Stickin’ It To The Man
In the early 1900′s the term “The Man” was used to describe a boss figure. This term later began to be applied to anyone who hassled a group of people and eventually to anyone in a position of power.
In the 1960′s “The Man” began to see widespread usage by the Black Power Movement to describe the white oppressors that the movement was fighting against. A number of newspapers from the era used the term and it quickly gained currency, both among Black activists and those who struggled in solidarity with them.
During the 1970′s the term “The Man” became a part of the vernacular of the Blaxploitation film era. “The Man” referred to the police, the mob, the politicians and anyone who was white with power. In most cases “The Man” held the key to the destruction or redemption of Black characters in these films.
There were a number of white actors and actresses who got their start in Blaxploitation films and saw their careers take off after they made their Blaxploitation film debuts. The Museum of UnCut Funk presents a new visual DocuFunk short called “The Man” that pays homage to Blaxploitation’s “other” stars.
The status of Antonio Fargas is legendary. Since his initiation into the world of film at the age of fourteen, when his exceptional interpretative skills led to a role in Shirley Clark’s Cool World, he has been noted for the unforgettable characters he creates, most famously through his role as the incorrigible and loveable ‘Huggy Bear’ in TV’s Starsky & Hutch.
Whether perfecting outrageously comedic characters as in Robert Downey’s Putney Swope and Keenan Ivory Wayan’s I’m Going to Git You Sucka, or chilling the audience through a convincing rendition of a ninety year old witch doctor, as in the Broadway play, The Great White Hope, Antonio’s performances have generated a near endless array of enthusiastic acclaim from some of the industry’s most respected critics of film, television and stage.
Antonio’s stage career is most extensive with appearances both on and off Broadway, these include Melvin Van Peeples’ Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death, the on-Broadway production of The Great White Hope, North Carolina Repertory’s The Contract, Stage West’s The Rainmaker and The Emperor Jones, and numerous other productions.
Antonio Fargas is also a partner in his own production company, Granada Entertainment. The company specializes in the writing and production of new film and television products and currently have a television series in development for British television. Antonio is currently partnering with a number of other artists in a tribute to urban art forms, the focus of his tribute is a twelve city tour of Calling All Saints, a gospel musical stage play about the threats to marriage and family.
His commitment to theatre is further exemplified by his position on the boards of Rhode Island’s Langston Hughes Centre for the Arts, and the Martin Luther King Center of Newport. He is Chairman of the Board of the Mount Vernon Open Case Theatre, and Honorary Board Chair on the Progressive Symphony’s Academy of the Arts, an organization by Maestra Yvetter Devereaux.
1970’s Filmography:
Pretty Baby (1978) …. Professor
Car Wash (1976) …. Lindy
Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975) …. One-Eye
… aka Hit the Open Man
The Gambler (1974) …. Pimp
Foxy Brown (1974) ….Link Brown
Conrack (1974) …. Quickfellow
Busting (1974) …. Stephen
Cleopatra Jones (1973) …. Doodlebug Simkins
Across 110th Street (1972) …. Henry J. Jackson
Cisco Pike (1972) …. Buffalo
Believe in Me (1971) …. Boy
Shaft (1971) …. Bunky
Pound (1970) …. Greyhound
