Many of us first became familiar with actor, Charles S. Dutton, through his popular sitcom, “Roc”, in the early ’90s. His character was a family man who worked as a garbage collector and helped his lazy brother out all of the time.

What many didn’t know during that time was that Dutton was actually an actor who went from prison to Yale…literally. Before he started his acting career, our man Dutton had an inmate prison number and an orange jumpsuit. After his release he suited up, put on his game face and made his way to Yale.

Why Dutton Serving Many Years In The Pen’ Back In The Day

Dutton served seven and a half years in prison for manslaughter after having a fight with a man on the street who ultimately died from his injuries. You see, after Dutton dropped out of school in the 7th grade at 12 years old, he became an amateur boxer (his boxing name was “Roc”). He said the dude actually started the altercation, but what the guy probably wasn’t aware of was that Dutton was trained to use his fists as a weapon. One thing led to another…and unfortunately, a man lost his life as a result.

While in prison, Dutton received an additional 8-year sentence for fighting a prison guard.

“I got three years for killing a black man and eight for punching a white man,” Dutton once exclaimed.

That wasn’t the end of trouble for Dutton though, also while he was serving his time, he got into a prison fight with another inmate who stabbed Dutton in the neck with an ice pick…OUCH! That had to hurt, but by then Dutton, who had a rep’ for not taking no mess off of anyone, had began to change his outlook on life. He decided not to retaliate to teach the other prisoner a lesson.

How He Turned His Life Around In Prison

The punishment for their fight was to spend 6 days in solitary confinement with just one book. He got lucky by picking a book that was about Black playwrights and after he was able to touch the concrete on the prison cell block again, things really began to shape up for him:

Charles S. Dutton: “The only thing you were allowed to bring with you into the hole was one book. I brought in an anthology of plays that my girlfriend sent me from the outside. I had meant to grab a different book, actually, but took the plays by mistake,” he says. “For the first three days, I couldn’t read it. The hunger hurt too badly. But after that, by the light that shone through the two inches between the door.”

Once out of solitary confinement, Charles convinced the prison warden to allow the inmates to start a drama group for their Christmas talent show and the warden agreed under one condition- that Dutton get his GED while in prison. Dutton agreed and after that he was hooked!

Released, Then Re-Jailed For Different Offense

Charles S. Dutton was eventually released after serving his seven years, only to be thrown back in the pen’ several months later for another three year sentence. He has arrested for possession of a deadly weapon, which as a convicted felon was a no-no. So that threw a monkey wrench in his acting plans but after serving his last three years in the pen,’ he was finally able to pursue his dream. He went on to attend Townsend University in Maryland and then earned his master’s degree from Yale School of Drama.

It’s A New Day

Nowadays, Dutton is still acting and working on several projects for HBO and others, but he spends a lot of time tending to his farm in Maryland. He said that was his childhood dream and he donates most of the produce to homeless shelters and churches.

If Charles S. Dutton hasn’t displayed a life of hard work and dedication, then we don’t know what is! He is what it looks like to never allow your current circumstances to dictate the way the rest of your life will play out. Job well done Mr. Dutton.

Source, Source

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

The post “Roc” Actor Charles S. Dutton Spent Years In Prison For Violent Crime That Changed His Life appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Many of us became most familiar with actor Charles S. Dutton through his  show “Roc” that was popular in the early 90’s. His character was a family man who worked as a garbage collector and helped his lazy brother out all of the time.

What many didn’t know during that time was that Dutton was actually an actor who went from jail to Yale…literally. Before he started his acting career, our man Dutton had an inmate prison number and an orange jumpsuit. After his release he suited up, put on his game face and made his way to Yale.

Why Dutton Serving Many Years In The Pen’ Back In The Day

Dutton served seven and a half years in prison for manslaughter after having a fight with a man on the street who ultimately died from his injuries. You see, after Dutton dropped out of school in the 7th grade at 12 years old, he became an amateur boxer (his boxing name was “Roc”). He said the dude actually started the altercation, but what the guy probably wasn’t aware of was that Dutton was trained to use his fists as a weapon. One thing lead to another and unfortunately a man lost his life as a result.

While in prison, Dutton received an additional 8 year sentence for fighting a prison guard.

“I got three years for killing a black man and eight for punching a white man,” Dutton once exclaimed.

That wasn’t the end of trouble for Dutton though, also while he was serving his time, he got into a prison fight with another inmate who stabbed Dutton in the neck with an ice pick…OUCH! That had to hurt, but by then Dutton, who had a rep’ for not taking no mess off of anyone, had began to change his outlook on life. He decided not to retaliate to teach the other prisoner a lesson.

How He Turned His Life Around In Prison

The punishment for their fight was to spend 6 days in solitary confinement with just one book. He got lucky by picking a book that was about Black playwrights and after he was able to touch the concrete on the prison cell block again, things really began to shape up for him:

Charles S. Dutton: “The only thing you were allowed to bring with you into the hole was one book. I brought in an anthology of plays that my girlfriend sent me from the outside. I had meant to grab a different book, actually, but took the plays by mistake,” he says. “For the first three days, I couldn’t read it. The hunger hurt too badly. But after that, by the light that shone through the two inches between the door.”

Once out of solitary confinement, Charles convinced the prison warden to allow the inmates to start a drama group for their Christmas talent show and the warden agreed under one condition- that Dutton get his GED while in prison. Dutton agreed and after that he was hooked!

Released, Then Re-Jailed For Different Offense

Charles S. Dutton was eventually released after serving his seven years, only to be thrown back in the pen’ several months later for another three year sentence. He has arrested for possession of a deadly weapon, which as a convicted felon was a no-no. So that threw a monkey wrench in his acting plans but after serving his last three years in the pen,’ he was finally able to pursue his dream. He went on to attend Townsend University in Maryland and then earned his master’s degree from Yale School of Drama.

It’s A New Day

Nowadays, Dutton is still acting and working on several projects for HBO and others, but he spends a lot of time tending to his farm in Maryland. He said that was his childhood dream and he donates most of the produce to homeless shelters and churches.

If Charles S. Dutton hasn’t displayed a life of hard work and dedication, then we don’t know what is! He is what it looks like to never allow your current circumstances to dictate the way the rest of your life will play out. Job well done Mr. Dutton.

Source, Source

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

The post “Roc” Star Charles S. Dutton Served Years In Prison For Major Crime And It Changed His Life appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The cast of Roc” sitcom…

Well that was then and this is now, and Ella has taken on several other roles in her real life. She’s still an actress, but her most recent career is as a fitness instructor, but not just any ol’ fitness instructor, she teaches a soul-fitness class called Funkacize, where they only exercise to soul music as she blends fun dance steps with effective exercise routines for a soulful workout that her clients have been raving about. So if you’re ever in North Hollywood, Cali., stop by and let Ella get your body right.

Ella Joyce leading her funkacize fitness class…

One thing is for sure, Ella Joyce is 61 years young and she’s workin’ it like she’s 31! There’s nothing better than seeing our old schoolers stay fit, stay on point with their health, and keep that engine running in tip top shape and we thank Ella for spreading that message through her Funkacize classes.

Mrs. Joyce isn’t sleeping on her acting career though, she’s still doing her thing in the acting world and she recently had a guest role on Being Mary Jane alongside actor (and Beyonce’s new step-dad), Richard Lawson. Ella played the role of the character, “Lisa’s” mother.

Ella’s also added the title of author to her name. She released a book titled, “Kinky Phobia: Journey Through A Black Woman’s Hair,” which according to her website was created ‘after what seemed a lifetime of her hair concerns, she decided to live relaxer chemical-free. After many distressing hair adventures and “emergencies”, and successfully allowing her natural hair to grow longer than she ever imagined, and receiving many compliments and inquiries about her hair maintenance, she decided to share her thoughts, memoirs and kinky hair secrets, with other frustrated Black women everywhere.’

So as you can see, Ella Joyce has her plate pretty full and we’re very happy to hear that. She lives in California with her husband, who is also an actor and director, Dan Martin. Dan has had many roles throughout the years on shows such as The Bold and the Beautiful, Boston Legal, Numb3rs, Malcolm in he Middle and more. They’ve been married since 1992 and are still going strong. In Hollywood, that’s like being married for 70+ years, so we give Ella and Dan a big hand clap for their marriage success.

Keep doing your thing Mrs. Joyce, we see you!

The post OMG! U Gotta See What This “Roc” Actress Does For A Living Now! appeared first on I Love Old School Music.