Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 25, 1995 TAG: 9502280005
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB THOMAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
``Children of the Dust,'' which airs on CBS Sunday and March 5, co-stars Michael Moriarty, Hart Bochner, Farrah Fawcett, Robert Guillaume and Shirley Knight.
It's an epic tale centering on Gypsy Smith, a half-black, half-Cherokee man who guides wagon trains of former slaves. Smith also becomes a lawman, and he fights racism and violence against both blacks and Indians.
In 1971, Poitier directed and starred with Harry Belafonte in ``Buck and the Preacher,'' which covered an earlier period of western migration.
Mixing adventure with humor, the movie portrayed a guide and a con man who led a wagon train of runaway slaves through the peril of nightriders.
``I haven't done a lot of research, but I have read a couple of books, including one called `The Black Cowboy,''' Poitier said. ``There were so many of them, and they were all through the West and into everything.
``It's interesting how they were ignored by people who recorded that part of American history. They simply weren't there.''
Poitier, who seems little changed since his reign as a box-office star in the '60s, is picky about acting jobs. He has appeared in only four features since 1977.
What attracted him to ``Children of the Dust''?
``The colorfulness of the whole piece,'' he said. ``But especially of the character Gypsy Smith. Nowhere in the history of the American West on film is there such a character. I think he was pieced together from much of the fact of that time. ... He is a man who lives by his own values. He chooses his own path, commits to it, and travels that path, willing to accept the consequences of his choices.
``He is a dangerous man, he is a courageous man, he is a heroic man. He is also a tragic person. All these qualities are an irresistible mix for an actor.''
Having now played two frontier scouts, Poitier observed: ``It was impossible for blacks to migrate from the South to this whole new frontier territory without leaders, people who knew the country and would take them there and protect them on the way.
``The group that goes with me on this journey in `Children of the Dust' is only one of many, many such groups. Blacks ultimately settled in all the states.
``They had to fight for their survival [against racism], as Gypsy does. It's the tradition of blacks and Indians, not only in the West but in the South as well. They never had a level playing field on which to operate - never.''
Black actors had virtually no starring roles in films when Poitier came on the scene with ``No Way Out'' in 1960. He played a doctor treating a bigoted patient, Richard Widmark.
The role presaged his other 1960s films based on racist themes: ``Edge of the City,'' ``The Defiant Ones'' and ``In the Heat of the Night.'' He won a best-actor Oscar with the gentle comedy ``Lilies of the Field'' in 1963.
During most of his Hollywood career, Poitier has lived in Los Angeles. But that is changing.
``My wife and I have bought an apartment in New York, and we have sold our house here in Beverly Hills,'' he said. ``We are going to spend more time in New York. Our 21-year-old graduates from NYU in May, and our 23-year-old is already out in the world on her own.
``We were in a very nice, big house in Beverly Hills, and I would call, `WHERE ARE YOU?' And Joanna would answer, `I'M OVER HERE!' When the earthquake rattled us out of bed one night, I said, `Let's get out of here!'
``It's time. New York is a fascinating town. Both of us spent lots of years there before the children were born, and had many visits after. Her roots are in Paris, where she lived a lot. So we want to be halfway in-between.''
He expects to continue working, he said, ``as a hired actor, and an actor who hires himself.''
What kind of projects interest him?
``I want to work just enough to keep it interesting,'' he said. ``I want my interest in the business to stay at the same level. I don't want to be on the outside looking in all the time. I want to know all the subtle nuances in terms of the craft. New methods, new approaches, new concepts by actors and directors and writers. Like `Pulp Fiction.' That's a very revolutionary piece of filmmaking.''
WDBJ-Channel 7 will air Part 1 of ``Children of the Dust,'' a two-part drama, Sunday at 9 p.m. Because of the ACC basketball game Tuesday night, Part 2 will air March 5 at noon.
by CNB