The Story of Oscar Brown Jr.
Documentary & History
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CC - Closed Caption
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Denver filmmaker donnie l. betts' documentary focuses on Chicago native Oscar Brown Jr.'s work as a writer and performer for over a half a century. Starting at the tender age of 15 he was a radio performer with the network series "Secret City." He also was a key player in Richard Durham's "Destination Freedom: Black Radio Days" series from 1948-1950. Brown's musical explorations included sharing the bill with such greats as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderly. His one man show Oscar Brown Jr. Entertains led one critic to hail him as "a musical genius." In 1967, he produced the musical Opportunity Please Knock in conjunction with a huge youth gang known as the Blackstone Rangers, and gained national recognition when gang members appeared on the Smothers Brothers CBS television show. He also hosted the popular PBS television show FROM JUMP STREET - THE STORY OF BLACK MUSIC. For more information, visit www.musicismylife.info.
