ILOSM family, make some noise if you remember “Marleen,” the prostitute from the movie, “Car Wash!” Her role in “Car Wash” wasn’t extensive, but it left a lasting impression on the viewers. “Marleen” was the prostitute who got her heart broken after falling in love with one of her customers, stepping into the phone booth to call him up, and learning that he’d given her the wrong phone number. What made that scene even more memorable was because Rose Royce’s hit, “I’m Going Down,” playing throughout and setting the mood for it. We’ve found her now!

GLORIA SCHULTZ A.K.A. “MARLEEN” FROM “CAR WASH”

Below are a few photos of Gloria Schultz today. It’s hard to imagine her as “prostitute Marleen” from “Car Wash” now…but yep, it’s her…

Gloria sometimes goes by the stage name of Lauren Jones for her acting roles. After “Car Wash,” we didn’t really see much of Schultz, but we have now learned that she’d been around the whole time, we just didn’t know it. She’s typically a more private person, but we’ve learned a few interesting things about her.

WHAT  “CAR WASH” ACTRESS IS DOING NOW…

Gloria is married to an important figure in film and they have two sons. The thing we didn’t know is that she’s a well known casting director.

SHE MARRIED “COOLEY HIGH’S” DIRECTOR

Gloria married the director for the movie, “Car Wash,” Michael Schultz (pictured above), and they’ve been married since 1965. Michael has directed many classic films including “Cooley High,” “Krush Groove,” The Last Dragon,” “Woman Thou Art Loosed,” “Bustin’ Loose,” Which Way Is Up, and too many more to name here. He’s also directed many theatrical plays and popular TV shows including “Starsky & Hutch,” “Alley McBeal, “Chicago Hope,” and the list goes on and on. See they’re son…

Gloria and Michael Schultz’s son, Brandon Schultz (above, L) is also a director and graphics animator. He was also the President of Imajimation Studios and has worked on Toni Braxton’s and Kelly Price’s videos. The Schultz’s have another son together, Derek Schultz, but very little is known about him. Michael has another son from a previous relationship, Brent Schaeffer (not pictured).

It’s always a beautiful thing to see old school legends living life to the fullest!

The post Remember The ‘Prostitute’ In “Car Wash”? Found Her, And She’s Made Major Moves In Hollywood appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

You remember “T.C.” from the classic ’70s film, Car Wash, don’t you? For those who don’t know…actor, Franklyn Ajaye, played “T.C.,” a character in the movie who was an employee at the car wash and who was constantly trying to call-in to the radio station to win a contest for tickets to a concert, so that he could get his girl, the waitress, “Mona” [pictured above] back.

After Car Wash and Stir Crazy, we didn’t see much of actor/comedian, Franklyn on the big screen, so we decided to do a lil’ diggin’ to find out where he’s been all of these years and let’s just say that the things we learn after doing a little research are often quite interesting. Here’s the scoop on Franklyn…

After making a few appearances on ’70s TV shows like the Flip Wilson Show and Johhny Carson, Franklyn went on to record and release five comedy albums, with his last one, Vagabond Jazz & the Abstract Truth, being released in 2004. But get this, in 1997 Franklyn packed up and moved to Melbourne Australia, where he’s been a citizen ever since.

Apparently he’s been making a lot of noise throughout the years over there as a comedian and here’s what he said about why he decided to vacate the U.S. premises for good:

“Moving to Australia was not a career move, but a quality of life issue. It has no guns, no God, and no gangster rap. as an Ethiopian cab driver said to me the other day when i was returning from a gig in Sydney, “Australia is a peaceful, democratic place.” I like the relatively stress free lifestyle. it’s worth a drop in income.”

As some of you may know, Franklyn’s been known to make a few jokes about religion and other social issues. Here’s a clip from his performance on TV One a few years ago.

Over here [in Australia] I produce my one man show for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, teach television writing at a university, do voice-over work, act in a children’s action-adventure television show, and am a guest panelist on a popular weekly discussion show called “The Panel.”

[Source: Shecky Magazine]

His Latest Acting Gigs

Ajaye still travels back to the U.S, periodically to work. As far as we know, his more recent projects in the U.S, include his role as the father of comedic actress, Maya Rudolph [late singer, Minnie Riperton’s, daughter] in the 2011 film, Bridesmaids. In 2019, Ajaye also had a role in the television film, Deadwood: The Movie.

And there you have it folks! Franklyn Ajaye has not stopped doing his thing ever since Car Wash and at 72 years young, he seems to be in great health. Hopefully we’ll be seeing him in more films or TV shows here in the U.S. soon.

Ajaye Shares His Hilariously Epic Encounter With Richard Pryor

Franklyn Ajaye once told this funny story about his first experience working with one of his comedic idols, Richard Pryor. It was a pretty wild experience and it all went down on the set of a movie that very few people ever knew about. It was Pryor’s production. Here is what TC explained in the Richard Pryor biography, Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him:

The movie’s cast and crew were never sure what sort of domestic mayhem they might walk into when they reported for work at Richard’s and Shelley’s (Richard’s then-wife) Hancock Park House. Massive amounts of coke coupled with Richard’s samurai sword collection did little to calm jittery nerves.

For Franklyn Ajaye, the filming was not a pleasant experience. The first day they met, Ajaye remembers that Richard was screaming at his wife in the kitchen. “It was a pretty rough scene.”

When the two comedians came to know each other later on in the seventies, appearing regularly on The Midnight Special and The Tonight Show, and together on Flip Wilson’s show and in the movies, Car Wash and Stir Crazy, Ajaye never mentioned to Richard that he’d been in his movie. “I doubt he remembered me from that, and i never saw it. I don’t know if he ever finishes it. I didn’t even know what it was called.”

See how much Ajaye got paid for his work in that film…

Ajaye recalls that his character had to wash the man standing trial (that was a scene in the movie) “like in a car wash or something. It was kind of a strange-ass fucking movie.” Ajaya put in a seventeen-hour day for a fee of thirty-four dollars and Richard paid him with a bad check. “It certainly didn’t make you want to be in movies, I can tell you that,” he says with a laugh.

Like I always say, there was never a dull moment in the life of the talented legendary Richard Pryor…LOL.

Here’s an Old School fun fact about Franklyn Ajaye:
He attended UCLA in 1968-69 at the same time as Lew Alcindor (who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

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

The post Ever Wonder What Happened To “TC” From “Car Wash?” Found Him appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

For those of us who are fans of the 70’s film, Car Wash, we remember the character, “Geronimo,” portrayed by actor, Raymond Vitte. Vitte was also known for his roles in the films, 9 To 5 (1980), Up In Smoke (1978), and Thank God It’s Friday (1978); and TV shows, like All In The Family, That’s My Mama, Sanford and Son, The Quest, and more. What many of us didn’t know, is that Vitte died in 1983 at the age of 33. Equally surprising is the way that he died, while in LAPD custody, under very suspicious circumstances that many of his loved ones believed were really fishy.

At the time of Vitte’s death, there were many holes in the story surrounding the police report. His death certificate was also allegedly sealed by the LAPD. Raymond Vitte’s wife, Ernesta- who was 3 months pregnant when he died- joined Donna Summer, and others to speak out publicly about their suspicions.

Below is what was reported in 1983, shortly after Robert Vitte’s death [via United Press International]:

LOS ANGELES — Actor Raymond Vitte, who died minutes after [an alleged] weekend fight with police, was not beaten to death by the officers, the coroner’s office said Tuesday.

Spokesman Bill Gold said preliminary reports of an autopsy showed ‘superficial injuries consistent with a struggle were found, but they were not responsible for his death.’ He also said no needle marks were found on Vitte’s body, and said there was no evidence a chokehold was applied.

What Happened To Raymond Vitte

UPI- Vitte died at a hospital where he was taken by officers after he stopped breathing in the back of a patrol car.

Lt. Charles Higbie said officers summoned by neighbors in the actor’s Studio City apartment complex found Vitte alone in his apartment clad only in undershorts and a shirt. The actor’s ‘religious shouting’ had continued for more than 12 hours before the neighbors called police, Higbie said.

Vitte ordered the officers off the porch and ‘placed a curse on them,’ he said. In an ensuing struggle, Vitte was struck several times with a baton and sprayed in the face with tear gas.

The actor ran from officers and fell at the side of building’s swimming pool, Higbie said. He then was handcuffed and ‘was carried screaming’ to a squad car to be taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation. Officers noticed on the way that he had stopped breathing and detoured to a closer facility, where Vitte was pronounced dead.

In a press conference at that time, Vitte’s loved ones said there was something really suspicious about those findings…

Donna Summer spoke out in Vitte’s defense:

According to reports, Donna Summer was “baffled” by Raymond Vitte’s death, stating, “I’m devastated because he’s also my brother in Christ and I love him”:

Donna Summer complained bitterly ‘that a man who’s basically minding his own business in his own home, who happens to be creating a disturbance somehow, is now dead because his neighbors called the police. Is it more important that he be quieted and that his neighbors have peace?’ she asked a reporter after the news conference, held at her Hollywood recording studio.

‘We’re less one person because his neighbors complained about some noise. That doesn’t make sense to me. I think it’s more important to have the man and if the man is noisy, OK, that’s one thing. But I think our priorities are very drastically off.’

NAACP questioned the use of force used by police officers

Willis Edwards of the NAACP…criticized the police role in Vitte’s death. He asked the district attorney to investigate and urged the Police Commission ‘to halt the brutalization of black people. It’s an extremely sad day for all black people who live in this community,’ he said. ‘Once again, we have an unfortunate example of excessive police force.’

Actress Sheila Frazier, was angry over her friend’s death:

In a telephone interview with UPI, Sheila Frazier said Vitte was “not a drug-crazed fanatic,” but “a solid, loving man.”

She also suggested that Vitte’s chanting, which police said included the name of Mohammed, may have been the Pentecostal practice of ‘speaking in tongues.’ -via UPI

This sounds foul on many levels and the family of Ray Vitte deserves an unbiased and thorough investigation. It’s been 37 years since his death; and unfortunately, we’re still witnessing “suspicious” deaths/murders at the hands of law enforcement in 2020.  Thus, the details surrounding Vitte’s death are sadly, still very relevant today. May he and the countless other unjustly slain Black and Brown brothas and sistas continue to rest peacefully.

The post After “Car Wash” Actor Died Suspiciously In Police Custody, Fans And Celebs Were Outraged appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

ILOSM family, make some noise if you remember “Marleen,” the prostitute from the movie, “Car Wash!” Her role in “Car Wash” wasn’t extensive, but it left a lasting impression on the viewers. “Marleen” was the prostitute who got her heart broken after falling in love with one of her customers, stepping into the phone booth to call him up, and learning that he’d given her the wrong phone number. What made that scene even more memorable was because Rose Royce’s hit, “I’m Going Down,” playing throughout and setting the mood for it. We’ve found her now!

GLORIA SCHULTZ A.K.A. “MARLEEN” FROM “CAR WASH”

Below are a few photos of Gloria Schultz today. It’s hard to imagine her as “prostitute Marleen” from “Car Wash” now…but yep, it’s her…

Gloria sometimes goes by the stage name of Lauren Jones for her acting roles. After “Car Wash,” we didn’t really see much of Schultz, but we have now learned that she’d been around the whole time, we just didn’t know it. She’s typically a more private person, but we’ve learned a few interesting things about her.

WHAT  “CAR WASH” ACTRESS IS DOING NOW…

Gloria is married to an important figure in film and they have two sons. The thing we didn’t know is that she’s a well known casting director.

SHE MARRIED “COOLEY HIGH’S” DIRECTOR

Gloria married the director for the movie, “Car Wash,” Michael Schultz (pictured above), and they’ve been married since 1965. Michael has directed many classic films including “Cooley High,” “Krush Groove,” The Last Dragon,” “Woman Thou Art Loosed,” “Bustin’ Loose,” Which Way Is Up, and too many more to name here. He’s also directed many theatrical plays and popular TV shows including “Starsky & Hutch,” “Alley McBeal, “Chicago Hope,” and the list goes on and on. See they’re son…

Gloria and Michael Schultz’s son, Brandon Schultz (above, L) is also a director and graphics animator. He was also the President of Imajimation Studios and has worked on Toni Braxton’s and Kelly Price’s videos. The Schultz’s have another son together, Derek Schultz, but very little is known about him. Michael has another son from a previous relationship, Brent Schaeffer (not pictured).

It’s always a beautiful thing to see old school legends living life to the fullest!

The post Remember The ‘Prostitute’ In “Car Wash”? Found Her, And She’s Made Major Moves In Hollywood appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

GLORIA SCHULTZ A.K.A. “MARLEEN” FROM “CAR WASH”

This is Gloria Schultz today. It’s hard to imagine her as “prostitute Marleen” from “Car Wash” now, but yep, it’s her…

Gloria sometimes goes by the stage name of Lauren Jones for her acting roles. After “Car Wash,” we didn’t really see much of Schultz, but we have now learned that she’d been around the whole time, we just didn’t know it. She’s typically a more private person, but we’ve learned a few interesting things about her.

WHAT  “CAR WASH” ACTRESS IS DOING NOW…

Gloria is married to an important figure in film and they have two sons. The thing we didn’t know is that she’s a well known casting director.

SHE MARRIED “COOLEY HIGH’S” DIRECTOR

Gloria married the director for the movie, “Car Wash,” Michael Schultz (pictured above), and they’ve been married since 1965. Michael has directed many classic films including “Cooley High,” “Krush Groove,” The Last Dragon,” “Woman Thou Art Loosed,” “Bustin’ Loose,” Which Way Is Up, and too many more to name here. He’s also directed many theatrical plays and popular TV shows including “Starsky & Hutch,” “Alley McBeal, “Chicago Hope,” and the list goes on and on. See they’re son…

Gloria and Michael Schultz’s son, Brandon Schultz (above, L) is also a director and graphics animator. He’s also the President of Imajimation Studios and has worked on Toni Braxton’s and Kelly Price’s videos. The Schultz’s have another son together, Derek Schultz, but very little is known about him. Michael has another son from a previous relationship, Brent Schaeffer (not pictured).

It’s always a beautiful thing to see old school legends living life to the fullest!

The post Remember The ‘Prostitute’ In “Car Wash”? You’ll Be Amazed When You See Her Now appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

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-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view. Come join our ILOSM fam’ on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @iloveoldschoolmusic

The post Remember The ‘Prostitute’ In “Car Wash”? Wait Til U See Her NOW! appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

After Car Wash and Stir Crazy, we didn’t see a much of actor/comedian, Franklyn on the big screen, so we decided to do a lil’ diggin’ to find out where he’s been all of these years and let’s just say that the things we learn after doing a little research are often quite interesting. Here’s the scoop on Franklin…

After after making a few appearances on 70’s TV shows like the Flip Wilson Show and Johhny Carson, Franklyn went on to record and release five comedy albums, with his last one, Vagabond Jazz & the Abstract Truth, being released in 2004. But get this, in 1997 Franklyn packed up and moved to Melbourne Australia, where he’s been a citizen ever since.

Apparently he’s been making a lot of noise throughout the years over there as a comedian and here’s what he said about why he decided to vacate the U.S. premises for good:

“Moving to Australia was not a career move, but a quality of life issue. It has no guns, no God, and no gangster rap. as an Ethiopian cab driver said to me the other day when i was returning from a gig in Sydney, “Australia is a peaceful, democratic place.” I like the relatively stress free lifestyle. it’s worth a drop in income.”

As some of you may know, Franklyn’s been known to make a few jokes about religion and other social issues. Here’s a clip from his performance on TV One a few years ago.

Over here [in Australia] I produce my one man show for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, teach television writing at a university, do voice-over work, act in a children’s action-adventure television show, and am a guest panelist on a popular weekly discussion show called “The Panel.”

[Source: Shecky Magazine]

Ajaye still travels back to the U.S, periodically to work. As far as we know, his last project in the U.S, was in the 2011 film, Bridesmaids, starring the late great Minnie Riperton’s daughter, actress/comedian Maya Rudolph. Ajaye played her Dad.

And there you have it folks! Franklyn Ajaye has not stopped doing his thing ever since Car Wash and at 66 years young, the an couldn’t appear to be in greater health. Hopefully we’ll be seeing him in more films or TV shows here in the U.S. soon.

By the way, Franklyn Ajaye once told this funny story about his first experience working with one of his comedic idols, Richard Pryor. It was a pretty wild experience and it all went down on the set of…

The post Ever Wondered What Happened To “TC” From “Car Wash?” Found Him! appeared first on I Love Old School Music.