Overview
Robert Townsend
Known For
A Walk with Charles Burnett
Filmmaker Robert Townsend executive-produced the following fifty-six-minute program for Criterion’s...
Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy
Directors Robert Townsend and Quincy Newell offer this comprehensive and...
Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet, #*%$#@!!
This documentary praises comedian Richard Pryor by showing fragments of...
Undercover Brother
An Afro-American organization, the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., is in permanent fight against...
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
Actor/director Sidney Poitier discusses his life and career. He tells...
Biography
Robert Townsend (born February 6, 1957) is an American actor, director, comedian, and writer. Townsend is best known for directing the films Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Eddie Murphy Raw (1987), The Meteor Man (1993), The Five Heartbeats (1991) and various other films and stand-up specials. He is especially known for his eponymous self-titled character, Robert Peterson as the starring role as on The WB sitcom The Parent 'Hood (1995–1999), a series which he created and of which directed select episodes. Townsend is also known for his role as Donald "Duck" Matthews in his 1991 film The Five Heartbeats. He later wrote, directed and produced Making The Five Heartbeats (2018), a documentary film about the production process and behind the scenes insight into creating the film. Townsend is also known for his production company Townsend Entertainment which has produced films Playin' for Love, In the Hive and more. During the 1980s and early–1990s, Townsend gained national exposure through his stand-up comedy routines and appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Townsend has worked with talent including Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, Chris Tucker, Beyoncé, Denzel Washington and many more.