WALKER, TEXAS RANGER/CBS/1993-2001
*(Clarence Gilyard/costar) Jimmy Trivette, a black Texas Ranger with a
knack for scientific methods of investigation who partnered with Cordell
Walker, a martial arts trained half-white/half-Indian Texas Ranger. On
October 2, 1999 (eighth season) Nia Peeples joined the cast of “Walker,
Texas Ranger” as Dallas police detective Sydney Cooke.
WAR OF THE WORLDS/SYN/1988-90 **(Philip Akin) Norton Drake, a black computer
genius in a wheelchair who battled the menace of alien invaders from outer
space. Drake nicknamed his voice activated wheelchair "Gertrude." Actor
Philip Akin was not really crippled.
WASTELAND/ABC/1999 **(Jeffrey D. Sams) Vincent "Vince" Lewis, a black
lawyer in the District Attorney’s office who interacts with a group of
twentysomething whites living and discovering themselves in New York City.
One of the group (Rebecca Gayheart as Sam) has a crush on her boss, namely
Vince.
THE WATCHER/UPN/1995 *(Sir Mix-A-Lot) The Watcher, a mysterious black
security executive who sat in a room filled with TV monitors and watched
the goings-on in the lives of those who visited the Desert Flower Casino
in the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. The anthology program opened with
rapper Sir Mix-A-lot narrating the following: "I gotta little secret about
me, your sky high wired in homeboy called the Watcher. You see I wired
into every camera in Vegas to watch y'all play. In a town where a war is
raging. Which war? The same old one. The war between dark and light, right
and wrong, good and evil. Yeah, I watch y'all, maybe keeping score for
someone. So why don't you watch with me awhile."
WATERFRONT/SYN/1954-56 **(Willie Best) Willie Slocum, a black crew member
working onboard the tugboat Cheryl Ann docked in San Pedro Harbor.
THE WAVERLY WONDERS/ NBC/1978 **(Tierre Turner) Hasty Parks, a black high school
basketball player and fast-talking con artist.
THE WAYANS BROS./WB/1995-99 *(Shawn and Marlon Wayons) Shawn and Marlon
Williams, two black brothers living in Manhattan with hopes of coming up
with a get-rich scheme. Shawn, 24, owns the newsstand in the Neidermeyer
Building and Marlon works part-time at Pop's Joint, a small Manhattan
diner owned by their father John "Pop" Williams (John Witherspoon). Other
cast included Lela Rochon as Shawn's girlfriend, Lisa; Jermaine Big Hugg
Hopkins as Dupree; and in 1996 Ja'net DuBois appeared as Marlon and
Shawn's feisty, manipulative grandmother.
WEBSTER/ABC/1983-87/SYN/1987-88 *(Emannuel Lewis) Webster Long, a seven-year-old
black orphan (40 inches high) who was adopted by a white married couple
(George and Katherine Papadopolis) when the boy's parents (Travis and his
wife Gert) were killed in a car crash. Despite the fact that Webster aged,
the kid seemingly never grew an inch. Ben Vereen appeared as Webster's
uncle, Philip Long, who unsuccessfully tried to win custody of his
diminutive nephew during the 1984-85 season.
WELCOME BACK, KOTTER/ABC/1975-79 **(Lawrence-Hilton Jacob) Freddie "Boom-Boom"
Washington, a black student and one of four delinquent teenagers who
belonged to the Sweathogs, a gang that roamed the halls of James Buchanan
High School in Brooklyn.
WEST WING/NBC/1999+ **(Dule Hill) Charlie Young, black teenage male
hired to be Personal Aide to the President of the United States and
staffers of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C. John Amos
also appeared in a recurring role as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace.
WHAT A COUNTRY!/SYN/1986-87 **(Harry Waters, Jr.) Robert Muboto, the black son
of Julius Muboto, an African strongman booted out of his own country and
exiled to Burbank where he takes citizenship lessons at a Los Angeles
night class. As Robert once remarked, "I was descendant of kings, the
keeper of tradition and virtue, the Prince of all I envisioned and
now...I'm just Bob."
WHAT'S HAPPENING!/ABC/1976-79 *(Ernest Thomas) Roger "Raj" Thomas, a black high
school student and aspiring writer. Featured regulars were Fred Barry and
Haywood Nelson as Rogers' best friends Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs and Dwayne
Clemons; Shirley Hemphill as Shirley, the cantankerous waitress at Rob's
Place, the gang's hangout; Mabel King as Roger's mother and Danielle
Spencer as Dee, his irritating younger sister. In 1985, the series
returned in syndication under the title of WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW.
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW!!/SYN/1985-87 *(Ernest Thomas) The storyline picked-up with
Roger being married, a writer and part time owner in Rob's Place. New cast
characters included Anne-Marie Johnson as Roger's wife, Nadine and Reina
King as their adopted daughter, Carolyn.
WHERE I LIVE/CBS/1993 *(Doug E. Doug) Douglas Saint Martin, a quirky
teenager (age 17) growing up in a working-class Caribbean family in New
York City. Other cast included Sullivan Walker as James St. Martin;
Lorraine Toussaint as Marie St. Martin; Yunoka Doyle as Sharon St Martin
((Age 14); Flex as Reggis Coltrane Doug’s buddy; Shaun Baker as Malcolm,
Doug’s other buddy; Jason Bose Smith as Kwanzie; and Alma Yvonne as
Vonzella The program (inspired by Doug’s own life) was nominated for an
NAACP Image Award as Best Television Show in 1993 and was supported by
Coretta Scott King and Bill Cosby during its campaign to be renewed for a
second season. He began his career in standup comedy at the age of 17,
appearing at some of New York's best-known venues, including the
world-famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem and the Comic Strip. See also COSBY
THE WHITE SHADOW/CBS/1978-81 **(Kevin Hooks, Eric Kilpatrick, Nathan Cook)
Morris Thorpe, Curtis Jackson and Milton Reese, three black teenagers who
belonged to the Carver High School basketball team. Ed Bernard appeared as
high school principal and Joan Pringle as the vice-principal.
WILDSIDE/ABC/1985 *(Howard E. Rollins, Jr./costar) Bannister Sparks,
a bon vivant black explosives expert and card sharp who belonged to the "Wildside
Chamber of Commerce" a secret vigilante law-enforcement group founded (and
answerable to the Governor) to clean up the Northern California frontier
territory filled with local gangs and wandering renegades.
WIOU/CBS/1990-91 **(Phil Morris) Eddie Brock, an energetic black
reporter working for WNDY, Channel 12, a Midwest television station (known
as WIOU because of financial problems)
WKRP IN
CINCINNATI/CBS/1978-82/SYN/1991-93 *(Tim Reid/costar) Gordon Sims, a.k.a. "Venus
Flytrap," a former school teacher who became a late night disk jockey on
Cincinnati's "top 40" rock n' roll station WKRP. Gordon performs as “Venus
Flytrap” and sets the mood for his evening listeners by filling his
broadcast booth with candles, incense, gongs, an occasional beautiful
woman and of course, the funky sounds of soul music. He was hired by Andy
Travis, the station’s new program director who had previously worked with
Gordon at other stations. While at WKRP, Gordon participated in the “Win a
Date with a DJ” contest and cleverly used his skills as an ex-teacher to
educate a teenager about the structure of an atom by equating the atom’s
structure to street gangs. When it came to his past, Gordon was very
secretive [and camera shy]. That’s because he was wanted by the law as a
deserter from the US Army after serving ten months and 29 days.
Eventually, he cleared his record and took a marketing job in Washington,
DC with the Black Entertainment Network [BET] and then got promoted to
chief executive officer. In the 1991 syndicated revival series THE NEW
WKRP IN CINCINNATI, the station hired a black program director named
Donovan Aderhold (Mykel T. Williamson) who moved to Cincinnati because he
thought it was a "nice place to raise little black children". Donovan died
in a plane crash on the last episode. Ronny Lee, the black station
receptionist was played by Wendy Davis.
WONDERLAND/NBC/2000 **(Michael Jai White) Dr. Derrick Hatcher, black
physician working with the staff of Rivervue Hospital, a psychiatric and
emergency facility in New York City. Derrick is a trauma specialist and
single father.
WOOPS!/FOX/1992 *(Cleavant Derricks/costar) Dr. Frederick Ross,
black pathologist and only one of six survivors (five Caucasians) of a
worldwide nuclear holocaust accidentally triggered by a small electronic
toy at a small Midwestern parade. Frederick survived the explosion because
he was working in an underground morgue.
WORKING/NBC/1997-99 **(Yvette Freeman) Evelyn Smalley, plump,
nasty-tempered black office supervisor working at Upton/Webber, a bizarre
multinational corporation. Her fellow employees consider Evelyn evil. The
only thing that soothes Evelyn’s vicious nature is a mouthful of creamy
Belgian chocolates. But don’t be around when she runs out of her calming
confections.
THE WORLD'S
FUNNIEST!/FOX/1997-98 *(James Brown) James Brown, the black host of a
bloopers show filled with out takes culled from videos footage taken from
around the world.
