TBT: Polly
Do you remember Polly?
On November 12, 1989, NBC aired a re-telling of Disney’s 1960 Hayley Mills classic Pollyanna. This version transposed Eleanor Porter’s classic novel Pollyanna and its white characters into a middle-class black community in the Alabama of the 1950s, and transformed the drama into a show-stopping musical.
The story is timeless. It’s about a “Glad Girl” that brings along a contagious spirit of happiness and optimism when she visits her wealthy aunt one summer.
Keshia Knight Pulliam starred as the “Glad Girl” Polly. Phylicia Rashād was cast as her Aunt Polly. Vanessa Bell Calloway was cast as Nancy, Celeste Holm as Miss Snow and Brandon Adams as Jimmy Bean.
The movie was a sort of family affair. Phylicia Rashād’s younger sister Debbie Allen both directed and choreographed Polly, and was the driving force behind the musical. Debbie also co-wrote with her husband, Norman Nixon, the words and lyrics of the film’s gospel-infused centerpiece, “Stand Up”.
Polly was a ratings hit! Its success prompted Disney to assemble a 1990 sequel, Polly: Comin’ Home!
Here are some of Polly‘s musical numbers:
Celebrity Apprentice Premiere Date Announced
The Celebrity Apprentice has been off the NBC airwaves since Spring 2013, but the Donald is back! The latest season of the celebreality competition series will return to NBC on Sunday, January 4, 2015 @ 9pm ET, before moving to it’s regular Monday @ 8pm ET timeslot.
NBC plans to air back-to-back one-hour installments each week (so double the boardroom showdowns and several firings per night).
The cast includes:
— two-time World Series champion Johnny Damon
— comedian Gilbert Gottfried
— star of Deadliest Catch Sig Hansen
— singer Kevin Jonas
— actor Lorenzo Lamas
— NFL star Terrell Owens
— talk show host Geraldo Rivera
— television and Beverly Hills 90210/Sharknado‘s Ian Ziering
— Gold Medal Olympic snowboarder Jamie Anderson
— actress Vivica A. Fox
— TV host Leeza Gibbons
— reality star Brandi Glanville
— reality star Kate Gosselin
— gold medal Olympian Shawn Johnson
— former Miss USA and star of The Real Housewives of Atlanta Kenya Moore
— and The Cosby Show‘s Keshia Knight Pulliam.
Trump’s children — Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump — will serve as his advisers. The winner of the competition will score a $250,000 donation to his or her designated charity.
H/T: TVLine