Little Richard

TV Movie
2000
TV-14
1h 28m

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The story of Little Richard Penniman, from his poor Southern upbringing to dealing with the trials and tribulations of being a black singer in the 1950s, to his born-again phase and brief "r... Read allThe story of Little Richard Penniman, from his poor Southern upbringing to dealing with the trials and tribulations of being a black singer in the 1950s, to his born-again phase and brief "retirement" from rock and roll.The story of Little Richard Penniman, from his poor Southern upbringing to dealing with the trials and tribulations of being a black singer in the 1950s, to his born-again phase and brief "retirement" from rock and roll.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

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See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
- 3 nominations total

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Trivia
Little Richard suggested Prince for the lead role, but the deal was never made.

Quotes
Little Richard: [after a bandmate complains of wearing sissy make-up] Being pretty ain't never bothered me. Ain't that right, Lucille?
Lucille: 'Bout the prettiest boy I've ever seen.
Little Richard: Now, sneaking in the back doors so the white folks don't see us till we're on stage, eating in a parking lot of some restaurant that I wouldn't even pay to eat at the counter at, now *that* bothers me. Being called a sissy?
[pause]
Little Richard: You look-a here! Them white kids, they're dancing to *our* music! Okay, they may have Pat Boone on their record player in case their parents walk in, but they got *my* record underneath their pillow. You know which show we're playing here? You know how many colors have played here? None! You know why? 'Cause they can't! I am the first! I am the only! So if you wanna call me a sissy, go ahead! Knock yourself out, boy! But you make sure you call me a rich sissy. And you do as I do, you all gonna be rich sissies, too. Now, where my eyeliner?

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Review

Featured review

Aw, Pat Boone wasn't that bad

As we can only expect, everything gets a little oversimplified. Little Richard's wavering between religion and rock 'n' roll was a lot longer and less resolved than we see here, his sexuality was more complex-- I should say "even" more complex-- and hey, Pat Boone was not a bad singer. He was entirely the wrong singer for Little Richard's music, and he's admitted it forthrightly more than once, but he wasn't the talentless dummy that's shown in this movie.