Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 232
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-5381-0555-9 • Hardback • November 2018 • $24.95 • (£18.99)
978-1-5381-0556-6 • eBook • November 2018 • $23.99 • (£17.99)
Bill Duke is an actor, director, producer, and humanitarian who has more than sixty films and television shows to his credits. His directing credits include A Rage in Harlem, Deep Cover, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, and Hoodlum, as well as episodes of Dallas, Knots Landing, Hill Street Blues, and Miami Vice. His acting credits include Bird on a Wire, Commando, Menace II Society, Predator, Payback, X-Men: The Last Stand, and several television shows, including Law and Order: SVU. He is the president of Duke Media Entertainment, a production company that produces films and television shows, and head of the Duke Media Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to train and empower underserved and gifted high school students in the disciplines of media literacy and financial literacy.
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Prologue
Introduction
CHILDHOOD
Chapter One: Wyatt Jones Beer Garden
Chapter Two: Little Black Sambo
Chapter Three: Understanding Hate
A GROWING MIND
Chapter Four: Finding the Skips
Chapter Five: Poetic License
Chapter Six: The Awakening
Chapter Seven: Higher Learning
Chapter Eight: A Tumultuous Time
SUCCESS AND FAILURE
Chapter Nine: The Death of Courage
Chapter Ten: Inspirations and Aspirations
Chapter Eleven: A Pool of Regret
Chapter Twelve: Meditation
MY CAREER
Chapter Thirteen: Acting Out
Chapter Fourteen: Directing Hollywood
NO CONCLUSIONS
Chapter Fifteen: The Rainbow Bridge
Chapter Sixteen: Now What?
Epilogue
Index
About the Author
Actor and director Duke looks back on his life and career in film and television. . . . Duke doesn’t shy away from the internalized racism he battled and the challenges he faced in trying to form healthy romantic relationships in this memoir of resilience and talent.
— Booklist
“Bill Duke: My 40-Year Career on Screen and behind the Camera,” is the memoir of a Hollywood original. In an industry that rarely embraces artists of color, Duke first achieved success as an actor then turned to directing. After helming episodes of ratings giants “Dallas,” “Falcon Crest,” “Hill Street Blues,” and “Miami Vice,” Duke progressed to feature films like “A Rage in Harlem,” “Deep Cover,” “Hoodlum,” and “Sister Act 2.” In this candid autobiography, Duke recalls the loving but stern presence of his mother and father, acting mentors like Olympia Dukakis, and the pitfalls that nearly derailed his career, notably an addiction to drugs. Along the way, readers will encounter familiar names like Danny Glover, Laurence Fishburne, Forest Whitaker, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Whoopi Goldberg. From his Broadway debut in 1971 to the establishment of the Duke Media Foundation, which trains and mentors young filmmakers, Duke has been breaking the rules of what it means to triumph in the entertainment industry. Recalling pivotal moments in his life, “Bill Duke: My 40-Year Career on Screen and behind the Camera” is the story only Bill Duke could tell.
— The Chicago Crusader
As an actor and director, Bill Duke has been breaking down racial barriers since the 1970s. In blockbuster movies and hit TV shows, he has channeled his personal struggles into professional triumphs that helped pave the way for a new generation. His story is an important and inspirational reminder that change can and must happen in Hollywood as well as Washington.
— April Ryan, White House Correspondent-American Urban Radio Networks; CNN Analyst; author
Working with the great Bill Duke was one off the most sublime pleasures of my creative adventure. Bill is a consummate actor’s director and collaborating with him and Laurence Fishburne and the wonderful cast was wildly delicious. What a giant talent - deeply gifted, authentic, focused, free, uniquely inspirational, powerfully wise - I’m so proud to have been part of Deep Cover and enormously grateful for our friendship.
— Jeff Goldblum, actor
Rarely does someone get to work with the level of giftedness that Bill Duke exudes. His creativity and versatility is exemplified in the massive body of work he’s done. It was a pleasure to work with him on Not Easily Broken. His autobiography is destined to be invaluable to those seeking to unlock and enhance their own potentials and learn from his experiences!
— T.D. Jakes, C.E.O. TDJ Enterprises, LLP