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Posts tagged as ““The Tonight Show””

Denzel Washington Paid for 'Black Panther' star Chadwick Boseman to Study at Oxford

By goodblacknews on April 5, 2018
"Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman
“Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman (Albert L. Ortega | Getty Images)

by  via cnbc.com
Chadwick Boseman, the 41-year-old star of Black Panther, may have Oscar-winner and 2018 nominee Denzel Washington to thank for some of his success. While studying at Howard University in the late ’90s, Boseman and some of his peers applied to a prestigious summer theater program at The University of Oxford. The group of students got in, but they couldn’t afford to go.
One of their acting teachers at Howard, actress Phylicia Rashad from The Cosby Show, “pushed for us,” Boseman told Rolling Stone. “She essentially got some celebrity friends to pay for us to go.” It wasn’t until after the program when he got a beneficiary letter and found out who funded the program: “Denzel paid for me. I’m sure he has no idea. … I’ve been waiting to meet him, so I can tell him.”
Boseman wrote Washington a thank-you letter, but he didn’t tell anyone else about it for two decades. “I’ve basically been holding this secret my whole career,” he told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, explaining that he didn’t want Washington to feel like he owed him anything else.
Boseman wanted to meet Washington in person before saying anything. He hadn’t met him before the Rolling Stone interview but, after 20 years, he figured it was OK to reveal the detail. As Boseman told Fallon: “I think I’ve made it to the point where he’s not going to think I’m trying to get something from him by saying it.”
Coincidentally, just before the Rolling Stone feature came out, Boseman got to meet his benefactor. Washington came to the New York premiere of “Black Panther,” and, “I met him, before the article came out,” Boseman told Fallon. “So I actually lived up to what I originally wanted to do. It was amazing.”
When Fallon asked how the introduction went, Boseman recalled how he thanked him for paying for Oxford a while back, to which Washington jokingly replied: “Oh, so that’s why I’m here. You owe me money! I came to collect!”
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/denzel-washington-paid-for-chadwick-boseman-to-study-at-oxford.html

JUST FOR FUN: Will Smith and Jimmy Fallon Perform "Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing" on The Tonight Show (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on February 18, 2014
Will Smith, Jimmy Fallon, Tonight Show
(Lloyd Bishop/NBC)

Jimmy Fallon loves the ’90s. Like, really, really loves the ’90s.  After famously reuniting the casts of Saved by the Bell and Full House on Late Night, the 39-year-old comedian gave a nod The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air during his first-ever time hosting The Tonight Show Monday. Of course, he couldn’t have done it without a little help from his first guest, Will Smith.

Dressed in overalls and printed tees, the duo performed the “Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing,” showing off moves ranging from the “Cabbage Patch” and the “Running Man” to the “Robot” and the “Pop and Lock.” Other signatures included “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” “Kid ‘N Play,” “MC Hammer” and “The Carlton.” Unfortunately, Smith’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air costar Alfonso Ribeiro didn’t make a cameo.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTpn30Pms8I&w=560&h=315]
And while they both attempted to do the “Leg Thing No One Can Do,” it was the “Spank That” move that tripped Smith up. Fallon transitioned into “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” but Smith was still spanking it.  The funnymen recovered and decided to “Make It Rain” before “Picking Up the Money Because That’s all You Had.” When Fallon began to demonstrate the “Twerk,” 45-year-old Smith bowed out and walked offstage.
The recurring bit is a fan favorite. During his tenure on Late Night, Fallon performed “The History of Rap” with Justin Timberlake; the singer later helped Fallon with his “Evolution of End Zone Dancing” tutorial. Fallon also once demonstrated “The Evolution of Mom Dancing” with First Lady Michelle Obama.
article by Zach Johnson via eonline.com

Obama: Russia Has "Big Stake in Making Sure" Olympics Work for LGBT Community

By goodblacknews on August 8, 2013

1375839549000-AFP-521918111-1308062140_4_3In an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, President Barack Obama on Tuesday night said that he expected Russia to welcome gay and lesbian athletes to the 2014 Sochi Olympics because the country has “a big stake in making sure the Olympics work.”  The conversation stemmed from a question Leno asked about the treatment of the LGBT community in Russia, which Leno characterized as a place where “homosexuality is against the law.”
A top Russian government official recently stated that, even during the Olympics, the country would enforce a new law that prohibits “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations around minors.” The law, signed by Russian president Vladimir Putin in June, also bans public events that promote gay rights and public displays of affection by same-sex couples.
The International Olympic Committee has stated publicly that athletes and visitors attending the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia will not be affected by the anti-gay legislation.  “I mean, this seems like Germany,” Leno said. “Let’s round up the Jews, let’s round up the gays, let’s round up the blacks. I mean, it starts with that. You round up people who you don’t — I mean, why is not more of the world outraged at this?”
President Obama responded that he had “no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.”