Wil Haygood Bücher

The author of The Butler and Showdown explores a century of Black cinema, using the experiences of artists and films to reflect on Black culture and the civil rights movement in America. Starting with D.W. Griffith's 1915 film that glorified the Ku Klux Klan, the narrative unfolds an insightful history of Black filmmakers and actors, both in front of and behind the camera. The text highlights how social changes influenced the film industry and its representations, addressing issues from Jim Crow laws to the Black Lives Matter movement. It examines significant films such as The Imitation of Life, Gone With the Wind, and Black Panther, while also shedding light on the careers of pivotal figures like Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, and Spike Lee. This important work offers a comprehensive history of Black cinema and a fresh perspective on contemporary racism in America.

The untold story of Sammy Davis, Jr.: This incisive biography and sweeping cultural history conjures "the many worlds [Davis, Jr.] traversed, and shows how the issue of race, in his own mind and in the minds of his fans and detractors, shaped his career and life" (The New York Times). For decades one of America’s most recognizable stars, the real Sammy Davis, Jr. has long remained hidden behind the persona the performer so vigorously generated—and so fiercely protected. Here Wil Haygood brings Davis’s life into full relief against the backdrop of an America in the throes of racial change. He made his living entertaining white people but was often denied service in the very venues he played, and in his broad and varied friendships—not to mention his romances—Davis crossed racial lines in ways few others had. In Black and White vividly draws on painstaking research and more than two hundred and fifty interviews to trace Davis, Jr.’s journey from the vaudeville stage to Broadway, Hollywood, and, of course, Las Vegas. It is an important record of a vanished America—and of one of its greatest entertainers.

Prawdziwa historia czarnego kamerdynera Białego Domu, kt�ra stała się kanwą oscarowego filmu. Przez ponad trzy dekady służył on ośmiu prezydentom ? od czas�w dyskryminacji rasowej do zaprzysiężenia czarnosk�rego na Prezydenta USA.

Nel 2008, alla vigilia delle elezioni che avrebbero portato Barack Obama alla Casa Bianca, Wil Haygood pensò di celebrare quel momento grazie a un testimone privilegiato, qualcuno che avesse vissuto in prima persona gli ultimi cinquant'anni di storia americana. Si mise così sulle tracce di Eugene Allen, il maggiordomo che aveva lavorato alla Casa Bianca dal 1952 al 1986. Dopo decine e decine di telefonate e lunghe ricerche, finalmente il giornalista ottenne l'indirizzo di Allen. Era ancora vivo. Aveva quasi novant'anni e viveva con la moglie Helene in un modesto e decoroso quartiere di Washington. Haygood ebbe quindi modo di intervistare Allen, il maggiordomo che conosceva la vita privata di ben otto presidenti degli Stati Uniti, da Harry Truman a Ronald Reagan. In seguito il giornalista scrisse in proposito un lungo articolo sul "Washington Post" che ebbe enorme risonanza. Così è nato il libro "The Butler", che racconta la vita di Eugene Allen e svela tutti i segreti che le mura della Casa Bianca hanno protetto per decenni. Prefazione del regista Lee Daniels.