
Richard Ward
Actor · 1915 – 1979 · Glenside, Pennsylvania, US
Richard Ward, (March 15, 1915 – July 1, 1979) was a gravel-voiced African American actor on the stage, television, and in films, from 1949 until his death. Though best known through his TV appearances late in life, both in sitcoms and police procedurals, Ward also had an extensive film resume and a distinguished stage career, one of the highlights of the latter being his portrayal of Willy Loman in the 1972 production of Death of a Salesman, staged in Baltimore's Center Stage (the first African American production of Arthur Miller's signature opus, produced with the playwright's blessing); Ward's own favorite among his theatrical vehicles was Ceremonies in Dark Old Men.
Movies20
Movie6.9ComedyAfter discovering he's not really black like the rest of his family, likable dimwit Navin Johnson sets off on a hilarious misadventure that takes him from rags to riches and back again. The slaphappy jerk strikes it rich, but life in the fast lane isn't all it's cracked up to be and, in the end, all that really matters to Johnson is his true love.
The Jerk
1979 · 933 votes
Movie7.1CrimeDramaThe new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
Brubaker
1980 · 530 votes
Movie6.6RomanceDramaWarren Maxwell, the owner of a run-down plantation, pressures his son, Hammond, to marry and produce an heir to inherit the plantation. Hammond settles on his own cousin, Blanche, but purchases a sex slave when he returns from the honeymoon. He also buys his father a new Mandingo slave named Mede to breed and train as a prize-fighter.
Mandingo
1975 · 164 votes
Movie7.4DramaRomanceRailroad laborer Duff Anderson struggles to maintain his dignity and marriage to a preacher's daughter in the racially segregated South.
Nothing But a Man
1964 · 39 votes
Movie5.8ComedyHenrietta Robbins borrows money from a loan shark to finance her husband's investment in the stock market. However, when their stock plummets, she scrambles to find a way to pay the money back.
For Pete's Sake
1974 · 26 votes
Movie6.9ActionCrimeA young couple in a car exactly like Starsky's is killed by hitmen and word is out on the street that there's a contract out on Starsky and Hutch. This is a TV-pilot that was an ABC Movie of the Week and later turned into the TV-series.
Starsky & Hutch
1975 · 14 votes
Movie6.7CrimeDramaIn a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?
Across 110th Street
1972 · 142 votes
Movie6.3CrimeActionA kid from the neighborhood goes to work for the Mafia as a collector.
Family Enforcer
1976 · 20 votes
Movie6.3ActionComedyTwo disillusioned New York policemen plan a $10 million robbery to fuel their low pensions, only to run into one debacle after another in the process.
Cops and Robbers
1973 · 22 votes
Movie6.8DramaThrillerA policeman devises an unorthodox plan for bringing criminals to justice after his partner is brutally gunned down.
Contract on Cherry Street
1977 · 4 votes
Movie6.5DramaScience FictionAn enigmatic man returns to his Alabama hometown as his sister is dying of cancer and incites the suspicion of notable town officials.
Brother John
1971 · 16 votes
Movie7.0CrimeTV MovieTwo policemen are suspected of excessive violence and causing two deaths. The investigation brings to light, little by little, the whole truth.
Police Story: No Margin for Error
1978 · 1 votes
Movie6.8DramaThe story, set in Kansas during the 1920's, covers less than a year in the life of a black teenager, and documents the veritable deluge of events which force him into sudden manhood. The family relationships and enmities, the fears, frustrations and ambitions of the black teenager in small-town America are explored with a strong statement about human values.
The Learning Tree
1969 · 26 votes
Movie6.0DramaThis 1977 drama by Phillip Hayes Dean, deals with the sad division between what a man hopes for and what he achieves. In the title role, Dick Anthony Williams portrays a naïve, ambitious, recklessly optimistic man who is not understood by those closest to him and who finds himself in difficulty because of his unrealistic hopes.
Freeman
1977 · 2 votes
Movie6.2DramaBlack Like Me is the true account of journalist and author John Griffin's experiences when he passed as a black man.
Black Like Me
1964 · 12 votes
Movie10.0DramaTV MovieAfter moving to Chicago from the South just as the civil rights movement takes hold, the members of an African American family led by steely matriarch Weedy Warren have different reactions to the social upheaval surrounding them.
Sty of the Blind Pig
1974 · 1 votes
Movie5.5DramaThe hard-working but struggling crew of a shrimp boat discover a sunken treasure. Trouble ensues in this dramatic black-cast production.
Carib Gold
1956 · 2 votes
Movie5.5DramaCrimeA fifteen-year-old boy wants to buy a gun from an adult racketeer named Priest, in order to become president of the gang to which he belongs, and to return them to active "bopping" (gang fighting) which has declined in Harlem.
The Cool World
1964 · 22 votes
- MovieWarDrama
“As the German blitz raids reach their 39th day further air raids are to be expected at anytime…” At BBC broadcasting House, Bruce Belfrage and the rest of the staff are preparing the nightly news for millions of anxious listeners, but when the building suffers a direct hit they must pull together to face a terrible choice. Inspired by a true story.
All Men's Dead
2012
- Movie7.0DramaHistory
The last few days in the life of Socrates, including his trial.
Barefoot in Athens
1966 · 4 votes
Series15
TV7.3DramaSoapIn the fictional town of Fernwood, Ohio, suburban housewife Mary Hartman seeks the kind of domestic perfection promised by Reader’s Digest and TV commercials. Instead she finds herself suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune: mass murders, low-flying airplanes and waxy yellow buildup on her kitchen floor.
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
1976 · 19 votes
TV6.6DramaComedyAmerican Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.
American Playhouse
1982 · 8 votes
TV7.3ComedyFamilySitcom following a successful African-American couple, George and Louise “Weezyö Jefferson as they “move on up” from working-class Queens to a ritzy Manhattan apartment. A spin-off of All in the Family.
The Jeffersons
1975 · 130 votes
TV5.7DramaCrimeNaked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”.
Naked City
1958 · 13 votes
TV7.3Action & AdventureDramaStreetwise Detective David Starsky partners up with a more intellectual partner, Kenneth 'Hutch' Hutchinson, to protect citizens and patrol the streets of Bay City.
Starsky & Hutch
1975 · 208 votes
TV7.8ComedyArchie Bunker, a working class bigot, constantly squabbles with his family over the important issues of the day.
All in the Family
1971 · 187 votes
TV6.5CrimeDramaBaretta is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a milder version of a successful 1973–74 ABC series, Toma, starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police officer David Toma. While popular, Toma received intense criticism at the time for its realistic and frequent depiction of police and criminal violence. When Musante left the series after a single season, the concept was retooled as Baretta, with Robert Blake in the title role.
Baretta
1975 · 42 votes
TV7.0Action & AdventureCrimeDetective Cheng is commissioned by Interpol to destroy the Empire of Chaiba, a worldwide criminal organization based in Southeast Asia. He initiates an undercover operation to infiltrate the organization.
Police Story
1973 · 20 votes
TV7.5ComedyThe misadventures of a cantankerous junk dealer and his frustrated son.
Sanford and Son
1972 · 102 votes
TV8.0ComedyGood Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer. Good Times is a spin-off of Maude, which is itself a spin-off of All in the Family along with The Jeffersons. The series is set in Chicago. The first two seasons were taped at CBS Television City in Hollywood. In the fall of 1975, the show moved to Metromedia Square, where Norman Lear's own production company was housed.
Good Times
1974 · 86 votes
TV6.5DramaCrimeNew York City policewoman Casey Jones' assignment to fight crime often entails her going undercover in some of the seediest and most dangerous parts of the city. Decoy is a groundbreaking American crime drama television series created for syndication and initially broadcast from October 14, 1957, to July 7, 1958, with thirty-nine 30-minute black-and-white episodes. It was the first American police series with a female protagonist. Many Decoy episodes are in the public domain.
Decoy
1957 · 8 votes
TV7.4DramaThe Immortal is an American television series, which aired on ABC from September 1970 to January 1971. The series is based on a pilot movie of the same name, which aired in September 1969. The pilot is based on the science fiction novel The Immortals, by James Gunn. Although the series was canceled at midseason, episodes were rerun by ABC in the summer of 1971. It was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel.
The Immortal
1970 · 8 votes
TV6.3ComedyThe Brian Keith Show is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1972 to March 1974. The series stars Brian Keith and Shelley Fabares.
The Brian Keith Show
1972 · 4 votes
TV8.8DramaLong-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951 · 8 votes
TV7.0DramaShort lived soap opera about rich family and their servants in 1920s Boston.
Beacon Hill
1975 · 2 votes