Joe Seneca
Birth : 1919-01-14, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Death : 1996-08-15
History
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joe Seneca (January 14, 1919 – August 15, 1996) was an American film and television actor who had a lengthy Hollywood career, portraying bit parts in many major films and television sitcoms spanning from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Seneca was born Joel McGhee in Cleveland, Ohio. Prior to his Hollywood career, Seneca belonged to the R&B singing group "The Three Riffs", performing at upscale supper clubs in New York City. He was also a songwriter and had big hits with "Talk to Me" which was sung by Little Willie John and "Break It to Me Gently", which was a smash twice, once by Brenda Lee in 1962, and once by Juice Newton in 1982. His song "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" was recorded by Ike & Tina Turner, Manfred Mann and The Spencer Davis Group.
Arguably his most well-known roles are that of bluesman Willie Brown in Crossroads and Dr. Meddows in The Blob, the evil head of a government team sent to contain the title creature.
Seneca also made multiple appearances on The Cosby Show as Hillman President Dr. Zachariah J. Hanes. He also played Alvin Newcastle [1]on an episode of The Golden Girls entitled "Old Friends."
Joe appeared in Spike Lee's "School Daze" as the Mission College President McPherson in 1988.
Joe appeared on Matlock: The Blues Singer Episode May 9, 1989.
Joe also appeared in Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" Music Video In the late 80's.
He died from asthma at the age of 77.
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Reverend Isaiah Street
A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.
Deacon Wilkes
In 1948, Johns served as the outspoken spiritual leader of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Incensed at the racial injustice that pervaded the South, he was determined to fight for equality for all African Americans.
Spits
Matthew, a young schizophrenic, finds himself out on the street when a slumlord tears down his apartment building. Soon, he finds himself in even more dire straits, when he is threatened by Little Leroy, a thug who is one of the tough denizens of the Fort Washington Shelter for Men. He reaches out to Jerry, a streetwise combat veteran, who takes Matthew under his wing as a son. The relationship between these two men grows as they attempt to conquer the numbing isolation of homelessness.
Toomer
A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.
Williben Williams
An Indian family is expelled from Uganda when Idi Amin takes power. They move to Mississippi and time passes. The Indian daughter falls in love with a black man, and the respective families have to come to terms with it.
Joseph
The ape man flies to New York, where cabby Jane and her father help him rescue Cheetah from a madman.
A Christmas party rages while a store clerk sits alone. The party takes it upon themselves to spread some holiday cheer. Produced by Young Artists United.
Dr. Meddows
Arborville, California. Three high school students discover a strange, gelatinous substance that melts the flesh of any living creatures in its path and wreaks havoc across town.
President Harold McPherson
Fraternity and sorority members clash with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend.
A promotional video for Michael Jackson's 1987 hit single "The Way You Make Me Feel".
Clatoo
A regular day in a Louisiana sugarcane plantation changes course when a local white farmer is shot in self defense. A group of old, black men takes a courageous step by coming forward en masse to take responsibility for the killing of a white racist, whom one of their members has shot. As the sheriff confronts the suspects, the young plantation owner stands alone in her daring defense of this group of men, provoking racial tension that makes a compelling drama.
Moments Without Proper Names makes Parks makes himself the subject, tracing his development as a person and an artist through an hourlong, non-narrative abstract self-portrait that combines Parks’s photographs with his musical compositions and scenes from his films. It also features footage of Parks, plus interpretations of his personal reminiscences performed by actors Avery Brooks, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Joe Seneca.
Reverend
Willie Brown
A wanna-be blues guitar virtuoso seeks a long-lost song by legendary musician, Robert Johnson.
Ezra
Four unwitting heroes cross paths on their journey to the sleepy town of Silverado. Little do they know the town where their family and friends reside has been taken over by a corrupt sheriff and a murderous posse. It's up to the sharp-shooting foursome to save the day, but first they have to break each other out of jail, and learn who their real friends are.
Noah
This is based on a true story. Solomon Northrop is a black man in the mid 19th century before slavery was abolished. He's a born freeman who works as a carpenter and is also a part time musician. One day he is approached by some men who want him to play for them. However, that is not their intention; they have kidnapped him and sold him into slavery. Now he has to endure the hardships that he has been spared because of his status as a freeman. And his family who don't know what happened to him is searching for him but where do they go? And Solomon also wishes to let them know where he is so that they could get him but unfortunately no one believes his story or is willing to help him.
Pluto
A young black man and his family move into a home in rural Ohio and discover that during the Civil War it was used by a Dutch immigrant to smuggle runaway slaves to freedom. Soon they begin to suspect that the ghosts of slaves who passed through there are haunting the house.
Santiago
Professional killer Holland is forced out of retirement to break a Central American government's political torture ring when one of his friends, a Latin American journalist, is killed. The murderer, Doctor Clement Molloch, is the master sadist behind the political torture of innocent victims. Posing as a journalist, Holland lures Molloch out of his fortress-like headquarters by using his murdered friend's wife and daughter as bait. When Holland kidnaps Molloch's sister, the doctor is led on a wild chase that takes him to an abandoned opal mine where he finally comes face to face with Holland.
Dr. Thompson
Frank Galvin is a down-on-his-luck lawyer and reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing, when a former associate reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit by serving it to Galvin on a silver platter—all parties are willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, Galvin suddenly realizes that the case should actually go to court—to punish the guilty, to get a decent settlement for his clients... and to restore his standing as a lawyer.
Based on the real-life ordeal of Baltimore priest Bernard Pagano, who was accused of several armed robberies in the late Seventies.
Partygoer
Ted Kramer is a career man for whom his work comes before his family. His wife Joanna cannot take this anymore, so she decides to leave him. Ted is now faced with the tasks of housekeeping and taking care of himself and their young son Billy.
Doorman
An unmarried, middle-aged woman accidentally gets pregnant by an internationally renowned pianist and decides to keep and raise the baby on her own.
Ed Rudolph
The story of American track sprinter Wilma Rudolph, who overcame physical handicaps to win three gold medals in the 1960 Olympics.
Police Sergeant
In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?
