Cab Calloway

A celebration of art by legendary animator Max Fleischer. Features: KoKo's Kozy Korner (1928), Somewhere in Dreamland (1936), Any Rags? (1932), Small Fry (1939), Dinah (1933), The Old Man of the Mountain (1933), and Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936).

An experimental short film using only free archival footage.

A singer, dancer, and bandleader, Cab led one of the most popular African American big bands during the jazz and swing eras of the 1930s-40s, with Harlem’s famous Cotton Club as his home stage. Best known for his “Hi de hi de hi de ho” refrain from signature song “Minnie the Moocher,” portrayal of Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess (1952), and role in The Blues Brothers (1980), Cab influenced countless performers, including Michael and Janet Jackson, and many of today’s hip-hop artists.

Chronicling the Harlem Renaissance era, this retrospective documentary tracks the origins of the soulful music of the period, along with the challenges many of the genre's artists faced when trying to gain recognition within conventional society. Included are anecdotes from musicians and historians, plus footage of performances and interviews with Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and more.

Discover how television has reflected the African American experience in this retrospective of the medium's first half-century. Actors, writers and historians discuss the image of black America on television from Amos and Andy to the present day. The interviews accompany clips from groundbreaking shows and performances by entertainment pioneers that create a timeline of the portrayal of African Americans throughout TV history.

Director — and piano player — Clint Eastwood explores his life-long passion for piano blues, using a treasure trove of rare historical footage in addition to interviews and performances by such living legends as Pinetop Perkins and Jay McShann, as well as Dave Brubeck and Marcia Ball.

Marijuana is the most controversial drug of the 20th Century. Smoked by generations to little discernible ill effect, it continues to be reviled by many governments on Earth. In this Genie Award-winning documentary veteran Canadian director Ron Mann and narrator Woody Harrelson mix humour and historical footage together to recount how the United States has demonized a relatively harmless drug.

The Stories Behind the Making of The Blues Brothers is an hour- long documentary featuring every participant from the film. Star and co-writer Dan Aykroyd explains how a joke that he and best friend John Belushi shared with friends evolved from a Saturday Night Live skit to a best-selling album and then to a film. Director John Landis covers the difficult production, from the outrageous stunts to Belushi's disappearances from the set.

From the A&E "Biography" series, a review of the birth, development and cinematic history of Betty Boop, the flapper cartoon character who has been a popular icon since the 1930s.

A celebrity benefit for The Actors' Fund of America, featuring music, songs, dance and comedy.