Wow. Were still discovering who we are. The fact that she got the "and" credit in the opening of "Living Single" proves that Kim Fields was the show's biggest name at the time, at least in terms of television. So we really hadnt seen [stories about young black people in the city], and I know that they obviously existed in the real world., Living Singles main characters may have lived under the same roof (barring Maxine), but they came from a vast range of socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action. Lets just say, never say never, but right now I dont see it., To Alexanders point about a new generation, everyone I spoke to is continuing to push Hollywood forward and make space for other creators of colorespecially black actors, writers, and filmmakersin ways both big and small. We were and remain extraordinarily close. 'Living Single' cast: Where are they now? | EW.com Everyone I spoke to was tentatively enthusiastic about the idea, but some expressed doubts about the projects feasibility. The character would suddenly come alive. Played by Queen Latifah, Khadijah was the editor-in-chief of "Flavor" magazine and the character whose relationships to and history with the other three main women on the show are what tied them all together. And so they said they really wanted to try to get somebody who was a bit of a veteran, if you will, to kinda anchor things. LIVING SINGLE, Erika Alexander, Queen Latifah, Kim Fields, Kim Coles, 1993-1998, (c) Warner Brothers, John Henton (Overton "Obie" Wakefield Jones), Cress Williams (Terrence "Scooter" Williams). The. Living Single, the popular sitcom that made its debut 25 years ago on this day in 1993, was powered behind the performances of lead actress Queen Latifah, veteran actress Kim Fields, comedienne Kim Coles, and The Cosby Show alum, Erika Alexander. Kim Coles has been keeping busy via social media and touring the country alongside her onscreen boo, John Henton, no disrespect to Ms. Coles hubby. Ceci: [Carson] made my job easier because a lot of guys wouldnt put on what I would put on him. I remember especially back then, I was tall but I had such a young-looking face. She is also a main cast member on Hulu's "Wu-Tang: An American Saga," which currently has a confirmed third and final season in the works. Cinemablend is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Lee Bowser: What do people take away [from Living Single]? The most active he seems to be in the public sphere is via his Instagram account, but he largely uses that to post pictures and inspirational messages while sharing very little in the way of personal details. They came to me and they had the idea to do a buddy comedy, basically. And she sent me to modeling school, a modeling school called Black Glamour, where I actually won the best walker and went to John Robert Powers modeling school and won their best walker. After his set on the late-night talk show, Henton's career took off. Free shipping for many products! Living Single (TV Series 1993-1998) - IMDb Coles: [Working with Latifah] was great because shes so smart. That added more adjectives to my bag of tricks, which made him more multi-dimensional, and thats what expanded the opportunity to do more with him. Carson), and finally, Ira or "Tripp" (Mel Jackson). He was always open to mixing patterns and doing a lot of the Afrocentric fabrics, you know, the mudcloth. in 1991. Prior to his role as Tripp on Living Single, Mel Jackson had made minor TV appearances until he landed a role in the film Soul Food in 1997. The Equalizerstar credited her role as Matron "Mama" Morton in 2002'sChicagofor being "the shift" that aligned the stars for her rapidly rising star. Since then, Latifah has created her own daytime talk show, The Queen Latifah Show; an Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie for the film Bessie (HBO), in which she portrayed blues performer Bessie Smith; starred in films like Girls Trip(2017), The Tiger Rising (2022), and Hustle (2022); and earned lead roles on the Fox musical dramaStar and the CBS crime series reboot of The Equalizer. Let us know if we missed anything. Overton and Synclaire took their sweet time getting together even though they were both clearly smitten with each other. We just never really wanted to do it. The cast of "Living Single" was led by Queen Latifah, a rapper who was only just starting what would become a very long and successful career as an actor. Obviously the tailored part of it was great because I myself am very casual. So I think it really set a beautiful tone to start a career as an African American. Hopefully, this means fans can look forward to some brand new stand-up comedy from Henton soon. videos, Anson Williams Filed for Divorce from Wife of 30 Years & Mom of His 4 Kids Twice Inside His Relationships, Violet Affleck Is Spitting Image of Mom Jennifer Garner Yet Preferred Dad 'To Anyone' 11 Stars & Their Lookalike Kids, Kevin Sorbo's Wife Sam Sorbo Is a Constant Support and Collaborates on His Projects, Does Rory Kinnear Have a Wife? . [Henton] took that very personally.. Heres how it works. 4:00 AM. Like we werent saying, Keepin it real back then, but thats appropriate to describe her outfits. Together with an impressive crew of guest stars including Morris Chestnut, Gladys Knight, and Cress Williams (who played a recurring role as Khadijahs childhood best friend turned beau), the six actors welcomed viewers into a world of Lee Bowsers creating. That was my first real lemonade experience. It was just a tape that shed put, like, masking tape, and it said Women You Will Love, and [Ambrosius] said, You have no idea how much you were a part of my childhood, and you ARE a woman that I love! We felt it. Now we have terms for all of those things." The cast continues to be close as stated by Kim Coles in an interview with. She became even more of a household name in 2002 after her iconic performance in Chicago, for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She brought a book (to read) for one of their "parties" that took place on a boat. John Henton on September 28, 2004 in Pasadena, California | Source: Getty Images, Henton's career started in 1985 after he moved to Los Angeles. "Friends" might never have existed without "Living Single,", focusing most of her attention on directing, first appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", main or recurring cast member on multiple shows, ramped up her time in the director's chair, career as a life coach and motivational speaker, first female rapper to be nominated for an Academy Award, first rapper to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I just never knew in the moment that the show was gonna be an iconic show, and these characters that I was dressing, those were iconic looks, Ceci said after recounting recent experiences in which people have informed her that there are now entire webpages dedicated to replicating the characters styles. Teen Titans, and even the video game adaptation of Greys Anatomy from 2009. WWETV interviews with Hip Hop & celebrity news from USA, Canada, & UK. Overton: John Henton. Most recently, she has shifted focus to a career as a life coach and motivational speaker, primarily for entrepreneurs and people within the business world. I love them, and so I think that was the germ of the idea. But Maxine Shaw taught me how to act for a live audience with cameras recording, which is actually a skill set. Check out Real Reality Gossip video below. Ive got bills to pay. The show received stellar ratings and TV Guide selected Henton's character as one . It was fun and it was easy. When we were filming that, you could feel the anticipation in the warehouse, in the studio. He shares that FOX dropped the show in the middle of its fifth season and just started airing its re-runs. So I'm not surprised that she is graduating to iconic even this early in her career, I believe she's just getting started," theLiving Singlealum shared. So we had a lot of storylines about Cleveland, about the Browns, Ohio State, you know, things that were happening in the city. To not be afraid to show somebody sleeping with a headscarf on. Inside John "Overton" Henton's Life & Romance With Kim Fields And he said, Yeah, its a great idea, but you really need a showrunner, so I was like [sighs], Oh, my gosh, okay. Carson was definitely smooth back in the day on the show and continues that streak in his cat daddy years as a sought-after voice actor and jazz vocalist. We were good stewards of the opportunity that was put in front of us and we didnt really think about how big a hit it was at the time, Lee Bowser said. I really wanted to be what I thought would be the black Lois Lane on a show called M.A.N.T.I.S., and I didnt end up getting that show. After his set on the late-night talk show,. Queen Latifah, Erika Alexander, Kim Fields, Kim Coles, John Henton, and Mel Jackson in Living Single (1993) John Henton's Life After 'Living Single' - Unpacking the Car Accident There had been such a void on television that needed to be filled. Carson and John Henton were also members of the main cast of characters who dwelled in a snazzy Brooklyn brownstone long before the current trend of gentrification that has overtaken the New York borough. A sense of pride, that were not a monolith. . Its so funny how I see people in the mirrorI never looked. And, according to her former record producer Dante Ross, she still makes music, but whether or not it will see the light of day is uncertain. Vintage John Henton Proposes To Kim Coles In Series Living - eBay Hughley. Its absurd, the kente cloth sheet. For me, it began with the realization that if this industry was really only going to cater to and embrace white people, and white men in particular, and have them in positions of power behind the scenes, Lee Bowser said when we spoke earlier this summer, I wasn't gonna be here for long. lists With Kim Fields Freeman and Queen Latifah. Last year she appeared as a social worker in What to Expect When You're Expecting. Kim Coles - Net Worth 2022/2021, Age, Height, Bio, Family, Career, Wiki Kim Coles is a 61 year old American Actress. Queen Latifah is still acting in a host of movies, like last summers blockbuster Girls Trip. Having cut her teeth writing on shows like A Different World and Hangin With Mr. Cooper, Lee Bowser was ready for the chance to create a world that revolved around the kinds of black characters she knew best. No, nobody everybody imagined that. New York, LIVING SINGLE, Kim Coles, John Henton, Queen Latifah, T.C. I think in all those friends, we saw things that we dont normally see, and thats what I was really proud of being a part of. [Henton is] a gentleman and I never once felt weird with him. John Henton on July 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images. And so to get an opportunity to be instrumental in crafting somebody that has turned out to be iconic for my culture was really wonderful for me. Ceci: The Maxine Shaw character, shes a boss. That brownstone held love, loss, and laughter; the cast radiated an electric chemistry. Queen Latifah has many projects in progress in both the acting and producing departments (such as the upcoming film adaptation of Kate DiCamillos book The Tiger Rising). Henton had gone to a party to celebrate Halloween, and since it was his first summer off, he drank more than he should have. The show traced the contours of black love in all its forms: platonic, romantic, sexual. But it didnt feel nasty. from a fellow capricorn. The actress went on to make appearances on shows like Frasier, Six Feet Under, and My Wife and Kids, and she had a recurring role on The Geena Davis Show in 2000 as Judy Owens. Season five begins as Overton and Synclaire enjoy their honeymoon and start their lives together. And the older it got, the more it looked like locs. Henton would only appear in a few more small acting roles between 2002 and 2014, and has since chosen to return to stand-up while also focusing on spending more time with his family. Its his gut and my guidance., Living Single brought a special group of people together, and its impact didnt end when the shows lights cut off. It was baggies we were in. The early 1990s saw the debut of a sitcom focusing on six twenty-somethings dealing with the common struggles of life, love, and their careers as they reside in New York City and, no, I am not talking about Friends. The series followed the lives of six friends living in a Brooklyn brownstone and featuredQueen Latifah, Coles, Erika Alexander, Kim Fields, John Henton and T.C. Coles most recently had a role on the Season 2 premiere of the Emmy-nominated HBO original comedy A Black Lady Sketch Show, on which her good friend, former Community star Yvette Nicole Brown, also had a role. T.C. And she says, Im writing this ensemble comedy and one of the characters, I actually had you in mind, I had your voice in mind when I was writing. On Black Lightning, Erika Alexander would also reunite with T.C. We want to find the jewels and the diamonds out there on the street. Yvette Lee Bowser, the Black TV Series Whisperer, is now an executive producer on Netflixs Dear White People. Expect the unexpected from us. You are an inspiration to me, would love to meet you one day! Im forever grateful to the writing and producing team for the end of Regines run on Living Single where, after all is said and done, she got her fairytale. Kim Fields grew up under the spotlight: Her mother, Chip Fields, was a singer, actress, and TV director. The actor even revealed that the pandemic has been easy on him since he does not like to be around people anyway. Thats my recurring theme. And I was like, Oh okay, awesome! The 50 greatest TV and movie detectives of all time. Cress Williams plays the lead on The CWs Black Lightning, which follows the surprising, timely story of a black superhero. Henton has revealed his personal feelings about "Living Single," and another Warner Bros sitcom, "Friends." The difference was that Warner Brother spent a lot more money promoting and marketing "Friends" than they ever did on "Living Single" I said, Look, you know, I pray for you to get a show in the future, but this one right here? The cast included rap legend and future Academy Award nominee Queen Latifah as a leading acting talent and also brought a different dimension to former. I went up to Yvette and I asked her, I said, Where are the guys from? So we sat around the table and came up with it and then Synclaire was born! I was in New York. Now we have words! The '90s were good to Erika Alexander: she began the decade as a main cast member on the final two seasons of "The Cosby Show,"then moved right on to her five-season stint on "Living Single" a year after "The Cosby Show" ended. I mean, shes based a lot on me. Okay! The budding romance between her and Overton is as charming as it is innocent, feeling more like young puppy love than the sexually-charged energy between characters like Kyle and Max. It's always fun when real life relatives play fictional relatives in a movie or on a TV show, and that very thing happened on "Living Single." But I didnt think at the time, Oh snap, this is gonna be iconic. If you have a partner [and] they pitch you something, you know how to hit it. By Oyin Balogun. We just had fun. But he was always right. And they went out into an all-white New York. She played a detective who does not believe Rod Williams (Lil Red Howery) story about Chris Washingtons (Daniel Kaluuya) disappearance in Get Out, and has landed recurring roles on Insecure (an award-nominated HBO original comedy created by and starring Issa Rae) and The CWs Arrowverse-canon drama, Black Lightning, as a telepathic therapist for meta-humans. Thats always really at the center for me, as much as possible. My father was an itinerant preacher, my mother was a teacher. Erika Alexander was recently spotted in the sitcom within a sitcom on Issa Raes Insecure show, and shes also been doing her thing on TV and film over the years, including a hilarious spot as a cop in Get Out.. Synclaire was the show's token quirky character, showcased by things like her oh-so-'90s affinity for Troll dolls, the way she talks to her plants, and her relentlessly upbeat attitude. And they told me that their mothers spelled it the way mine was: S-y-n-c-l-a-i-r-e. And that is just phenomenal to me. He sustained life-changing injuries, unfortunately. Sounds familar? The actresses starred on the hitFox sitcom Living Singleduring its five-season run. where she uses her own personal struggles and triumphs to help enrich readers' lives. And he was definitely very accessorized and very debonair, very dapper with every look, said Ceci, the costume designer who did the Living Single casts wardrobe from Seasons 2 through 5. The rest of the cast was largely rounded out by stand-up comedians and others who were fairly new in their acting careers, save for one particular actor who had already been in the business for 20 years when "Living Single" debuted. And I love Brooklyn, so I wanted to at least pretend that I was there, the California-bred showrunner said with a laugh. The sitcom was originally piloted on ABC but moved to UPN, where it gathered over 5.8 million viewers for the debut. Alexander: Heres what [Maxine and Kyle] do represent: strength, on both sides. "I don't know when it's coming. "Everything changed when Chicago came out," she recalled. So I got a call arranged with [Lee Bowser], and she liked my idea very much, and she said, The only thing is, Im working on a new project. The actor was part of Living Single's cast for its last year on air, and it helped push his career through the early 2000s. We made our point with a lot of laughs. If we were athletes playing at the professional level, the best thing you can do is play loose and I think thats what we did. The actor was even on set filming for The Hughleys six weeks after the tragic car accident. Carson, and John Henton, the series followed the personal and professional lives of six friends who resided in a Brooklyn brownstone were chronicled. They took like a bustier and they covered it, so my chest was able to have coverage and lift, if you will [laughs], and then the bustier because of the corset part was able to cinch me in, but they covered it in a really fun Hawaiian print kind of thing and then they did cutouts at the stomach area because my stomach was flat enough where I could do that and not feel self-conscious. "To be on a set with her with no makeup and no nothing and justdo nothing, to everything that she's built. Alexander: They have something that theyre calling the Maxine Shaw Effect. Ceci: What I liked about [Khadijah] was she was still like, keepin it real. The characters are Khadijah (Queen Latifah), Synclaire (Kim Coles), Maxine or "Max" (Erika Alexander), Overton (John Henton), Regina or "Regine" (Kim Fields), Kyle (T.C. One such character was Russell Montag, a music editor for "Flavor" who had sporadic appearances throughout the show's second through fifth seasons. Comedian Kim Coles played various small roles on the legendary sketch comedy series In Living Color and appeared on an episode of Martin Lawrences hit sitcom Martin, as Shenenehs friend Bonquisha, before playing Queen Latifahs onscreen cousin, Synclaire James in the Living Single cast. This whole lifes journey is about identity. I turned those lemons into lemonade. Age hasn't slowed her down one bit, with the 70-year-old directing 25 episodes of Nickelodeon's "Young Dylan" in the last two years. [Ceci] really let me be involved because she said, Youre gonna be the bride, and she let me choose, with her help of course, the bridesmaids dresses because, again, youve got three other body types. We care about your data. It was the 90s and everything was pro-Black, so any hat I could put on that had a black power fist or a peace sign or, you know, just promoting brotherhood. He wasnt an ex-con, he didnt have a gun in his hand. Three years later, she became the first rapper to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That or hair and makeup. Fox. She would always have the hat and the gloves and the jewelry. And they felt like I could also bring that to the table. I just felt like they really worked at making sure that, again, I was comfortable, I was confident. Jackson appeared in the film Deliver Us From Eva (2003) as well as the TV series The Parkersand The Division. Queen and the whole cast had been doing the show, obviously, for a while and had more on-camera experience than I did, so what was really great is that from the very beginning, I felt like they welcomed me in and made me feel like a part [of the family]. John Henton and Kim Coles on July 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images. There was a time, back in 2017, when a reboot of Living Single produced by Queen Latifah was announced. And so I came up with the idea of moving her across the street, because she originally lived with the ladies. My whole life story just laid bare for the audience to pick apart and hopefully be amused. She is currently star and an executive producer of the series "The Equalizer," which is wrapping up its second season. A lot of the fun was had before, when the camera wasnt on. How 'Living Single' Influenced Everything From 'Friends' to - AOL So that was work. Carson, Kyle Barker: I had auditioned for Living Single when I was still living in Chicago and sent an audition tape in, and they had basically said no at first. But she is. She wasnt an easy win and he was used to easy wins. Carson: [Hair] was talked about when I first got hired. The actor even applauded how well the show was doing twenty years later and commented on its syndication: Theres probably a marathon running of Living Single somewhere right now. Coles continues acting and making guest star appearances on television, including shows like A Black Lady Sketch Showand Home Economics. It featured six African-American comedians and the story centered around four single ladies living in New York City. And then they called me out for a callback, a screen test, and then on, I think, a Tuesday, we went in and I read with Erika that Wednesday, and I think I went to work that Thursday. But the distinctly 90s show, with its crew of young professional friends, didnt take the approach that a Dear White People or a Facts of Life might. Henton subsequently made a few other guest appearances (in 2009 and 2014), but has seemed to stay away from television. Gateway Episodes: Living Single's "Love Thy Neighbor" and "Mystery Date." He still tours as a stand-up comedian and has hit the road with his onscreen boo, Kim Fields. To that end, the vast majority of his acting roles post-"Living Single" have played to that strength, with Carson lending his powerful pipes to many animated films, TV shows, and video games. None of it is by accident. He also expressed regret about the accident, viewing his decision to drive himself as stupid. She was also sexy, but she was always experimental. For Carson, the experience offered an opportunity to reiterate what he most wanted viewers to take away from the character of Kyle Barker: That black men are complicated individuals. Yvette Lee Bowser -- who has been involved with severaliconic Black series, includingA Different World,Half & HalfandDear White Peopleand the recentRun the World-- created and executive produced the series. She would follow that up with directing 27 episodes of the Nickelodeon sitcom "Keenan and Kel," only actually appearing as an actor in a single episode. Outside of notable guest appearances on fellow Netflix original series Cobra Kai and the aforementioned HBO comedy Insecure, Fields has done, and still does, a lot of work from behind the camera directing such series as Nickelodeons Kenan & Kel, Tyler Perrys Meet the Browns and House of Payne, and the upcoming Urbanflix TV drama Vicious, which is currently filming. Kim Fields, Now Earlier this month Fields, 44, announced that she was pregnant. We can laugh about it now, but it was very serious then. Did the show air in England? We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. . Her role on the '80s coming-of-age sitcom launched her career. The sexual tension of Queen Latifah and Kim Fields on Living Single Lee Bowser was strategic about crafting characters and conflicts that represented the vastness within the experiences of young black people. Its hysterical. Born Kimberly LaShaunda Coles on 11th January, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, she is famous for In Living Color, Living Single in a career that spans 1989-present. "She really is someone who jumps into everything with excellence and jumps into everything, as I said before,with knowing fully who she is," Coles added. Out of all of us, I would say T.C. I think in the pilot you can actually hear I had a little bit of flair because [he] was one of my favorite comics and we were all working on the road all the time and I had a little bit of Steve Harvey country. Oh and video game heads, he was the voice of Kratos for God Of War too. It's just one of many reasons why the fifth season is not fondly remembered by fans, as it clearly smacked of some creative and personnel-related turmoil going on behind the scenes. And she put in these new things she had created, literally just created, called Nu-Locs. Queen Latifah has leveraged her career in Hip-Hop to a bevy of acting gigs, commercial contracts, singing performances and more. Besides, who could ever replace the talent above? Henton told his audience that, after he woke up from his coma, he felt refreshed, but won't recommend it to anyone. Thousands of new high quality images are added every day. Not be tight and not be pious about what were doingjust really have fun, and project that, and to be our truest selves, she continued. She knew where the bodies were buried. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. Her career during and since "Living Single" has been prolific and successful indeed, including making history as the first female rapper to be nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for her role in the film adaptation of "Chicago."