
Acting
Debbie Allen
Born 1950-01-16 · Houston, Texas, USA
Debbie Allen is an American film and television actress and director.
Acting credits
6.0Bullied by his siblings and nagged by his parents, 11-year-old Preston Waters is fed up with his family — especially their frugality. But he gets his chance to teach them a lesson when a money-laundering criminal nearly bulldozes Preston with his car and compensates the boy with a blank check. Preston makes the check out for $1 million and goes on a spending spree he'll never forget.
Blank Check
1994
6.4A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
Fame
1980
5.7At New York's High School of Performing Arts, students from all walks of life get the chance to hone their skills as singers, actors, dancers, and more. Over four years, these young men and women will see if they truly have the dedication and talent to achieve success, while still juggling regular schoolwork, feelings of self-doubt, and budding romances.
Fame
2009
5.0A young female prison guard finds out that her first assignment is to San Quentin, one of the toughest prisons in the country.
Women of San Quentin
1983
6.8This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.
Night of 100 Stars II
1985
5.1Two inept criminals are mistakenly delivered a package of cocaine and think they've hit the jackpot, triggering a series of events that changes ten people's lives forever.
Next Day Air
2009
8.7A star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa Williams traces the struggles and triumphs of the superstars of music and film. Among the many artists featured are: Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Little Richard, Also included are today's contemporary superstars: Snoop Dogg, Ice T, Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, Russell Simmons, and many, more! 80 minutes plus DVD bonus features.
It's Black Entertainment
2002
NR"Explores the 400-year era of the transatlantic slave trade, when millions of Africans were kidnapped and shipped to the Americas. Features interviews with scholars, oral histories and a dramatic recreation of the Middle Passage" (The History Channel).
Ships of Slaves: The Middle Passage
1997
6.0Exploring how Black actresses, a historically overlooked and under-valued group in Hollywood, have in recent years begun to ascend to the top echelons of entertainment and American culture. The special examines how Black actresses of Hollywood have become power brokers and the iconic moments and roles have paved the way for them today.
Soul of a Nation Presents: Screen Queens Rising
2022
4.3A 'mockumentary' on the rise and fall of Chip and Dales dancer turned martial arts action star, Francis Allen Sledgewick, AKA Frank Sledge. When fame and fortune caused Frank to lose his sense of what's truly important, he realized he'd have to get in touch with his roots, if there's ever going to be a comeback.
Confessions of an Action Star
2005
7.0A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family set among the racial tensions, infidelity, violence, and other nostalgic events in early 1900s New York City.
Ragtime
1981
6.0A TV special on the 100th anniversary of the birth of film.
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987
6.5Although Jo Jo Dancer has achieved success as a stand-up comedian, he hasn't found happiness. After receiving severe burns in a narcotics-related incident, Jo Jo remains in a coma, and, while in this state, he looks back on his life. Drifting off into memories of his troubled childhood, Jo Jo revisits his youth, recalling his eventual rise to fame and the decadence that followed. As he considers his existence, he must decide if he wants to go on living or not.
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling
1986
NRA look at the past, present and future of the Great White Way.
Broadway: The Next Generation
—
7.2Broadway royalty and Tony-winners Tommy Tune, Carol Channing, Robert Goulet, and Harvey Fierstein are your hosts for this third compilation of great musical performances from the archives of the Tony Award® broadcasts. Legendary stars from legendary shows strut their stuff in 23 performances that have become part of Broadway history.
Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards
2005
7.5A showcase of a dance troupe preparing for an international tour with performances spanning ballet, jazz, and modern dance.
Dancing in the Wings
1985
5.6The Pittsburgh basketball team is hopeless. Maybe with the aid of an astrologer, and some new astrologically compatible players, they can become winners.
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
1979
10.0Cartoon Network holds an awards show awarding cartoon excellence.
The 1st 13th Annual Fancy Anvil Awards Show Program Special: Live in Stereo
2002
Disillusioned, Eddie is a long-suffering husband who finds passion and happiness with his neighbor, Rachel, a struggling estate agent. Only one thing stands in their way - Mona, Eddie's tyrannical wife who helped Eddie when he was still a recent immigrant, then trapped him in a loveless marriage. As the relationship deepens, the two lovers devise a plan where Rachel is brought into the house as Mona's live-in attendant for Mona must die.
Mona Must Die
1994
Stevie Wonder hosts a two-hour special with celebrity guests gathered to salute Martin Luther King Jr. on the first national holiday honoring the late civil rights leader. Participants include Elizabeth Taylor, Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Cyndi Lauper, Gregory Hines, Yoko Ono, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Patti LaBelle, Cicely Tyson, the Pointer Sisters, Andre Crouch, the Alvin Ailey Dancers, Quincy Jones, Dick Gregory, Joan Baez, Richard Dreyfuss, Peter, Paul and Mary, Amy Grant and Debbie Allen.
An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
1986
7.5Broadcast on NBC February 18, 1985, the Disneyland 30th Anniversary Celebration was hosted by John Forsythe and Drew Barrymore. The special is a look back into the first thirty years of Disneyland's history. Featuring footage from opening day in 1955, including the famous Walt Disney opening day speech.
Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Celebration
1985
A primetime TV concert special celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Theater with Motown legends.
Motown Returns to the Apollo
1985
7.0A homeless man takes a newly homeless man under his wing and teaches him how to survive on the streets.
Everything's Jake
2000
4.5A DJ and ex-con is forced to work with the police in an undercover drug sting targeting his boss.
Out-of-Sync
1995
Behind the camera
5.8A rich and nasty woman returns to her hometown to evict everyone but discovers the true meaning of Christmas thanks to the local townsfolk – and an actual angel. Features 14 original songs with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton!
Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square
2020
8.2An musical adaptation of the book "Pollyanna" set in the 1950's in which an orphan tries to use gladness to unite the people in a small southern town.
Polly
1989
7.5A showcase of a dance troupe preparing for an international tour with performances spanning ballet, jazz, and modern dance.
Dancing in the Wings
1985
7.5A showcase of a dance troupe preparing for an international tour with performances spanning ballet, jazz, and modern dance.
Dancing in the Wings
1985
7.0In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams also becomes an ally.
Amistad
1997
4.5A DJ and ex-con is forced to work with the police in an undercover drug sting targeting his boss.
Out-of-Sync
1995
6.2A single mother’s American Idol audition helps her rise above a history of poverty, sexual abuse, and illiteracy to achieve national prominence.
Life Is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story
2006
8.5Broadway style songs are used to tell this interesting story of an ingenious orphan who gets involved in matchmaking and striving for inter-racial understanding in 1956 Alabama.
Polly: Comin' Home!
1990
NRAs the Harlem Renaissance flourishes in jazzy New York City, Pauline, Esther and Alice struggle to survive. By day, they toil at dreary jobs, dreaming of stardom, riches and happiness. By night, they dance their troubles away at the famous Savoy Ballroom. But when World War II appears on the horizon, the girls find their fortunes unfolding too unevenly to reconcile, and they inevitably begin to drift apart.
Stompin' at the Savoy
1992
NRAfter receiving the gift of a magical Nutcracker filled with hot chocolate, Kara drifts off to a happy sleep and begins her fantastic journey when the Nutcracker comes alive. Places Kara and the Nutcracker explore include a hip hop Candy Cane Lane, mystical Egypt, exotic Bollywood, a dazzling Jazzland and a new South Pole surprise.
The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker
2014
NRAfter receiving the gift of a magical Nutcracker filled with hot chocolate, Kara drifts off to a happy sleep and begins her fantastic journey when the Nutcracker comes alive. Places Kara and the Nutcracker explore include a hip hop Candy Cane Lane, mystical Egypt, exotic Bollywood, a dazzling Jazzland and a new South Pole surprise.
The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker
2014
Debbie Allen stars in her own primetime variety special.
The Debbie Allen Special
1989
Debbie Allen stars in her own primetime variety special.
The Debbie Allen Special
1989
8.1The Butterfly World Tour is the third concert tour by Mariah Carey, visited Asia, Australia and the United States. The four dates at Japan's largest stadium, Tokyo Dome, sold out in under one hour, breaking the previous record she held at the stadium.
Mariah Carey: Butterfly World Tour - Live at Tokyo Dome
1998
NRSmall town girl Marcy comes to LA with stars in her eyes, thinking she can make it big on Search for a Star. Instead, with little money and no friends, she finds herself sleeping in her car. Things dramatically change when she meets Rose, living in a cardboard box, and Mort, a wheelchair-bound Gulf War veteran. After first fighting over territory, these three lost souls bond in friendship, protecting and supporting each other in a story that is at once profoundly funny, heart-warming and poignant.
A Star for Rose
2013
5.3Sinbad brings the '70s back with a nostalgic stand-up special dedicated to the films, fashion and other flashbacks from that era.
Sinbad: Afros and Bellbottoms
1993
The Old Settler is the story of two middle-aged sisters, Elizabeth and Quilly, who share an apartment in Harlem in 1943. The sisters quarrel amiably, but they share a wounded history that becomes revealed as the tale unfolds. An earnest but unworldly young man named Husband travels up from the South to board with the sisters while he searches for his beloved Lou Bessie, who left their small town a few years back to find a new life. Husband would like to bring Lou Bessie back home, but she's enamored with the excitement of the city, and her plans are more complicated. In time, Elizabeth and Husband begin a courtship that may or may not overcome their considerable age difference, while Quilly reacts disapprovingly.
The Old Settler
2001