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Black Television Characters: 1,116 Profiles, 1939-1999
Paperback
TelevisionBlack American Studies
ISBN13: 9781476659688
Publisher: McFarland & Company
Published: Nov 27 2026
Pages: 239
Height: 0.48 Width: 7.00 Depth: 10.00
Language: English
In 1939, Ethel Waters appeared in the NBC program Variety over the Air, becoming the first African American entertainer to appear on television. Since then, pioneering Black programs from the 1950s paved the way for shows that soon became an established part of television, including Sanford and Son and The Cosby Show. And yet, many of the seminal television shows and characters that shaped the most successful Black media remain unknown or unacknowledged.
This reference book features 1,116 fact-based, trivia-themed profiles of Black characters in more than 500 television series. Organized in alphabetical order, each entry covers Black characters from all genres--from comedy and crime drama to cartoons and science fiction--and provides the same level of detail for both regular and semi-regular characters. The book also contains a character index, a performer's index, a chapter exploring the aired and unaired pilots that were to star Black actors, and a listing of variety programs that starred or featured Black entertainers.
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