced after hearing that his god daughter had been diagnosed with the disease. It was a hard dose of reality that was important for him to share. At that time, both Duke and his goddaughter were shocked to find out that her significant other of 14 years had been sleeping with other men on the down low. Duke said, It inspired me to research the growing phenomenon of men in so called monogamous relationships who are spending every possible moment sleeping with men on the low down. Cover, Duke, stresses, does not condemn anyone’s sexual behavior, it emphasizes responsibility. No matter what your preference, you have an obligation to your partner." So whether prompted by a personal tragedy, a cultural phenomenon, or historical facts that have not been properly told, Duke feels strong about the social issues in his films; he researches each one thoroughly and then takes the information he has gathered, builds a film around it, and informs us, the viewers, without judging us. He says he’s in the edutainment business. The awards and honors he has received, for staying true to his vision, have been numerous; in fact he was appointed to the National Endowment of the Humanities by former president Bill Clinton. Duke speaks passionately about his desire to give back to the community, and this takes crystal clear shape through Educating Young Minds, his non-profit learning center that has been helping inner-city school children, ages 5-18 excel at school and at life since 1987. The program targets students who are considered under-represented or at high risk in our society, and encourages them to grow academically, emotionally and socially. It provides one teacher for every five children instead of one teacher for every 35 kids, as in most public schools. To date is has served over 2,000 students and their families. Also, for over ten years he has given his time to the American Black Film Festival, held in Los Angeles, each October. Duke was born February 26, 1943, and says, Yes, there’s always more to do. Even though he is already a successful actor, producer, director, screenwriter, television writer, teacher, poet, and the first in his family to graduate from college, he would also like to own his own media company and the rights to all his own films going forward. He is happy and grateful to have made the films he has so far, because he says, I got to tell stories I believed in, stories that had some social significance. On his website, where he encourages social and cultural discussions of all kinds, he writes, I remain a simple man who has more questions than answers. Please join me as I seek to turn that tide. Yes indeed Bill Duke is a big man! He loves to eat and to cook; so much so that these days he’s mostly in the kitchen making fruit shakes and salads, on track to lose forty pounds. His favorite inexpensive restaurant is Bollywood in L.A., where he lives, however at the end of our interview, sounding nothing like a man from Bollywood or Hollywood, in his slow and easy way, he said, Thanks for thinking of me. God Bless! God Bless to you too Bill Duke! Thank you so much for informing us without judging us!
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bill duke picture Bill Duke:
A Filmmaker in the Business of Edutainment

By: Laurie Lesser

At first sight you may see Bill Duke and say, oh yea him! That’s right because he has spent much more time behind the camera in the last twenty years than in front of it. At second sight you may be arrested, a bit, by his size and skin tight shaven head; things like intimidating or an imposing African American Actor have been written about him. But when you look closer into his huge dark, warm eyes and his great big smile, when you know what his life is about, words more like calm, equanimity or humanitarian come to mind. And then when you speak to him and hear the sound of his voice, all slow and easy, you may be aware that you are in the presence of a deeply caring, gentle man.

Although you may know Duke from his acting roles over the years, we may not connect the face in front of the camera with the name of the man who early in his career directed such films as A Rage In Harlem, starring Danny Glover, Forest Whitaker and Gregory Hines, about gangsters and Harlem, and love in its most pure expression; or Band Of Angels, set in post civil war time in the south, which traces the history of the Fisk University Jubilee Singers from their roots as a struggling opera company to their early success as gospel and spiritual singers.

Now many years later and still behind the camera, Duke is in the development stages of Not Equally Broken, a book, by Bishop T.D. Jakes, the beloved pastor who started out in West Virginia with ten members in his church, and is now a celebrity, often mentioned by Dr. Phil whose public adoration for him is well known. This, Duke says, Is a powerful story of destruction and restoration. It offers insights into issues, many relationships face. Duke is also working on a project for HBO about the music scene in Detroit in the 1960’s, focusing on the rival between American Bandstand and Soul Train.
Yes indeed Bill Duke is a big man, but not just in stature. He has grown, along with his films, more and more socially conscious through the years, as he has taken the responsibility of telling accurate stories more and more seriously.

In the film Cover his commitment to taking personal responsibility hit the ground running as he tackled the subject of AIDS. This film was inspired by the heartache he experienced after hearing that his god daughter had been diagnosed with the disease. It was a hard dose of reality that was important for him to share. At that time, both Duke and his goddaughter were shocked to find out that her significant other of 14 years had been sleeping with other men on the down low.

Duke said, It inspired me to research the growing phenomenon of men in so called monogamous relationships who are spending every possible moment sleeping with men on the low down.
Cover, Duke, stresses, does not condemn anyone’s sexual behavior, it emphasizes responsibility. No matter what your preference, you have an obligation to your partner."
So whether prompted by a personal tragedy, a cultural phenomenon, or historical facts that have not been properly told, Duke feels strong about the social issues in his films; he researches each one thoroughly and then takes the information he has gathered, builds a film around it, and informs us, the viewers, without judging us.

He says he’s in the edutainment business. The awards and honors he has received, for staying true to his vision, have been numerous; in fact he was appointed to the National Endowment of the Humanities by former president Bill Clinton. Duke speaks passionately about his desire to give back to the community, and this takes crystal clear shape through Educating Young Minds, his non-profit learning center that has been helping inner-city school children, ages 5-18 excel at school and at life since 1987. The program targets students who are considered under-represented or at high risk in our society, and encourages them to grow academically, emotionally and socially. It provides one teacher for every five children instead of one teacher for every 35 kids, as in most public schools. To date is has served over 2,000 students and their families. Also, for over ten years he has given his time to the American Black Film Festival, held in Los Angeles, each October.

Duke was born February 26, 1943, and says, Yes, there’s always more to do. Even though he is already a successful actor, producer, director, screenwriter, television writer, teacher, poet, and the first in his family to graduate from college, he would also like to own his own media company and the rights to all his own films going forward. He is happy and grateful to have made the films he has so far, because he says, I got to tell stories I believed in, stories that had some social significance.

On his website, where he encourages social and cultural discussions of all kinds, he writes, I remain a simple man who has more questions than answers. Please join me as I seek to turn that tide. Yes indeed Bill Duke is a big man! He loves to eat and to cook; so much so that these days he’s mostly in the kitchen making fruit shakes and salads, on track to lose forty pounds. His favorite inexpensive restaurant is Bollywood in L.A., where he lives, however at the end of our interview, sounding nothing like a man from Bollywood or Hollywood, in his slow and easy way, he said, Thanks for thinking of me. God Bless!

God Bless to you too Bill Duke! Thank you so much for informing us without judging us!