Robert Townsend
Biography: Townsend debuted onscreen at age 17 in Cooley High (1974), but then stopped acting. In his early 20s he performed stand-up and improvisational comedy with Chicago's Second City troupe, then joined the Experimental Black Actors Guild. He appeared in a half-dozen films in the first half of the '80s, then made his name as the producer, director, co-writer, and star of Hollywood Shuffle (1987), a humorous look at the problems encountered by black actors; the film has become a legend for its unconventional financing -- half the budget was supplied by credit cards and much of the film was donated. He also directed the Eddie Murphy concert film, Raw (1987), the highest-grossing concert film in screen history. He produced, directed, wrote, and starred in The Five Heartbeats (1991), and wrote, directed, and starred in Meteor Man (1993); both films performed poorly at the box office. He also starred in the short-lived TV sketch-comedy series "Townsend TV."
Robert Townsend's Scores
- Movies
- TV
Average career score: | 60 | |
---|---|---|
Highest Metascore: | Hollywood Shuffle | |
Lowest Metascore: | Taxman |
- By date
- By user score
Title: | Year: | Credit: | User score: |
---|---|---|---|
Making the Five Heartbeats | Aug 27, 2018 | Director / Producer / Writer / Himself | tbd |
Taxman | Sep 17, 1999 | Peyton Cody | 3.7 |
The Mighty Quinn | Feb 17, 1989 | Maubee | tbd |
Eddie Murphy: Raw | Dec 18, 1987 | Director / Director | 4.7 |
Hollywood Shuffle | Mar 20, 1987 | Director / Producer / Writer / Bobby Taylor/Jasper/Speed/Sam Ace/Rambro | tbd |
American Flyers | Aug 16, 1985 | Jerome | tbd |
A Soldier's Story | Nov 2, 1984 | Corporal Ellis | tbd |
Streets of Fire | Jun 1, 1984 | Lester - The Sorels / Lester - The Sorels | tbd |