Robert Townsend

Today on The Neil Haley Show, The Total Tutor Neil Haley will interview Robert Townsend.

Once in Hollywood, seeing the difficulty black actors had and the lack of good work available in the film industry left a burning desire for Robert to step behind the camera. With his acting career in high gear, Robert’s career took a turn for the best when Robert Townsend the “independent filmmaker” was born. He wanted to do something to fill this void. Without formal film education or outside funding (using his own credit cards to finance), Robert wrote, directed, produced and starred in his own first film. The result was the critically acclaimed, Hollywood Shuffle, a satire depicting the trials and tribulations of black actors in Hollywood.  The success of this film forced Hollywood to recognize and appreciate the visionary and multifaceted talent of Robert Townsend, Tinseltown’s newest, talented actor and filmmaker.

Following the success of Hollywood Shuffle, film projects continued to pour in.  He was soon directing Eddie Murphy in Eddie Murphy Raw. His next film endeavor was the inner-city fable: The Meteor Man that he also wrote, directed and starred in, was another huge success. The stellar cast included James Earl Jones, Bill Cosby, and Eddie Griffin. As a filmmaker, director and producer, his unbridled success continued.