Wikipedia

Stan Lathan

Stan Lathan(born July 8, 1945) is an American television and film director and television producer.[1]He is executive producer and director ofBET'sReal Husbands of Hollywood.[2]He has produced and directed numerous stand-up comedy specials starring comedianDave Chappelle,includingKillin' Them Softly,Equanimity,The Bird Revelation,Sticks & Stones,andThe Closer.

Stan Lathan
Lathan in 2016
Born(1945-07-09)July 9, 1945(age 79)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,U.S.
EducationPennsylvania State University (1967)
Occupation(s)Director, producer
Years active1969–present
Spouse
Marguerite Lathan
​
(m.1982)​
PartnerEleanor McCoy (1970–1977)
Children5, includingSanaa Lathan
AwardsTwoGrammy Awards
ThreePrimetime Emmy Awards
Tony Award
Peabody Award
SixNAACP Image Awards

Early life

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The youngest of three boys, Lathan was born and raised inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania.He is the son of Julia Elizabeth (Dunston) and Stanley Edward Lathan.[3][4][5]His mother was a clerical employee.[6]His brothers are William Lathan of New York, a medical doctor,[7]and Charles Lewis, a musician living in Phoenix, Arizona.[8]

Lathan graduated fromOverbrook High Schoolin 1963. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in theater atPennsylvania State University[9]in 1967 and moved to Boston to pursue a master's degree fromBoston University.In response to the heightened tension surrounding the civil rights movement at that time, he was recruited by television stationWGBH-TVin 1968 to help create and direct the country's first magazine show entirely produced by, for, and about African Americans--Say Brother.[10]

Career

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Lathan has directed the pilots for many sitcoms, includingMartin,Moesha,The Parkers,The Steve Harvey Show,Amen,South Central,Cedric the Entertainer Presents,All of Us,Eve,The Soul ManandReal Husbands of Hollywood.[5]

Lathan was the executive producer and director of the stand-up comedy specialDave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softlywritten by and starring comedianDave Chappelle.It was Chappelle's first hour-longHBOspecial, and premiered in 2000. Lathan would go on to produce and direct several more of Chappelle's specials, includingFor What It's Worth,which was produced in 2004 forShowtime.In 2017, Lathan produced and directed four Chappelle specials forNetflix:The Bird Revelation,Equanimity,The Age of Spin,[11]andDeep in the Heart of Texas.[11]He also produced and directed Chappelle's fifth Netflix special,Sticks & Stones,which was released in 2019.

He executive produced and directedCedric the Entertainer: Taking You Higher,a one-hour comedy special for HBO, andIt's Black Entertainment,a two-hour musical documentary for Showtime.

Lathan began directing network television in 1973, when he was brought to Los Angeles to direct multiple episodes ofSanford & Son.He went on to directHill Street Blues,Miami Vice,Remington Steele,Cagney & Lacey,Frank's Place,Rocand others. He also directed the 1984 feature filmBeat StreetforOrion Pictures.[12]

Lathan directed dramas for public television'sGreat Performances,American PlayhouseandThe American Short Story.ForPBS,he directedAlvin Ailey: Memories & Visionsand other dance specials featuring theMartha GrahamCompany,Mikhail BaryshnikovandAgnes de Mille.[5]He directed three seasons of the popular PBS music series,SOUL!,and he was one of the first directors ofSesame Street.[10]

In 1989, Lathan partnered withRussell Simmonsto create the stand-up comedy franchiseDef Comedy Jamon HBO.[13]This series ran for 8 seasons and showcased many of today's popular television & movie stars.[14]

Lathan also received aPeabody Awardfor the seriesDef Poetryon HBO. That same year, Lathan co-producedDef Poetry Jam on Broadway,which won aTony Awardfor best special theatrical event and has toured both domestically and internationally.[15]

In 2006, Lathan co-createdRun's House,a five-season reality series forMTVthat spawned a spinoff series,Daddy's Girls.He also co-executive producedRunning Russell Simmons,an eight-part series forOxygen.In 2012, he executive produced and directedThe Ruckus,a stand-up series forComedy Central.[16]

In 2008, Lathan was the creator and executive producer ofBrave New Voices,a seven-part docu-reality series for HBO.[17]As a follow-up in 2009, Lathan staged and directedAn Evening of Poetry, Music and Spoken Word,hosted by PresidentBarack ObamaandMichelle Obamain the White House.

Lathan received both the 2003 Diversity Award and the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from theCaucus for Producers, Writers and Directors.[18]He has received sixNAACP Image Awardsfor his achievements in film and television. He was honored in 2014 by theDirectors Guild of Americafor his directing career.[19]In 2017, he received the Trailblazer Award from the Apollo Theater in Harlem.[20]In 2018, he was nominated for a DGA Award for his direction of the Dave Chappelle comedy specialThe Age of Spin[21]and received a 2018 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the same special and Dave Chappelle'sDeep in the Heart of Texas.[22]

In 2018, Lathan directedMo Amer's Netflix stand-up comedy special[23]The VagabondandAmanda Seales' HBO stand-up comedy specialI Be Knowin'.[24]

Lathan executive produced and directed Dave Chappelle'sEquanimity[25](2017) which received a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded).

Lathan won another Grammy Award for the 2019 Best Comedy Album for Dave Chappelle'sEquanimityandThe Bird Revelation.[26]

In 2020, Latham won anEmmyin the Outstanding Directing in a Variety Special for Dave Chappelle'sSticks & Stones.As Executive Producer he also won anEmmyin the Outstanding Variety category for the same film.[27]

References

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  1. ^"Movies & TV - Stan Lathan".The New York Times.2015.RetrievedJanuary 18,2015.
  2. ^"BET Networks' Award-Winning Comedy" Real Husbands of Hollywood "Returns for a Third Season This Fall".MarketWatch.com.2014.RetrievedFebruary 12,2015.
  3. ^"The HistoryMakers Video Archive interview collection presented with Carnegie Mellon Informedia technology".
  4. ^http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-2509910860/lathan-dr-william-edward.html[dead link‍]
  5. ^abc"The HistoryMakers: Stan Lathan".The HistoryMakers. 2015.RetrievedJanuary 18,2015.
  6. ^"Julia Lathan in the 1940 Census".Archives.com/.2015.RetrievedFebruary 12,2015.
  7. ^"Pursuing a Boxing Passion, but as a Judge".NYTimes.com/.May 18, 1997.RetrievedFebruary 12,2015.
  8. ^"State jazz figure Charles Lewis celebrates 81st birthday with party, intimate concert".DowntownDevil.com/.September 24, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 12,2015.
  9. ^"African American Chronicles: Black History at Penn State".BlackHistory.PSU.EDU/.2015.RetrievedFebruary 12,2015.
  10. ^ab"SOUL! Interview: Director Stan Lathan".Thirteen - WNET - New York Public Media.WNET New York. January 2009.RetrievedJanuary 18,2015.
  11. ^abStanhope, Kate (March 14, 2017)."Dave Chappelle Netflix Specials Get Trailer, Release Date".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedApril 1,2021.
  12. ^"MOVIE REVIEW Beat Street (1984) MOVIE: 'BEAT STREET'".NYTimes.com/.June 8, 1984. Archived fromthe originalon February 12, 2015.RetrievedFebruary 12,2015.
  13. ^"Simmons Lathan Media Group Announces Corporate Launch: Entertainment Trailblazers Russell Simmons and Stan Lathan Introduce New Production, Acquisition and Distribution Model".PR Newswire. June 19, 1989.RetrievedJanuary 18,2015.
  14. ^"The Def Jam Generation: The Arrival of Def Comedy Jam".The Paley Center for Media.2009.RetrievedJanuary 20,2015.
  15. ^"Spread the Word: Tony Award-Winning Def Poetry Jam Launches Tour in Philadelphia, Oct. 16".Playbill.com.2003.RetrievedJanuary 20,2015.
  16. ^"Simmons Lathan Media Group".Rush Communications.2009. Archived fromthe originalon January 19, 2015.RetrievedJanuary 18,2015.
  17. ^"Premiere Screening of Brave New Voices, a New HBO Series About Youth Speaks Poets, Draws Stars Robert Redford, Stan Lathan, Benjamin Bratt, Peter Bratt and Dave Eggers".PR Newswire. March 24, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 20,2015.
  18. ^"Diversity Award".Caucus.org.2012.RetrievedJune 13,2016.
  19. ^"A Celebration of African American TV Directors".Directors Guild of America.May 15, 2014.RetrievedJanuary 18,2015.
  20. ^Williams, Brennan (June 9, 2017)."Cedric The Entertainer Returns to the Apollo Theater To Honor His Hollywood Mentor".Huffington Post.RetrievedFebruary 20,2018.
  21. ^Pedersen, Erik (January 10, 2018)."DGA Awards: Curtain Raised on TV & Documentary Nominations".Deadline.RetrievedFebruary 20,2018.
  22. ^"Winners".GRAMMY.com.RetrievedFebruary 11,2019.
  23. ^"Mo Amer is ready for the bright lights in Netflix special, 'The Vagabond'".The Daily Dot.October 10, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 25,2019.
  24. ^PR, HBO (December 3, 2018)."AMANDA SEALES: I BE KNOWIN' Debuts Saturday, Jan. 26 on HBO".Medium.RetrievedJanuary 25,2019.
  25. ^Dave Chappelle: Equanimity,December 31, 2017,retrievedJanuary 25,2019
  26. ^"Dave Chappelle Wins Best Comedy Album".GRAMMY.com.February 3, 2019.RetrievedFebruary 11,2019.
  27. ^"Stan Lathan".Emmys.Emmys. September 21, 2020.RetrievedAugust 4,2024.
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