Celebrity is a television miniseries based on a novel by Thomas Thompson. It was broadcast from February 12 to February 14, 1984, on NBC.[1][2]
| Celebrity | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Based on | Celebrity by Thomas Thompson |
| Written by | |
| Directed by | Paul Wendkos |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Leonard Rosenman |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Rosilyn Heller |
| Editors | James Galloway David Newhouse Eric A. Sears |
| Running time | 313 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | February 12 – February 14, 1984 |
Series overview
editCelebrity 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, Brazil, Finland, Turkey, Canada and former Yugoslavia.[7]
Plot
editDuring their days as high school students in Texas, three friends – T.J. Luther, Mack Crawford and Kleber Cantrell – are involved in a rape. While only one of the boys commits the crime, the others watch and do nothing. The victim dies, and the boys hide the body and promise each other to never speak of it again.
All three grow up to be very successful in their fields. 25 years later, Kleber is a world-famous journalist, Mack is a movie star, and Luther is a demagogic evangelist who runs a controversial church. When they meet up again, the meeting ends in tragedy. One of the friends is shot dead, the other one is critically wounded and the third one is the murderer.
Cast
edit- Starring
- Michael Beck as T.J. Luther
- Joseph Bottoms as Mack Crawford
- Ben Masters as Kleber Cantrell
- Guest starring
- James Whitmore as Clifford Casey
- Tess Harper as Susan French
- Karen Austin as Ceil Shannon
- Ned Beatty as Otto Leo
- Claude Akins as Uncle Bun Luther
- Dinah Manoff as Missy Craymore
- Debbie Allen as Regina Brown
- Jennifer Warren as Martha Dalton
- Hal Holbrook as Calvin Sledge
- Co-starring
- Bonnie Bartlett as Mabel Hofmeyer
- Rhonda Dotson as Laurie Killman
- Jerry Hardin as Jonah Job
- Peter Nelson as Jeffie Crawford
- River Phoenix as Young Jeffie Crawford
- Anne Haney as Millie
- Stephen Pearlman as Arnold Beckman
- Kelli Maroney as Joanne
- James N. Harrell as Dr. Taler
- Sherman Howard as Director
- John M. Jackson as Detective
Awards and nominations
editNominations
edit- 1984: Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or a Special (Philip H. Lathrop)
- 1985: Best Television Feature or Miniseries (William Hanley)[8]
Critical reception
editJohn 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 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, 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 is difficult to stop.[9]
References
edit- ↑ "Celebrity (1984 TV Mini-Series) Episode List". imdb.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
- 1 2 3 Shales, Tom (February 11, 1984). "'Celebrity' Mini series is irresistible". The Deseret News. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
- 1 2 John J. O'Connor (February 10, 1984). "'CELEBRITY,' A MYSTERY IN THREE PARTS". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
- ↑ "Celebrity - Der Ruhm". Amazon. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
- ↑ "Celebrity". Amazon. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
- ↑ "Celebrity". Amazon. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
- ↑ "Celebrity. Release Info". Imdb.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
- ↑ "Celebrity (1984 TV Mini-Series) Awards". imdb.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
- ↑ Unger, Arthur (February 10, 1984). "Networks are heating up potboilers for 'sweeps' period". csmonitor.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.