African Americans have come a long way in a relatively short time in the entertainment industry. From Hattie McDaniel becoming the first black actor to win an Academy Award in 1939 to the trailblazing success of Sidney Poitier in the 1960s, African Americans have consistently broken through show business barriers on the march towards equality. As Frederick Douglass once said, "Without struggle, there is no progress."

Over the years, progress was certainly made in Hollywood, especially on the small screen. In fact, the year 1990 saw a great influx of black talent on television. That...

Every Tuesday and Wednesday, avid American Idol fans are glued to their TV sets, watching in anticipation and with hope that the contestants they fell in love with are not sent home.

Every season of the singing competition brings heartache and joy, laughter and tears. And each year this popular show produces America's newest singing talent. Several have reached stardom faster than they can say "I'm the next American Idol," while others have strayed away from the spotlight.

Aside from Kelly Clarkson's and Carrie Underwood's rise to fame, what happened to those other winners w...

Happy Birthday to Cascada singer Natalie Horler (1981), "Son of the Beach" actress Jaime Bergman (1975), WWE star Matt Hardy (1974), prolific folk singer Ani DiFranco (1970), "All of Us" actress LisaRaye (1966), "Transamerica" actress Elizabeth Pena (1959), "Seinfeld" actor Jason Alexander (1959), "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen (1949), actress Mary Kay Place (1947), Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias (1943), blues musician Roy Buchanan (1939; d. 1988), "Green Acres" actor Tom Lester (1938), prolific pianist Ray Charles (1930; d. 2004), legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane (1926; d. 1967), "Pe...

The CW has released info and dates for May sweeps, including the series finale of the popular family drama 7th Heaven, as well as details on favorites Gilmore Girls, America's Next Top Model, Smallville, and One Tree Hill.

FINALES

Monday, May 7

Girlfriends (1-hour) 9:00-10:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 10

Supernatural (Part 1 of 2) 9:00-10:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 13

7th Heaven 8:00-9:00 p.m. (SERIES FINALE)

Monday, May 14

Everybody Hates Chris 8:00-8:30 p.m.

All of Us 8:30-9:00 p.m.

The Game (1-hour) 9:00-10:00 p.m.

Tuesday, May15

Gilmore Girls 8:00-9:00 ...

The CW continues to expand its online offerings on cwtv.com with the addition of streaming full episodes of several of the network's hit primetime series. The announcement was made today during The CW's Winter Press Tour session at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California.

Effective immediately, episodes of "Beauty and the Geek," Supernatural, Veronica Mars, One Tree Hill, Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, Girlfriends and "The Game" will be available free to viewers and presented with limited commercial interruption on the network's online destination, cwtv.com. Each e...

New York's WPIX-TV Channel 11 is switching its Sunday and Monday nights of programming, effective October 9. On October 9, The CW's comedy block of Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, Girlfriends and new series "The Game" will move to Monday from 8:00-10:00 p.m. The CW will rebroadcast each comedy's season premiere on Monday, October 9, with original episodes returning on Monday, October 16.

Starting October 15, The CW's new Sunday line-up will begin with an encore of the previous Wednesday's America's Next Top Model (7:00-8:00PM) followed by original episodes of 7th Heaven (8:00-9:00PM...

In Everybody Hates Chris (7 p.m. CW), Rochelle decides to host a neighborhood watch meeting after Julius' truck is stolen, but her good intentions quickly turn competitive when her new neighbor, Louise (guest star Whoopi Goldberg), thinks she'd make a better block captain than Rochelle.

Meanwhile, Chris sets out to break his streak of bad luck with the ladies by asking out a new girl in the neighborhood, Yvette (guest star Cherelle Noyd). In sharp contrast to his older brother, Drew volunteers to be a crossing guard and can't keep the girls away, causing a major traffic problem.

...

Happy Birthday to Cascada singer Natalie Horler (1981), "Son of the Beach" actress Jaime Bergman (1975), WWE star Matt Hardy (1974), prolific folk singer Ani DiFranco (1970), "All of Us" actress LisaRaye (1966), "Transamerica" actress Elizabeth Pena (1959), "Seinfeld" actor Jason Alexander (1959), "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen (1949), actress Mary Kay Place (1947), Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias (1943), blues musician Roy Buchanan (1939; d. 1988), "Green Acres" actor Tom Lester (1938), prolific pianist Ray Charles (1930; d. 2004), legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane (1926; d. 1967), "Pe...

The TV season launches early this year when FOX kicks off season two of Prison Break in the tail end of August. The network is digging its heels in early with several August premieres, including Bones, House and a handful of new series. ABC, CBS, NBC and the new CW get in the game by mid-September.

A complete list of premiere dates follows:

Monday, Aug. 21

8 pm Prison Break (Fox)

9 pm Vanished (Fox)

Wednesday, Aug. 30

8 pm Bones (Fox)

9 pm Justice (Fox)

Tuesday, Sept. 5

8 pm Standoff (Fox)

9 pm House (Fox)

Thursday, Sept. 7

8 pm 'Til Death (Fox)

8:3...

The CW Network announced its inaugural 2006-2007 season premiere schedule today at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour. The new fifth broadcast network, targeting young adults 18-34, will roll-out its premiere season schedule over the course of a two-week period.

Following is The CW's 2006-2007 night-by-night breakdown of primetime premiere dates:

Wednesday, September 20

8:00-10:00 p.m. America's Next Top Model Special Two-Hour Premiere

Friday, September 22

8:00-10:00 p.m.. Friday Night Smackdown

Monday, September 25

8:00-9:00 p.m. 7th Heaven...

The CW network just unveiled the schedule for its premiere 2006-07 season. The network will schedule two original hours of urban comedies on Sunday night. The returning series begin at 7:00 p.m. with Everybody Hates Chris. At 7:30 p.m., All of Us airs and will be followed at 8:00 p.m. by Girlfriends. New comedy The Game airs at 8:30 p.m. and takes a comedic behind-the-scenes look at the lives of the wives and girlfriends of the star athletes on an NFL team. The series stars Aldis Hodge, Coby Bell, Tia Mowry, Hosea Chanchez and Wendy Raquel Robinson.

The 9:00-10:00 p.m. hour will top o...

Will Smith has stepped behind the camera of his sitcom All Of Us to direct an episode in which a young African American character questions the meaning of the 'N' word. It's the first time Smith has directed anything, and he admits he felt it was an important subject matter that should be treated delicately.

He explains, "The revisionist perspective on the word is that we have taken the word and we have transformed it and we have turned it into a word, much like the gay community did with the word 'queer.' We flipped it and threw it in the face of the oppressor, but there's also those ...

Executive producers Chris Rock and Will Smith will direct episodes of their respective UPN series, Everybody Hates Chris and All of Us, which will air later this season on UPN.

In the Chris Rock directed episode of Everybody Hates Chris entitled "Everybody Hates Corleone," Chris grows tired of getting beat up by bullies at school, so he asks his parents to be transferred to the neighborhood school, but when they deny the request, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Meanwhile, Julius' new job at the fish market makes him stink up the house and everyone in it.

In the Will...