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22:14

Shelley Winters Discusses Her Midlife Career.

Shelley Winters. With two Oscars and well over 100 films to her credit, Winters is a star in the classic Hollywood mode. But she is almost as well known for her off-screen adventures and irrepressible life style that made her a staple in the gossip columns.

Interview
09:35

Family Life Softens Comedian Damon Wayans

Wayans is the brother of actor and director Keenan Ivory Wayans, and has been pursuing a career in stand-up. He's been appearing in films recently like Beverly Hills Cop, though he's frustrated by the lack of complex and varied roles for black actors. Wayans' forthcoming movie is called Earth Girls are Easy.

Interview
03:44

The Lincoln Center Honors Bette Davis

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone recently attended the Lincoln Center's celebration of Hollywood star Bette Davis, who is now 81. The gala included a series of film clips which, according to Stone, highlighted the power, confidence, and humanity of Davis's performances.

Review
09:45

TV and Film Actress Pamela Reed

Reed recently played a campaign manager in the HBO political satire Tanner '88. Now she stars as a struggling single mother and radio journalist in the film Rachel River. She joins Fresh Air to talk about the politics of nudity in film and the kinds of roles available to women.

Interview
09:26

Presenting a Wide Array of African American Voices

Al Young was a singer and guitar player before he became writer. His books incorporate his jazz and film influences, as well as his experiences growing up outside white, mainstream culture. His new book, about a black actress, is called Seduction by Light.

Interview
27:52

Actor and Dancer Gregory Hines

Hines started tap dancing at the age of five, and worked in clubs with his brother and father. He made a career on Broadway, and later appeared in movies like The Cotton Club and White Knights. His new movie is called Tap.

Interview
03:54

An Actress "Living on the Edge of Chaos"

Whoopi Goldberg's one-woman show leans heavily on celebrity impersonations and a character named Fontaine -- a black man who expounds on various social issues affecting the African American community. But these monologues are often divorced from narrative context, and lose their power. Critic Laurie Stone says she's more impressed by Goldberg's action movie roles, and what her presence in movie does for black actors.

Review
03:33

The Most Elegant Tear-Jerker on Home Video

Critic Ken Tucker lauds the VHS release of Letter from an Unknown Woman, a 1948 drama about a philandering pianist and the mother of his child. Tucker also recommends Floating Weeds, License to Drive, and Monkey Shines.

Review
28:01

Actor Randy Quaid on Directing and Brotherhood

Randy Quaid's brother Dennis often gets leading-man roles; Randy frequently plays what he calls "country bumpkins." He says he enjoys his career as a character actor, but is glad to branch out to directing. His debut in that role will be the upcoming Power of the Dog, which will costar his brother.

Interview
03:45

Over the Moon for "Parador"

Film critic Stephen Schiff wonders if he's the only reviewer who laughed at Paul Mazursky's new comedy, about an actor impersonating the late dictator of a fictional Caribbean country. Schiff asks Fresh Air listeners to send their own reviews to the radio station.

09:35

Character Actress Jane Alexander

Jane Alexander has worked onstage and, most notably, on a made-for-TV movie about Eleanor Roosevelt. She recently founded her own production company. Alexander joins Fresh Air to talk about some of her film roles and the place for older women in the motion picture industry.

Interview
27:27

Remembering "A Difficult Actor"

Accomplished stage and screen actor Simon Callow wrote a biography of Charles Laughton, from whom he drew tremendous inspiration. Callow says Laughton's skill in part stemmed from the late actor's self-hatred and closeted homosexuality.

Interview
09:34

"You Make it Work or You Find Something Else to Do"

Now in her 80s, Frances Williams is still acting -- long after many of her peers have retired. She has a storied career in theater and film, and helped found nine theater companies. An advocate for meaningful roles for African Americans, she now costars in the television show Frank's Place.

09:53

Director Ron Shelton, Part 2.

Part two of an interview with Ron Shelton, director and writer of the new hit film "Bull Durham," starring Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon. In this segment, Shelton, a former minor league player in the Baltimore Orioles farm system, discusses the making of the film.

Interview
27:19

Bob Hoskins Discusses His Life and Career.

Actor Bob Hoskins. He stars in the new film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" in which he acts opposite an animated rabbit. Hoskins' other roles include the mob chief in "The Long Good Friday," a low-level hudlum in "Mona Lisa," and the gangster club owner in "The Cotton Club."

Interview
09:47

Comedian Danitra Vance.

Comic and actress Danitra Vance. She appeared on "Saturday Night Live" during the 1985-86 season. From there she landed a part in the revue "The Colored Museum," at Joseph Papp's Public Theater. She played everything from a stewardess on a slave ship to a talking afro wig. She's currently reviving the part at the Mark Taper Theater in Los Angeles. She can also be seen in the upcoming movie "Sticky Fingers," starring Melanie Mayron, Helen Slater and Christopher Guest.

Interview
10:02

The Enigma of Eugene Levy.

Comic actor Eugene Levy. Levy is best known for his many roles - Sid Dithers, the Schmenge Brothers, Bobby Bittman - on the popular SCTV comedy series, which grew out of the Second City comedy troupe in Toronto. Bobby Bittman, is the subject of an upcoming comedy special on Cinemax.

Interview

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