The post Sadly “Sesame Street,” “227” Actress And Her Actor-Husband Both Passed Away With Little Fanfare appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

We all know Marla Gibbs as the amazing actor that she is. She always had us crackin’ up off her slick verbal jabs she used to take at “George Jefferson” as her role as “Florence” on The Jeffersons. In fact, if you’re a true lover of Old School sitcoms, you’re probably still laughing at Marla on the show’s reruns.

Now here’s something that many didn’t know, Marla Gibbs actually has a daughter and a sister who are both actresses that we’re familiar with. They’re mainstream fame wasn’t as long lasting as Gibbs,’ but they still made their mark in the acting world. Check them out below.

Does Marla Gibbs’s Sister Look Familiar? Yep…

We’ll start with Gibb’s big sis.’ Her name is Susie Garrett and if she looks familiar to you it’s because she’s had several guest roles on her sister’s show, The Jeffersons, 227, and also The Twilight Zone, and the ’60s sitcom, My Three Sons. Her most popular role was as one of the stars of the ’80s sitcom, Punky Brewster, where she played an RN (registered nurse) and grandmother to “Punky’s” friend on the show.

Old School fun fact about the “Punky Brewster” sitcom: Actress Cherie Johnson — who played Susie Garrett’s character’s granddaughter on the show and also “Punky Brewster’s” best friend — is actually the real life niece of the show’s creator. Who would’ve thought that show was actually created by an African American? Interesting.

Meet Marla Gibbs’s Daughter

Her daughter is Angela Gibbs. She’s been acting for decades and is also a director, producer, writer, and acting coach. Her acting credits include films, Love Jacked, Straight Outta Compton; as well as television shows, “Shameless,” “Insecure,” “End of the World: As We Know It,” “On My Block,” “American Crimes: The People vs OJ Simpson,”  and she was a regular on Adult Swim’s “Black Jesus.”

Angela is very well known for her work behind the scenes in entertainment as well. She has won two NAACP Image Awards for her theatrical productions which include the Broadway play, “Checkmates,” starring Denzel Washington, Ruby Dee, and Paul Winfield; and “The Meeting,” starring Dick Anthony Williams, Taurean Blacque and others.

For nine years Angela was also the senior writer for the Trumpet Awards. Angela has also taught at Spelman in the Drama Dept.

Here’s another Old School fun fact: The “227” sitcom was actually an adaptation of a stage play that Marla Gibbs and her daughter Angela produced. It was so good that it caught the attention of Norman Lear, producer of All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Good Times, and Maude, he teamed up with Marla to make the TV show concept a reality and the rest is history.

So as you can see, Marla Gibbs has a ton of talent running through her fam.’

And there you have it ILOSM family, like we always say: We learn something new everyday around these parts.

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, Old School news with a new point of view

The post Marla Gibbs’ Sister, Daughter Are Known Actresses, But Many Never Knew They Were Related appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

I Love Old School Music family, y’all know “Calvin” from “227,” right? He was “Pearl’s” (Helen Martin) grandkid who had a thing for “Brenda” (Regina King). Curtis Baldwin nailed it as “Calvin” and seemed like he was gonna blow up in the acting game. But after “227” wrapped up in 1990, Curtis also seemingly bounced from the scene.

He wasn’t done with acting yet, though. He still rocked some dope sitcoms in the ’90s. He was in “Family Matters” in 1989, and then in “Moesha” in 1996. But now, he’s got a new vibe- being a dope dad to his kids, and a new hustle. Peep how he’s making people laugh these days, and check out his fly family below…

Meet His Family

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A post shared by Curtis Baldwin (@iamcurtisbaldwin)

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A post shared by Curtis Baldwin (@iamcurtisbaldwin)

The post Decades Later, “227” Star Is The Proud Pops Of Six And Has A Totally Different Career appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

‘Round here, at I Love Old School Music, we love us some Marla Gibbs. Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, we loved her as “Florence Johnston,” on The Jeffersons and as “Mary Jenkins” on 227. The thing that she just revealed, is that she wasn’t shown as much love as she deserved on neither of those sitcoms back in the day.

In a prior interview with Reel Urban News, the beautiful 90-year-old actress discussed what it was like for her during her days as the lead character on 227. What we didn’t know, is just how much creative influence Gibbs had behind the scenes, which led to the show’s success. According to Gibbs, she pretty much helped to mold the episodes, but was never given official credit for doing so, nor subsequent pay for that particular job title either. Although she deserved to be properly credited/compensated for her creativity, she did however, get a few perks on the job.

“I never received credit as executive producer for ‘227,’ but I got all of the rights, courtesies and privileges which they didn’t think I would use. But I used every one of them. […] “It was very important to me that the show be exactly what I wanted it to be.”

Here’s Why We Have Gibbs To Thank For The Jeffersons

That was NOT Ms. Gibbs first time lending a hand in keeping a sitcom authentic, by chance, she’d done the exact same thing on The Jeffersons. Gibbs was green to the acting world at that time and wasn’t aware that at a table reading, the actors were to read their lines, then get up from the table, while the producers and writers remained to work on the script and such.

Marla Gibbs: “Oh my God! ‘The Jeffersons,’ we did 200 shows. It was great the whole cast was great. It was my first show. I didn’t always understand how things went, but I paid attention to what the writers were doing. The executive producers were Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West. Don was from England. I could see he was the head writer, so I would pay attention to what he was doing. He became my ally. It became very fun and gratifying for me working on that show.”

Marla said Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, and the rest of the cast would look at her like she was crazy for remaining at the table after the reading, but then something spectacular happened. Gibbs soon realized that the White writers and producers had zero clue about how African Americans talked. Therefore, she boldly and naively did something actors were not supposed to do – she interrupted their meeting and said, “Excuse me…Black people don’t talk that way…”

Her cast members were stunned, as they looked on silently, from a distance, to see what reaction Gibbs would get. Turns out, the writers quickly realized they needed help being ‘Black’ and decided to then allow all of the Jefferson cast to remain at the table to offer their input from then on. And boom, magic happened!

Marla Gibbs didn’t create 227, nor The Jeffersons. But as y’all can see, if it were not for her bold actions, neither of the shows would have been as authentically relatable as they still are today. Thank you Ms. Gibbs! Watch her full interview below.

The post Marla Gibbs Reveals How Her Secrets About “The Jeffersons” & “227” Shortchanged Her Pockets appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

If you’re from the old school era, you probably remember actor, Stoney Jackson and his jheri curl. We were over here wondering what happened to the dude from the ’70s show, White Shadow, so we did a lil’ digging and wanted to share this quick update on him.

Many of you may recall that Stoney also starred in and/or made a appearances in several other TV shows throughout the ’80s and late ’70s, such as 227, M*A*S*H, The Jefferson, Eight Is Enough, and others. Two of his most memorable roles were as in White Shadow and as “Travis Filmore” in 227. He also appeared in TV shows like Everybody Hates Chris, Tales from the Crypt, Walker Texas Ranger, The Hughleys, Modern Family, Psyche and more.

One of his biggest film roles was in Disney’s Angels in the Outfield, which was a hit at the box office.

And who could forget about his hilarious role as “Wacky D” in CB4, alongside, Chris Rock?

Stoney is 61 years young now and he’s pretty much stayed out of the public eye since the mid 2000’s, but it is his current role in REAL life that may be just as fulfilling to him – his job as a basketball referee in the Southern Cali area. It’s been reported that Stoney is presently working as a high school and collegiate-level basketball referee and has apparently been doing so for several years.

Stoney hasn’t completely hung up his acting hat though. Just last year (2015), he co-starred in the Spanish language TV series, Sangre Negra. That’s right our main man Stoney is versatile.

Here’s an old school fun fact about Stoney: He and actor, Mykelti Williamson (the guy who played Lela Rochon’s drunken, obnoxious boyfriend in Waiting To Exhale) have been good friends for several decades.

Also, Stoney is from Virginia, but he got his start in Hollywood after his family moved to Cali in 1976 and opened up a family medical facility there. He then hired an agent and the rest is old school history.

By the way, who remembers the 80’s jam, “I Can Dream About You” from the movie, Streets of Fire? That song was classic and the in the video, Stoney was lip syching the lead part, with Robert Townsend, Mykelti Williamson lip synching the background vocals. Everyone just knew that was Stoney singing for real, but it wasn’t, it was singer, Dan Hartman. The song and video was still off the hook though. Check it out…

The post Ever Wonder What Happened To This ’70s/’80s Actor? We’ve Found Him appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Remember the tall, beautiful actress/former model, Toukie Smith? She played “Eva,” the neighbor with the high pitched voice on “227?” Well it’s been a few decades since most of us have last seen Toukie and little did many know, she has two adult children (twins to be exact) from her years-long relationship with one of the most iconic White actors in Hollywood…and Laaaaawd, wait until you see who he is…

MEET THE FAMOUS FATHER OF TOUKIE’S TWINS

Actor, Robert De Niro, is the father of Toukie Smith’s twin sons! Ain’t that something? Toukie and Robert dated from approximately 1988 to 1996. They’re twins were born in 1995. There were some very sad times that Toukie experienced during their relationship.

MEET THEIR TWIN SONS

The photos below are from a few years ago, but they’re some of the most recent pics of De Niro and Toukie’s twins, whom they otherwise shield away from the spotlight.

Aaron Kendrick De Niro

Julian Henry De Niro

The twins are now 25 years old, and their journey to get here didn’t come without struggles for De Niro and Toukie. Details below…

TOUKIE & ROBERT DE NIRO SADLY LOST 1ST BABY TO MISCARRIAGE

Within three consecutive years from 1986, 1987, and 1988, Toukie lost three of the most important people in her life- her mother to liver cirrhosis; her brother/popular multi-millionaire fashion designer, Willi Smith to AIDS; and she and Robert De Niro’s first child together from a miscarriage – in that order.

After Toukie’s brother (pictured above with Toukie) died of AIDS, she and De Niro were 100% dedicated to using their popularity to raise money and awareness about the disease, but that’s also when she miscarried their child:

[Via People Magazine, 1989] In June 1988, while making a panel for the national AIDS quilt in her brother’s memory, Smith suffered her miscarriage. “I was under a lot of stress from my mother’s and Willi’s deaths,” says Toukie. “I realized though, there’s a time and a place for everything, and this was God’s way of telling me that this was neither the time nor the place to have a child.”

Thankfully, Toukie Smith and Robert Di Nero were later blessed with their twin sons, whom they love more than life itself.

What Toukie Smith Did After Fame

After the early ’90s, Toukie shied away from the limelight. She later owned restaurants in New York, NY called Toukie’s Restaurant, as well as a catering delivery service, Toukie’s Sweets, which she’d started in the late ’80s.

Source

The post Former “227” Actress Has Twin Kids With Legendary White Actor Many Fans Would Never Expect appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Remember ‘Calvin’ from “227?” He was ‘Pearl’s’ (Helen Martin) grandson, whom ‘Brenda’ (Regina King) had a crush on, but would finally date him later in the series’ run. Actor, Curtis Baldwin played that role well and at that time, it seemed like he was well on his way to furthering his acting career. However, once “227” went off air in 1990, so did Curtis and many wondered where the brotha had seemingly disappeared.

His disappearance wasn’t sudden though, because he did have several roles in the 90’s. After leaving “227,” Baldwin went on to star in another successful sitcom– in 1989 he’d already landed a role in “Family Matters,” but in 1996 he starred in “Moesha,” as well. Now, he’s onto something different- being a devoted dad to his kids, wife and his new career. Check out how he’s entertaining folks these days, as well as his beautiful family below…

What Curtis Baldwin Is Doing Now

This is Curtis Baldwin now. He’s 53 years old and has chosen a totally new career path! These days he’s a music producer who goes by the name RahRizo.

 

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A post shared by Curtis Baldwin (@iamcurtisbaldwin)

He’s also a standup comedian. Who woulda thunk it, right?!!

Meet His Wife & Kids

Curtis oftentimes shares proud daddy moments online of himself and his fam.

Wife and two youngest kids
Below is a throwback photo of his wife, with their adorable baby girl and cool 8 year-old-son.

Here are more recent pic of their adorable kids…

***

In addition to his two youngest kids, the “227” star also has four older children.

Kid3rd
His son, Kid3rd, is a rapper and Curtis couldn’t be more proud of what he’s accomplishing in his career.

 

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A post shared by Curtis Baldwin (@iamcurtisbaldwin)

Kid3rd performs regularly and his Pops is there right by his side at the shows. Actor, Duane Martin was also featured in a new music video with him.

In a prior post for Curtis’ 51st birthday (in November 2017), Papi3rd acknowledged that the two of them went through some turbulent times, but he also thanked his dad for always being there no matter what:

Kid3rd: “Today’s Special It’s my Dads birthday. If you know my pops please wish him a happy bday 🙏🏾 I know we’ve been through a lot but he has always been there to have my back and support my dreams. Preparing me not only for life and to be a man but to one day be a great father like he’s shown me to be 💯 I love you Poppa ❤️#happy #birthday #dad #rahrizo #kid3rd 🎂🏆👑”

Devinci

Curtis’ other son, Devinci, hosts a podcast called “The Devinci Code.” He also works as a system administrator by day.

JJ and Jadey

Curtis’ other son’s name is JJ and his daughter’s name is Jadey. Not much is known about them, but one thing is certain, their daddy loves them and appreciates spending daddy time with his babies.

And there ya’ have ILOSM fam, “Calvin” from “227” has evolved into a true family man and loyal husband, who’s also still out here pursuing his passion while at it. We’re not mad at that one bit…do your thing Curtis!

The post Years Later “227” Star Shows Off His Six Kids, Wife & Totally Different Career appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Remember ‘Calvin’ from “227?” He was ‘Pearl’s’ (Helen Martin) grandson, whom ‘Brenda’ (Regina King) had a crush on, but would finally date him later in the series’ run. Actor, Curtis Baldwin played that role well and at that time, it seemed like he was well on his way to furthering his acting career. However, once “227” went off air in 1990, so did Curtis and many wondered where the brotha had seemingly disappeared.

His disappearance wasn’t sudden though, because he did have several roles in the 90’s. After leaving “227,” Baldwin went on to star in another successful sitcom– in 1989 he’d already landed a role in “Family Matters,” but in 1996 he starred in “Moesha,” as well. Now, he’s onto something different- being a devoted dad to his kids, wife and his new career. Check out how he’s entertaining folks these days, as well as his beautiful family below…

What Curtis Baldwin Is Doing Now

This is Curtis Baldwin now. He’s 51 years old and has chosen a totally new career path! These days he’s a music producer who goes by the name RahRizo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcYgA3tHprL/

He’s also a standup comedian. Who woulda thunk it, right?!!

Meet His Wife & Kids

Curtis oftentimes shares proud daddy moments online of himself and his fam.

Wife and two youngest kids

Below is a recent photo of his wife, with their adorable baby girl and cool 8 year-old-son.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiueLfPH8lS/

In addition to his two youngest kids, the “227” star also has four older children.

Kid3rd

His son, Kid3rd, is a rapper and Curtis couldn’t be more proud of what he’s accomplishing in his career.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BS1w921jTdi/

Kid3rd performs regularly and his Pops is there right by his side at the shows. Actor, Duane Martin was also featured in a new music video with him.

In a prior post for Curtis’ 51st birthday (in November 2017), Papi3rd acknowledged that the two of them went through some turbulent times, but he also thanked his dad for always being there no matter what:

Kid3rd: “Today’s Special It’s my Dads birthday. If you know my pops please wish him a happy bday 🙏🏾 I know we’ve been through a lot but he has always been there to have my back and support my dreams. Preparing me not only for life and to be a man but to one day be a great father like he’s shown me to be 💯 I love you Poppa ❤️#happy #birthday #dad #rahrizo #kid3rd 🎂🏆👑”

Devinci

His other son, Devinci (pictured below, center), hosts a podcast called “The Devinci Code.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVdvf_tnoj8/

JJ and Jadey

Curtis’ other son’s name is JJ and his daughter’s name is Jadey. Not much is known about them, but one thing is certain, their daddy loves them and appreciates spending daddy time with his babies.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWA6I7InN80/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Blee4Z7Hfk-/

And there ya’ have ILOSM fam, “Calvin” from “227” has evolved into a true family man and loyal husband, who’s also still out here pursuing his passion while at it. We’re not mad at that one bit…do your thing Curtis!

The post Years Later “227’s” Star Shows Off His 6 Kids, Wife & His Totally Different Career appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

MEET THE FATHER OF TOUKIE SMITH’S TWINS

Actor Robert De Niro is the father of Toukie Smith’s twin sons! Ain’t that something? Toukie and Robert dated from approximately 1988 to 1996. They’re twins were born in 1995. There were some very sad times that Toukie experienced during their relationship. See their twin sons, Julian Henry De Niro and Aaron Kendrick De Niro and the tough times Toukie revealed>>>

The photo above is from a few years back, but it’s the most recent pics of Robert De Niro and Toukie Smith’s kids, whom they otherwise shield away from the spotlight. The twins are now 23years old and their journey to get here didn’t come without struggles for De Niro and Toukie>>>

TOUKIE & ROBERT DE NIRO SADLY LOST 1ST BABY TO MISCARRIAGE

Within three consecutive years from 1986, 1987, and 1988, Toukie lost three of the most important people in her life- her mother to liver cirrhosis; her brother/popular multi-millionaire fashion designer, Willi Smith to AIDS; and she and Robert De Niro’s first child together from a miscarriage- in that order.

After Toukie’s brother (pictured above with Toukie) died of AIDS, she and De Niro were 100% dedicated to using their popularity to raise money and awareness about the disease, but that’s also when she miscarried their child:

Via People Magazine, 1989: In June 1988, while making a panel for the national AIDS quilt in her brother’s memory, Smith suffered her miscarriage. “I was under a lot of stress from my mother’s and Willi’s deaths,” says Toukie. “I realized though, there’s a time and a place for everything, and this was God’s way of telling me that this was neither the time nor the place to have a child.”

Thankfully Toukie and Robert were later blessed with their twin sons whom they love more than life itself.

After the early 90s, Toukie shied away from the limelight. After fame, she opened restaurants in New York, NY called Toukie’s Restaurant and she also had a catering delivery service called Toukie’s Sweets (which she’d started in the late 80s).

The post Former “227” Actress Had Twin Kids With Legendary White Actor Most Would Never Expect appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

We all remember “Olivia” from “Sesame Street” and “Rose” from “227,” right? She impacted our lives back in the day as either the sister-girl friend of “Mary’s” on “227,” or the friendly photography sister of “Gordon” on “Sesame Street.” Actress, Alaina Reed-Amini, is one of those actresses who we consider to be a rare gem in entertainment and although she touched the lives of many throughout her years in mainstream media, there are still many of us who didn’t hear about her passing due to some lack of mainstream media coverage. That’s why we want to take a minute to shed some light on this incredible actress.

HOW SHE PASSED AWAY

Embed from Getty Images

Alaina’s career lasted several decades, but her life was ended when she succumbed to breast cancer at the age of 63 in 2009. She’d been battling the disease for two years and word on the Old School curb is that she still had plans on continuing to work until her last day. It was said that she was supposed to be making a return to “Sesame Street” as “Olivia” in an episode that was tentatively titled “Olivia’s Back” and she had planned on doing so as soon as her cancer treatments were done, but unfortunately she never got to see that day. She originally left “Sesame Street” in 1988, while she continued starring on “227” at that time.

Alaina was married twice in her life and it was during her stint on “227,” that she also met her first husband, whom was an actor that many probably never even realized she had married…

ALAINA MARRIED HER TV HUSBAND FROM “227” IN REAL LIFE

Alaina married the actor who played her husband on 227, Kevin Peter Hall. Kevin was the 7’2″ actor who starred as “The Predator” in the the first two installments of the movie, the predator and he also had the lead role as “Harry” in the TV series and the film, “Harry and the Hendersons.” Alaina and Kevin actually met on the “227” set when Kevin made a guest appearance on the show. Then the producers decided to add him into the regular cast, ultimately making his character Alaina’s husband. Who remembers that beautiful “227” episode where their characters got married in Vegas and Luther Vandross serenaded them at their wedding? Sadly, their real life marriage didn’t last long, here’s why…

KEVIN PETER HALL PASSED AWAY IN 1991

Unfortunately Alaina and Kevin were only able to spend three short years together as husband and wife. Kevin received a tainted blood transfusion in which he contracted the AIDS virus. In 1991 he passed away from AIDS related pneumonia.

HER 2nd MARRIAGE WAS CUT WAY TOO SHORT

A year before Alaina passed away, she married her second husband, Tamim Amini. Tamim is a film director of Persian descent and it’s extremely sad that he only had one short year to call Alaina his wife.

May Alaina Reed-Amini and her ex-husband, Kevin Peter Hall, continue sleep in eternal peace.

The post Sadly “Sesame Street”/”227” Actress & Her Actor Husband Died With Little Fanfare appeared first on I Love Old School Music.