Don Cornelius
Birthday: 27 September 1936, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Birth Name: Donald Cortez Cornelius
Height: 193 cm
Don Cornelius was born on September 27, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, USA as Donald Cortez Cornelius. He was a writer and producer, known for Soul Train (1971), Cleopatra Jones (1973) and The 8th Annual ...Show More
The '70s and '80s were just the period during which the best soul music was created and the best rec Show more
The '70s and '80s were just the period during which the best soul music was created and the best records were done. Whenever I walk into a store or any kind of environment, these kinds of songs from that period still play and I wonder if it's a "Soul Train" tape. Because during those two decades, we were on top of them all in one way or another, either presenting the guests or playing the records. We were just flat out in love with the music. That was the period when soul music grew up. It was born in the '50s and '60s, but it became sophisticated during that era. Record stores were cropping up and Motown emerged to allow the music to cross over to the point where all cultures were listening to soul music. It was an incredible time. Chicago had Curtis Mayfield, the Chi-Lites; Philadelphia had Gamble and Huff; Memphis had Stax; Detroit had Motown; and all of that started to blossom in the 70s. Hide
[Who talked about the debut of Soul Train (1971)]: My experience producing the show in Chicago gave Show more
[Who talked about the debut of Soul Train (1971)]: My experience producing the show in Chicago gave me the confidence of almost knowing what the viewer reaction to the syndicated version of 'Soul Train' would be even before it was aired. Because of Chicago I knew something that most of my doubters didn't know, and when they smirked, I smiled. I also knew [Johnson Products president] George Johnson's criteria for quality and I was determined to attain it no matter what the cost. As I look back I realize that my insistence on perfection occasionally annoyed people. Hide
[When he went to divorce court]: I am 72 years old. I have significant health issues. I want to fina Show more
[When he went to divorce court]: I am 72 years old. I have significant health issues. I want to finalize this divorce before I die. Hide
[About his risky brain surgery]: You choose your brain surgeons for their stamina. You're never quit Show more
[About his risky brain surgery]: You choose your brain surgeons for their stamina. You're never quite the same afterward. Travel is always a real test. Hide
We can't make it important to anybody else. Some of the audience we serve doesn't really care about Show more
We can't make it important to anybody else. Some of the audience we serve doesn't really care about what you did yesterday and you have to be cognizant of that ... But it's important to us. Hide
[When he was growing up in Chicago, he responded about his first exposure to racism]: I didn't reall Show more
[When he was growing up in Chicago, he responded about his first exposure to racism]: I didn't really have that much. There were some neighborhoods a few blocks away that you couldn't go in because you might run into some violence that you weren't ready for. But as far as racism directly coming in my direction, not really. Hide
[Who remained grateful to the musicians who made Soul Train (1971), a pop culture African-American s Show more
[Who remained grateful to the musicians who made Soul Train (1971), a pop culture African-American show]: The show remains vibrant because the songs are. I figured as long as the music stayed hot and important and good, that there would always be a reason for 'Soul Train.' Hide
[When asked in 2010, if he watched television]: Not much, but I still catch things now and then. It' Show more
[When asked in 2010, if he watched television]: Not much, but I still catch things now and then. It's a different world now. I can watch the "Today Show" and "Good Morning America," and I can get to see major stars -- nothing really slips by. I turned on Letterman one night and Eminem and Jay-Z were performing together and they were so good. The acceptance of music on a total media basis is much more developed now, it's much more available. When we started, we were the only program that a certain genre of artist could get exposure on. Hide
[on selling Soul Train (1971) in 2008]: The Soul Train legacy and brand are of the utmost importance Show more
[on selling Soul Train (1971) in 2008]: The Soul Train legacy and brand are of the utmost importance to me and to Soul Train's millions of fans. After years of offers, I feel the time is now finally right to pass the torch. The MadVision team understands and respects my vision, and they share my own commitment to seeing the brand rise to the next level. Hide
[Who toyed with the idea of a Soul Train channel]: We came to the conclusion that we came along a li Show more
[Who toyed with the idea of a Soul Train channel]: We came to the conclusion that we came along a little late to make it happen. There's also the problem of whether or not I had the energy to start something of that magnitude from scratch. Hide
[If he was friends with the guests he made on Soul Train (1971)]: Most of the artists that had done Show more
[If he was friends with the guests he made on Soul Train (1971)]: Most of the artists that had done the show more than a few times considered me a personal friend and I considered most of them personal friends, going back to Curtis Mayfield and the Chi-Lites and people I kinda grew up in the business with in Chicago, to the great stars of Motown, and all of the major stars. People like Aretha Franklin, yeah, I had been to their homes as well. Hide
[on Soul Train (1971)'s success]: We just seem to be surrounded on this anniversary show by all of o Show more
[on Soul Train (1971)'s success]: We just seem to be surrounded on this anniversary show by all of our personal favorites. I have to say that in the first person, because they're my personal favorites. Hide
It's always a pleasure to find something that matters.
It's always a pleasure to find something that matters.
[on the death of Barry White in 2003]: There was no match for Barry White. His music is just going t Show more
[on the death of Barry White in 2003]: There was no match for Barry White. His music is just going to live forever. It's not limited to disco or soul or hip-hop or anything. Hide
[About the dancers who care about the music he recorded on Soul Train (1971)]: I figured as long as Show more
[About the dancers who care about the music he recorded on Soul Train (1971)]: I figured as long as the music stayed hot and important and good, that there would always be a reason for 'Soul Train.' Hide
You want to do what you're capable of doing. If I saw Dick Clark's 'American Bandstand' and I saw da Show more
You want to do what you're capable of doing. If I saw Dick Clark's 'American Bandstand' and I saw dancing and I knew black kids can dance better; and I saw white artists and I knew black artists make better music; and if I saw a white host and I knew a black host could project a hipper line of speech, and I did know all these things, then it was reasonable to try. Hide
I've been accused of not being up on hip-hop or not being a fan of hip-hop, which was never true. If Show more
I've been accused of not being up on hip-hop or not being a fan of hip-hop, which was never true. If you had a following and you were charting in the major industry magazines - Billboard, and before that Cash Box - we had a commitment that "Soul Train" was yours. And we lived up to that. We saw ourselves as a mirror of what black radio was doing. That whole criteria was part of what kept us going so long. Hide
[Who said in 1974 about his connection with a friend in coming up with Soul Train (1971)]: The man a Show more
[Who said in 1974 about his connection with a friend in coming up with Soul Train (1971)]: The man at Sears was George O'Hare, a merchandise manager for a group of five stores, all of which were located in Chicago's inner city. He was a very socially conscious man that was deeply concerned with getting behind a 'community-type' show. George was a guy that people bounced ideas off and was always receptive to new concepts. When I went in I expected him to tell me what so many others had said about programming for blacks. This is the theory that blacks 'need' cultural or historical programs and not necessarily entertainment. There are whites you can go to with a black history idea and they will get behind it because they feel it's what blacks need. Perhaps it is what we need more of on the air, however, it is not necessarily what blacks want. And you can't force people to accept something they don't want, whether it's good for them or not. Hide
Don Cornelius's FILMOGRAPHY
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as Actor (22)
