Celebrity (TV series)

Celebrity
Genre	Drama
Written by	William Hanley Thomas Thompson
Directed by	Paul Wendkos
Starring	Michael Beck Joseph Bottoms Ben Masters James Whitmore
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	3
Production
Producer(s)	Rosilyn Heller
Running time	313 minutes
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	February 12 – February 14, 1984

Celebrity is a television drama series based on a novel by Thomas Thompson. It was broadcast from February 12, 1984 to February 14, 1984 on NBC.^[1][2]

Plot

During their High School times, the three friends T.J. Luther, Mack Crawford and Kleber Cantrell commit a rape. While one of them rapes the girl, the other two hear the screams of the girl and watch the rape. The girl dies. Luther, Crawford and Cantrell hide the body and promise each other not to speak about this ever again. As grown ups each of them is very successful. One of them is a moviestar, the other one is a famous journalist and the third one a demagogic evangelist. When they meet up again, the meeting ends in tragedy. One of the friends is shot, the other one is terribly hurt and the third one is the murderer.

Series information

Celebrity is based on a 1983 novel by Thomas Thompson.^[2] The series was filmed in Texas, New York and Los Angeles and is altogether six and a half hours long.^[3] In Germany, the UK and North America the series is published on VHS.^[4][5][6] The series was shown in Spain, Finland, Turkey and Canada.^[7]

Cast

Michael Beck: T.J. Luther Joseph Bottoms: Mack Crawford Ben Masters: Kleber Cantrell James Whitmore: Clifford Casey Tess Harper: Susan French Karen Austin: Ceil Shannon Ned Beatty: Otto Leo Claude Akins: Uncle Bun Luther Dinah Manoff: Missy Craymore Debbie Allen: Regina Brown Jennifer Warren: Martha Dalton Hal Holbrook: Calvin Sledge

Bonnie Bartlett: Mabel Hofmeyer Rhonda Dotson: Laurie Killman Jerry Hardin: Jonah Job Peter Nelson: Jeffie Crawford Anne Haney: Millie Stephen Pearlman: Arnold Beckman Kelli Maroney: Joanne River Phoenix: Jeffie - Age 11 James N. Harrell: Dr. Taler Sherman Howard: Director John M. Jackson: Detective

Awards and Nominations

Nominations

Primetime Emmy Awards

• 1984: Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or a Special (Philip H. Lathrop)

Edgar Allan Poe Awards:

• 1985: Best Television Feature or Miniseries (William Hanley)^[8]

Critical Reception

John J. Connor (The New York Times) mentions that the series has a strong cast. Furthermore, the series has a great script, which includes the major events during the 50's, 60's and 70's, such as the Vietnam War or the assassination of John F. Kennedy.^[3] Tom Shales (The Deseret News) adds that the tale is very well plotted and "irresistible as a good rumor".^[2] According to Arthur Unger (Monitor) Celebrity is easy to watch and once started its difficult to stop.^[9]

References

1. "Celebrity (1984 TV Mini-Series) Episode List". imdb.com. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
2. Shales, Tom (11 February 1984). "'Celebrity' Mini series is irresistible". The Deseret News. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
3. John J. O'Connor (10 February 1984). "'CELEBRITY,' A MYSTERY IN THREE PARTS". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
4. "Celebrity - Der Ruhm". Amazon. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
5. "Celebrity". Amazon. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
6. "Celebrity". Amazon. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
7. "Celebrity. Release Info". Imdb.com. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
8. "Celebrity (1984 TV Mini-Series) Awards". imdb.com. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
9. Unger, Arthur (February 10, 1984). "Networks are heating up potboilers for 'sweeps' period". csmonitor.com. Retrieved 25 June 2014.

External links

• Celebrity at the Internet Movie Database