Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 16, 1993 TAG: 9309040313
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK DAWIDZIAK KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
But the other networks also wanted Sinbad on their fall schedules. It came down to a bidding war between CBS and Fox.
Negotiations went perilously close to when the networks announced their schedules in May. Why did Sinbad decide to go with distant-fourth-place Fox?
``Well,'' he told critics, ``they offered that time slot, after `The Simpsons.'''
Yes, Fox agreed to give ``The Sinbad Show'' the 8:30 p.m. Thursday slot behind its highest-rated series, ``The Simpsons.'' It was an offer that CBS could not match.
``It was just a good feel,'' said Sinbad, who played Walter Oakes on NBC's ``A Different World.'' ``And they offered a good time slot, and I like how they can do different things that the other networks can't do. And they have great promotional campaigns. And they give you free breakfast. A free breakfast is very important. A lot of networks won't give you a free breakfast.''
``The Sinbad Show,'' which Fox will premiere Aug. 26, stars the comedian as David Bryan, a video-game designer whose swinging bachelor days are numbered when he agrees to take in two foster children.
It reflects ``my philosophy of life and family,'' said Sinbad, who launched his comedy career by touring clubs in 1983. ``And, luckily, right now, we're moving away from so much hard-edged stuff and coming back more toward family and raising kids and trying to have some values.
``The reason we came up with the concept of foster kids is that there are so many kids out there in America who are unwanted right now. So it's about making right choices.''
Sinbad's first big break was becoming a finalist on the syndicated ``Star Search'' in the mid-'80s, which led to his second big break, being cast in ``The Redd Foxx Show'' (ABC, 1986).
His third big break was being chosen by Bill Cosby for ``A Different World.'' The Michigan native also appeared in the late-night ``Showtime at the Apollo'' (as host), Reebok commercials and cable specials.
He also has roles in two films to be released this summer: ``Coneheads'' (with Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin) and ``Meteor Man'' (with Robert Townsend). His recently signed deal with Paramount calls for him to write and star in a film titled ``WERD Radio.''
Yet his considerable energy first must be concentrated on a TV series about an African-American man choosing to raise two children.
``It's about time,'' said Sinbad, the father of two children, ``because I'm so tired of reading the negativity that black fathers run away.
``I have a great father. Most of the guys I knew had great fathers. It's almost like the myth has become reality, that black men do not take care of their children. And that's not true.
``I think you've got to show that there are a lot of fathers out there who are working hard to take care of their kids. ... So we're trying to toot our horn, to say, `Hey, man, we raise kids, too.'
The star of ``The Sinbad Show'' realizes that he's different from most young black comedians arriving on the scene.
``I don't judge,'' Sinbad said, ``because I look at a lot of new young cats coming up, and they are coming from a different place than we come from. They had no father. They have no mothers.
``So we're going, `Man, look at this wild bunch of new comics up here.' This is the life they're living.''
But he wants young viewers to know that you can be hip without being wild.
``I'm trying to show it can be hip, no matter where you're coming from,'' Sinbad said. ``It can be hip that you go to school and study. It can be hip that you went and got your college degree. It can be hip that you came out of the 'hood but yet you didn't fall into the same traps that a lot of people fell into. That's what I'm trying to do with my show - that hip is not just one thing.''
He grew up in a loving household, and TV was a constant part of that childhood.
``I used to like Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters and Red Skelton and Flip Wilson, how they could be all over the place,'' Sinbad said. ``I'm sorry, I can't say TV was negative. You know how people go, `I don't let my kids watch TV.' If I hadn't watched TV, I wouldn't be here.
``I love TV, man. The color thing didn't mean anything to me, because I felt I could be anybody and do anything.
``I watch TV all the time. I love TV. It can be an educational medium. It also can be bad. But the good thing about it is that you can turn it off when it's bad. You can switch channels when it's bad.''
by CNB