The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Reuben Cannon
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| Repository: | The HistoryMakers |
| 1900 S. Michigan Avenue |
| Chicago, Illinois 60616 |
| (312) 674-1900 |
| info@thehistorymakers.com |
| http://www.thehistorymakers.com |
| Interviewer: | Julieanna Richardson |
| Videographer: | Scott Stearns |
| Title: | Video Oral History Interview with Reuben Cannon |
| Dates: | July 25, 2001 |
| Abstract: | (ABSTRACT) |
| Quantity: | 5 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials. |
| Identification: | A2001.101 |
| Language: | The interviews and records are in English |
Producer and casting director Reuben Cannon was born on February 11, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in the Harold I. Ickes housing projects and attended Southeast City College.
Wanting to move into the entertainment industry, Cannon decided to try his luck in California. Dogged in his pursuit, Cannon went to film studios daily looking for work. After months of doing this, his perseverance paid off and Cannon was offered a job in the mailroom of Universal Studios. Unknown to him, the mailroom was the studio's executive training program, and thus a successful entertainment career began.
Cannon worked at Universal Studios from 1970 to 1978, eventually becoming a casting director. From 1977 to 1978, he served as head of television casting for Warner Brothers. In 1978, he began his own casting agency, Reuben Cannon & Associates.
Cannon has been credited with launching the careers of many of today's major film and television stars, including Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Bruce Willis, Michael J. Fox and Whoopi Goldberg. His television producing credits include The Women of Brewster Place, Amen and many others. His casting credits include Promised Land, Touched by an Angel, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Desperado, What's Love Got To Do With It?, The Color Purple, Village of the Damned, The Josephine Baker Story, Moonlighting and many others. He also is producing his own films, including Down on the Delta, Get on the Bus and Dancing in September.
Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®
This life oral history interview with Reuben Cannon was conducted by Julieanna Richardson on 2001-07-25 in Reuben Cannon & Associates, 5225 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 526, Los Angeles, California 90036 and is recorded on 5 30-minute Betacam SP videocassettes. Access copies exist on Betacam SP, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1. The interview contains information on (COMPLETE ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW). Accompanying materials in the collection include Reuben Cannon's correspondence with The HistoryMakers® related to the interview; a copy of the signed release form and the production report; the biographical information used by the interviewer to prepare for the interview (DETAILS); paper copies of the interview transcripts, 3 1/2" floppy disks with electronic copies of the transcripts; selected quotes for video clips; photocopies of photographs captured on video; XML files with metadata created in editing and cataloguing the interview for The HistoryMakers Digital Video Library; and paper copies of these XML files.
Restrictions on Access
Access to paper records is restricted. Other restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis.
Restrictions on Use
All use of materials must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers® and appropriate credit must be given. All use credits must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers®. Copyright is held by The HistoryMakers®.
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| This record series is indexed under the following controlled access terms. |
| Contributors: |
| | Cannon, Reuben |
| | Richardson, Julieanna |
| | Stearns, Scott |
| Persons: |
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| Corporate Bodies: |
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| Family Names: |
| | Cannon |
| Places: |
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| Subjects: |
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| Document Types: |
| | Video oral history interview |
| Titles: |
| | The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Reuben Cannon |
Accompanying materials: Accompanying materials are filed in (NUMBER) folders in a half-Hollinger box and shelved at The HistoryMakers® Archives and Collection Library by accession number, separately from the videos.
Betacam, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1 access copies are held for in-house use at The HistoryMakers®; Betacam SP, VHS and DVD playback hardware is provided for in-house viewing of the access copies; MPEG-1 copies are searchable and viewable via a digital video database.
The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Reuben Cannon, July 25, 2001. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.
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Video Oral History Interview with Reuben Cannon, Tape 1, July 25, 2001, TRT: 00:31:15.
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| Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Reuben Cannon, Jr. attended the same South Side elementary school as his mother. His father was absent for the first five years of his life, having been sent to prison for armed robbery. His father returned when Reuben, Jr. was five years old and died of a heart attack three years later. Reuben, Jr. then became "the man of the house," working small jobs and allotting allowances to his three brothers and sisters. The family lived in the Harold Ickes housing project for much of his childhood and adolescence. Because there was no school nearby, black kids from the Ickes Homes were bussed to an elementary school in Chinatown. Cannon learned important cultural lessons at Haines Elementary School. One particularly inspirational teacher instilled in Cannon the idea that black people have contributed more to history than comedy. Cannon also befriended a Chinese boy there; their friendship ended when Cannon was forced to align himself with the black kids from his neighborhood. After his father's death, Cannon's maternal grandmother moved into the family's apartment. This was the beginning of a bitter war between the young Cannon and 'Mama,' in which Cannon researched current events in order to challenge all of his grandmother's assertions. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Reuben Cannon, Tape 2, July 25, 2001, TRT: 00:30:50.
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| Reuben Cannon discusses his childhood and adolescence in the Harold Ickes housing project on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. Cannon describes a tumultuous relationship with his grandmother, who he tried to have arrested for her authoritarian parenting. He credits his mother and grandmother with steering him away from the criminal activities that his friends had begun to pursue. Cannon preferred the spotlight that his singing talents had afforded him. Cannon found two male mentors, a teacher and a homeless man, who encouraged his pursuit of greatness. Cannon then met a young woman on his paper route who he began to date. She became pregnant with his child and the two eventually married. He worked sixteen-hour days at a steel mill to support his new family. Cannon attributes their separation and subsequent divorce to their youth and naivete. He began a new job reading gas meters. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Reuben Cannon, Tape 3, July 25, 2001, TRT: 00:28:57.
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| Upon graduating from high school, Reuben Cannon enrolled in college and worked as a gas meter reader in Chicago, Illinois. A friend from a former job encouraged him to move out to California and pursue his dreams of working in the entertainment industry. After inquiring daily for a month, Cannon was hired to work in the mailroom of Universal Studios, its unofficial executive training grounds. He performed his mail boy duties well and eventually interviewed for a position as a casting trainee. His future boss's unorthodox hiring process afforded Cannon the job of which he had dreamed. In working for Universal Studios and Warner Bros., Cannon casted many significant projects, including 'Moonlighting,' 'Roots II: The Next Generation,' and 'The Color Purple.' His entrepreneurial spirit eventually led him to initiate Reuben Cannon & Associates, a successful independent casting and production agency. Cannon recognizes the significance of bringing other black people with him in his career ascent. He credits himself with giving subsequent black casting directors their career breaks. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Reuben Cannon, Tape 4, July 25, 2001, TRT: 00:30:02.
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| Reuben Cannon, an established casting director, describes his decision to initiate an independent casting and production agency, Reuben Cannon & Associates. Cannon discusses his experience as casting director for the film 'The Color Purple.' Work duties brought him to Chicago where he met and casted local talk show host Oprah Winfrey for the role of Sophie in the film. Cannon discusses the role of his wife, Linda, in the legal aspects of Reuben Cannon & Associates. His second project with Oprah Winfrey, 'The Women of Brewster Place' mini-series, saw Cannon in a new role as producer. In an effort to generate more uncomprised black films, Cannon raised money for, and produced 'Down in the Delta' and 'Get on the Bus.' He recognizes the wealth of black talent in Hollywood and suggests that black people must contribute, financially, if they would like to see a certain caliber of black film. Cannon has repeated his model of raising funds and creating independent black films with much success. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Reuben Cannon, Tape 5, July 25, 2001, TRT: 00:14:33.
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| Reuben Cannon, a successful casting agent and producer, describes that his legacy can be found in the numbers of black casting directors and others in the entertainment industry that he has brought with him on his career ascent. He dreams of community arts organizations in black neighborhoods that would nurture artisitic talent and then "recycle" it, or use the talent for good in these very neighborhoods. Cannon believes that excellence is an effective weapon against racism and he encourages his children to work hard at whatever they do. He asserts that black people are unique in their capacity for forgiveness. Cannon finds inspiration in Bill Russell and other accomplished athletes. He speculates that his father and grandmother, both deceased, would take great pride in his successes. |