Monday Morning Critic

Lennie James was born in Nottingham to Trinidadian parents, and grew up in South London. His mother, Phyllis Mary James, died when he was 12. Lennie and his older brother went into a council children's home. When he was 16 he was fostered with a social worker who had two older children, and they remain very close. Within a year Lennie began writing plays (Storm Damage was broadcast by the BBC in 2000 and won a Royal Television Society (RTS) award in 2001). Lennie received his training at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama from which he graduated in 1988. Lennie has an amazing and lengthy filmography and his portrayal of Morgan Jones on The Walking Dead remains one of the best performances of a character in Television History. Meet the Iconic and Amazing: Lennie James.

The Black Cowboy is a look at a little known chapter in the history of the United States. It is a story that illuminates the often overlooked people who contributed to the building of the ideal that is the American dream. This documentary will tell those stories from the past to the present. It is the riveting story of the past and present day Black Cowboy.  Rarely seen outside Oklahoma boundaries and never before explored this intensely in film, The Black Cowboy searches to understand the links that connect the development of the American West, the rodeo tradition, and the unbroken spirit of Black Americans emerging from slavery in the 1860s and immigrate to Oklahoma to create new lives on their own terms;  free and open as the West was promised to all Americans.   Black history is American history and The Black Cowboy seeks to convey this to a broader audience.

There have been many powerhouses who competed in the ring, but few were any stronger than the man known as "The Polish Power," Ivan Putski. Although he rarely was the biggest Superstar in a battle, the Krakow, Poland native's tremendous strength, power and quickness allowed him to go toe-to-toe with the sport's best and usually come out on top. Putski's family emigrated from Poland to Texas when Ivan was just a boy, and Ivan began his sports-entertainment career there. Prior to coming to WWE, Putski won multiple regional NWA Tag Team Championships in the Southwest United States, most notable the NWA American Tag Team Titles with fellow Texas Legend Jose Lothario (who would go on to train future legend Shawn Michaels). Putski came to WWE in the 1970s, establishing lengthy rivalries with some of the dirtiest grapplers in the game, including Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen and Ivan Koloff. More often than not, his opponents would challenge him to some type of strength competition, and usually, they would come out on the short end of the stick. Putski was so strong that he competed in the 1978 World's Strongest Man competition.

David Newell is an American television actor known primarily for his portrayal of Mr. McFeely, the delivery man on Mister Rogers Neighborhood and works in the public relations department of the Fred Rogers Company (the entity responsible for all rights relating to the program, and other series currently in production from the company). His character's most famous catchphrase was "Speedy Delivery!" He toured the country until he retired in 2015, promoting Mister Rogers' Neighborhood as Mr. McFeely.

Doug and I break down the 1971 classic "Harold and Maude" and Doug shares a story about the iconic Ruth Gordon.   Breaking Down 7!

STEVE TOM is a prolific television, film and commercial actor, as well as a recognized voice over talent. Steve just wrapped a prime supporting lead role in one of 2014’s most highly anticipated sequels, Dumb and Dumber To - alongside Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels and Kathleen Turner. He also plays the role of 'General Maddoxton' in the IFC mini-series The Spoils of Babylon, starring Tobey McGuire and Kristen Wiig. For two seasons, Steve was the critically acclaimed host of Will Ferrell's “Funny or Die Presents” on HBO. His most recent television work includes a recurring role as 'Judge Craig Richwood' on TNT's “Major Crimes.” With dozens of prime time guest starring roles to his credit, Steve has also recurred on “Prison Break,” “Weeds,”“Commander in Chief” and the long-running CBS sit-com “Two and a Half Men.” In 2012, he appeared (as Senator Chris Dodd) in the Emmy Award winning HBO drama, Too Big to Fail - opposite William Hurt, Paul Giamatti, James Woods and John Heard. Well-known for his versatility, Steve Tom was also cast in Paramount's comedy The Guilt Trip, starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen.

Daniel Bernard Sweeney was born on November 14, 1961 in Shoreham, Long Island, New York. He got his start in the New York theatre with appearances in dozens of productions including a run on Broadway in "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial". He was selected by Francis Ford Coppola to star in the Vietnam era drama Gardens of Stone (1987). This began a string of performances including Shoeless Joe Jackson in Eight Men Out (1988), Dish Boggett in Lonsome Dove (1989), Travis Walton in Fire in the Sky (1993), and as Doug Dorsey the hockey player turned figure skater in the classic romantic comedy The Cutting Edge (1992).  For many years D.B. has devoted himself to supporting our Troops and their families. He’s been overseas to war zones several times and made scores of appearances at posts, bases and ships stateside.    Meet the very talented: D.B. Sweeney.

Bernard "Bernie" White is a Sri Lankan–American actor, screenwriter and film director. Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and raised in Detroit, White received his bachelor's degree in theatre at Michigan State University.   Bernard has over 104 movie credit's in his IMDB profile.   Some include:   Bernard's movies include: Captain America: Winter Soldier, It's Kind of a Funny Story, Quarantine, Matrix Revolutions, Matrix Reloaded, The Scorpion King, Pay it Forward, City of Angels, Hill Street Blues, Highway to Heaven, Knight Rider and Street Hawk.   Meet the awesome: Bernard White.

François Scarborough Clemmons is a singer, actor, playwright, professor, writer, university lecturer and father figure to so many people. He is perhaps best known for his appearances on the PBS television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood throughout the 1970's as "Officer Clemmons" Meet the giving and wonderful: Francois Scarborough Clemmons

David Lee is a household name in South Africa where he worked predominantly in theatre and television. His outstanding performances on stage garnered him multiple nominations all around Southern Africa. In 1995, David completed a post graduate drama course at Drama Studio London, where he was nominated as Actor of the Year for his powerful and moving performance of "Othello". His first film, "Paljas", was an official selection for the Academy Awards in 1998. His last film before departing for the United States, "Final Solution", produced by Messenger Films (USA), was an official selection at 11 film festivals and has earned 6 awards, including the I.C.V.M Award for best film. 2017 saw David join the Marvel family with his contribution of the villainous character, "Limbani", in Marvels latest super hero installation, the 2018 record setting "Black Panther", working alongside Michael B. Jordan(Eric Killmonger) and Andy Serkis(Ulysses Klaue). Prior to that, David returned from a long stay in New Orleans, where he reunited with Warner Brothers and director/writer/producer, Dean Devlin ("Independence Day", "Godzilla", "Leverage") working alongside Gerard Butler, Academy Award nominee, Andy Garcia and Academy Award winner, Ed Harris in Dean Devlin's much anticipated upcoming blockbuster, "Geostorm". After creating the recurring role as the sinister and somewhat charming villain 'Phillip Jones' in season 2 of "Nikita", David is now "bringing the funny". Going back to his comedic roots and doing what he loves most, he can be seen starring as a recurring guest star alongside Melissa Peterman, and Jean-Luc Bilodeau in ABC Family's hit sitcom, 'Baby Daddy'. This, along with his finely tuned, over-the-top and "oh-so-funny" portrayal of 'Dolph Gruber in Disney's "Kickin' It" and his creation of 'The Blacksmith' for Krafts' Velveeta Cheesey Skillets campaign, is David's launch pad into the Hollywood comedy scene. His work on US soil was jump started with notable guest appearances in "N.C.I.S", "Chuck", "Lost", "CSI", "Castle" and the hit drama on TNT staring Oscar winner Timothy Hutton, "Leverage". He worked opposite Acadamy Award winner Anne Hathaway, Acadamy Award nominee, Steve Carrel and Academy Award winners Alan Arkin and Terence Stamp, in Warner Brothers' "Get Smart" in which his memorable scene stealing work was noted by both producers and fans alike. Prior to that he appeared alongside Oscar nominees Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou in the Oscar nominated film, "Blood Diamond". Recently, David completed work on a stylish independent film, "Pacific Standard Time", shot completely in LA and the Hollywood Hills, where he plays a surly and intriguing LA detective who has fallen on hard times in a throw-back, noir-style thriller. David is bilingual (English/Afrikaans) with a massive specialty in dialects, going from Russian, to Italian, to German to British and most notably, American English (and more). He is also an accomplished tri-athlete who is ready for anything from running, to swimming, to biking, to skiing to horsemanship, to dancing and singing. This extraordinary and versatile actor not only brings the funny (comedy IS hard) but is an accomplished dramatic actor.   Meet: David S. Lee    

Tomas Arana co-starred as Quintus in Ridley Scott's GLADIATOR, the Dreamworks-Universal movie and winner of five Oscars, including Best Picture, starring Russell Crowe & Joaquin Phoenix.He has appeared in more than 60 films, ranging from large budget Hollywood Studio pictures to Independent films in both the U.S. and Europe. His studio pictures include THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, LIMITLESS, THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, LA CONFIDENTIAL, THE BODYGUARD (as Portman, Kevin Costner's antagonist), HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (as Loginov, the Russian Saboteur), among others. He played Lazarus in Martin Scorsese's controversial LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, starring Willem Dafoe & Harvey Keitel. Tomas Arana grew up in San Francisco and studied classical theatre at its prestigious American Conservatory Theatre, afterwards relocating to New York and acting in off-Broadway productions. He then hitchhiked throughout Europe and ended up living in Naples, Italy, where he worked in the famous Lucio Amelio Art Gallery, working with such artists as Warhol, Rauschenberg, Beuys, Richter, Longobardi, Clemente, Gilbert & George, etc. Andy Warhol painted his portrait, which is now part of his extensive art collection. He was an award winning athlete as a youth and has practiced for many years Aikido, Judo, Japanese Sword, Fencing as well as advanced dance and movement techniques. He has both U.S. and Italian citizenship. He has three sons, Yanez, Joaquin & Dashiell Arana.

Jimmy Vee is a Scottish actor and stunt performer. He is best known for playing a number of Doctor Who and Harry Potter playing a number of monsters and aliens, as well as the actor who took over for the late, great Kenny Baker as R2-D2 in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The Force Awakens.   Meet: The fearless,  Jimmy Vee

Nathaniel Philbrick was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended Linden Elementary School and Taylor Allderdice High School.  He earned a BA in English from Brown University and an MA in America Literature from Duke University, where he was a James B. Duke Fellow. He was Brown University’s first Intercollegiate All-American sailor in 1978, the same year he won the Sunfish North Americans in Barrington, RI. In 2000, Philbrick published the New York Times bestseller, In the Heart of the Sea, which won the National Book Award for nonfiction. The book was the basis of the 2015 movie of the same title directed by Ron Howard.  The book also inspired a 2001 Dateline special on NBC as well as the 2010 PBS American Experience film “Into the Deep” by Ric Burns. Philbrick’s writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe. He has appeared on the Today Show, the Morning Show, Dateline, PBS’s American Experience, C-SPAN, and NPR. He and his wife Melissa still live on Nantucket.

Tom Wood is an American film and television actor. He is known for his portrayal of police characters, especially Deputy Marshal Noah Newman in the 1993 film The Fugitive and its spinoff, the 1998 film U.S. Marshalls. He's worked for a variety of film directors including Andrew Davis, Ron Howard, Barry Levinson,  Nora Ephron and Victor Nunez. On Broadway, Wood starred with Jason Robards and Christopher Plummer in Harold Pinter's four-character No Man's Land. Tom is also very passionate about music, the arts and his family. Meet: Tom Wood.

Actor Doug Hutchison and I talk about the Top 5 Movies that are guaranteed to make you cry and we spend a bit of time talking about my Bizarro Clone, "The Fraudcast." (Names have been hidden to protect the untalanted)