Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Thursday Thirteen #22 - Thirteen Films/Television Shows With Jenifer Lewis Portraying the Role of the Mother

I was talking with my uncle about Jenifer Lewis always portraying the same character in every film and he came up with the idea for this this Thursday Thirteen. She has made her stock and trade portraying the mother in various films and television shows. Ms. Lewis has been everyone's mother from Angela Bassett in "What's Love Got To Do With It?" to Omar Gooding's mother in "Hanging With Mr. Cooper". I have compiled a list of memorable performances, including the character she portrayed and the character's name and real name of the actor who portrayed her son or daughter. Side Note: When she portrayed Zelma Bullock (mother of Tina Turner) she was less than two years older than Angela Bassett.

1. Zelma Bullock – Mother of Anna Mae Bullock (Tina Turner) in “What’s Love Got to do With It?” (1993). Tina Turner was portrayed by Angela Bassett.

2. Annie – Mother of Lucky in “Poetic Justice” (1993). Lucky was portrayed by Tupac Shakur.

3. Georgia Rodman – Mother of Earvin Rodman in Hanging With Mr. Cooper (1993). Earvin Rodman portrayed by Omar Gooding.

4. Mrs. Curtis – Mother of Anthony Curtis in “Dead Presidents” (1995). Anthony Curtis portrayed by Larenz Tate.

5. Marguerite Coleman – Mother of Julia Biggs in “The Preacher’s Wife” (1996). Julia Biggs portrayed by Whitney Houston.

6. Mama Rose – Mother of David English (Melvin Franklin) in “The Temptations” (1998). Melvin Franklin was portrayed by D. B. Woodside.

7. Melissa’s Mother – Mother of Melissa in “Grownups” (1999). Melissa portrayed by Tammy Townsend.

8. Joss’s Mother – Mother of Joss House in “The Time of Your Life” (1999). Joss House portrayed by Gina Ravera.

9. Louise Smith – Mother of Jackson and Cherie Smith in “The Brothers” (2001). Jackson Smith portrayed by Morris Chestnut and Cherie Smith portrayed by Tatyana Ali.

10. Veretta Childs – Mother of Toni Childs in “Girlfriends” (2003). Toni Childs portrayed by Jill Jones.


11. Lady Em – Mother of Todd Andersen in “The Cookout” (2004). Todd Andersen portrayed by Quran Pender.


12. C- Note’s Mom – Mother of C-Note in “Who’s Your Caddy” (2007). C-Note portrayed by Big Boi.

13. Mary (Mama) Clark – Mother of Clarice Clark in “Not Easily Broken” (2008). Clarice Clark portrayed by Taraji P. Henson.


Below is a clip from the Fox television show "Girlfriends"
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's so true! I recognized her after I saw the clip. She's certainly played a lot of different people's mother!


www.mamapj.com

Hootin Anni said...

Great stuff here for Thursday!!!
PS....love your T13 header.

Stop by if you can

The Gal Herself said...

What a cool idea! I know her from Girlfriends, but I don't think I ever knew her name. Thanks for sharing (and thanks for visiting my TT).

Anonymous said...

I don't believe I've seen ANY of those films!

Lost Hemisphere's 15th T13 - What are YOU looking for?

Michelle said...

Great idea for your TT. I loved What's Love Got to do with it. I had no idea that Jenifer Lewis was in all these movies/TV shows.

SJ Reidhead said...

I've never seen any of these, but then I'm out of touch - so bad!

SJR
The Pink Flamingo

Susan Demeter said...

She sounds like she is very talented! Happy TT :)

Malcolm said...

While I was thinking of "Party of Five" the other day, I was reminded of its spinoff "The Time of Your Life". Although I was a huge fan of the former, I can't remember if I ever watched a whole episode of the latter.

As a heads up, the You Tube clip you posted is no longer available. Shoot, I was looking forward to watching that clip of "Girlfriends" too, lol.

Jay said...

I see character actors all the time and think "man, I've seen him/her in a lot of stuff." She does a good job of playing a mother.

SandyCarlson said...

A character actor? I always think of that as a thing of the past. Thanks for pointing this out.

Lori said...

What a great idea for a TT! This never occured to me, but you're right. She's played just about EVERYBODY'S mama.

Tammy said...

I never thought about how many times she has played a mother. Very interesting. Happy TT

Malcolm said...

OK, now the clip is playing for me. It's weird that I got that "We're sorry, but this clip is no longer available" message earlier.

Jenifer had some really good lines in that clip. "What, you don't like my pantsuit? It's shawp!"

marcia@joyismygoal said...

boy i saw preachers wife but the rest are not that familar

marcia@joyismygoal said...

boy i saw preachers wife but the rest are not that familar

Unknown said...

Your "Thursday Thirteen" is very good. I love Jenifer Lewis! She is very funny and seems to be so down-to-earth. Great choice. Oh yeah, I enjoyed the clip from "Girlfriends". I saw that episode a few times.

Chelle Y. said...

I do not know her.

Clarence said...

You know, I use to have a HUGE crush on Mr Cooper, what was his name? Marc Curry I think... Great TT list! :)

Anonymous said...

Interesting list!

The Rock Chick said...

I do recognize her from Girlfriends, but I'm ashamed to admit, I haven't seen any of those movies. Time to fire up the DVD player, I guess!

This is a great idea for a list! I stopped TT for a while because I swear, I could no longer think of connections for anything, much less 13 of them. It's fun to be back!

Happy TT
Jessica

Anonymous said...

I wonder why she does it.

Unknown said...

Great list! I didn't realize how many shows she had been in!