Since the name of this site is Blackpower.com, it is a safe bet that most of you readers like to watch movies with African-American actors and actresses in them. Hell, I have some friends and relatives who will watch just about any movie if there is a rapper in it, or if the majority of the cast is black. It does not matter if the film is Academy Award-winning, or some low budget ‘hood movie that you can only find in the “African-American Interest” shelf of a video store. If there is a black star, I’m sure at least one of my friends has seen it.

Today’s entry is dedicated to the unsung heroes in Hollywood. The ones whose faces and characters we all know, and whose lines we quote to illustrate a point or make folks laugh. Ladies and gentlemen, today is dedicated to The Blacktor!

Blacktor – A black actor or actress whom you can remember from certain roles, movies or television shows, yet you have no idea what his or her name is.

Blacktors and Blacktresses are responsible for some of the most memorable characters in movie history. Below, I will list two examples of what I am talking about, Flash from The Five Heartbeats and Sho Nuff  from The Last Dragon. Along with my usual analysis, I will include some video clips for visual illustrative purposes.

Flash from The Five Heartbeats:  This guy made a living in the 80’s and ‘90s by playing the go-to pretty boy for black films. The man single-handedly held it down during the decade after the Billy Dee Williams era, and before the Morris Chesthair era.

Yeah, I messed his name up on purpose. It’s called “player-hating” and I am doing that right now. Nothing personal against Morris Chestnut since I don’t know him, but that summamabish had just about EVERY black woman with a functioning vagina sweating his performance in The Best Man. Then they all told me about how they wanted to do it to him, when the focus of these ladies should have been in its rightful place: on giving ME some! The worst part about it is that they couldn’t even take out their sexual frustrations on me, since I look nothing like the guy. Morris proved that he could steal women from me without even being in the same damned state…so I’m hating. Deal with it!

Back to Flash, his greatest work in my opinion was not a movie, but the most memorable commercial of my childhood: the Hey Love album!

watch?v=HKu78xJ6g1k

“Nooo my brother! You’ve got to buy your own!” That line was my favorite way of expressing the fact that I am one stingy dude.

“Share my Pop-Tarts? Nooo my brother! You got to buy your own!”

“You want a piece of gum? Your breath stinks, but nooo my brother! You got to buy your own!”

“You’re bleeding to death and you need to borrow my phone to dial 911? Nooo my brother! You got to buy your own!”

 Sho Nuff from The Last Dragon:

Quite possibly one of the most memorable movie villains of all time, Julius Carrey passed away this year. I am not trying to joke about the recently deceased, but it’s a pretty safe bet that everywhere he went, people recognized him and yelled out “SHO NUFF!” or “LEROY!”

It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Rather, it is something that I hope the man took pride in. Most blacktors go their entire careers and never get a chance to play a role that unforgettable. They definitely don’t get to wear red shoulder-pads, Chuck Taylors and a Rick James haircut while talking trash for 90 minutes straight! I mean, who could forget this guy?

watch?v=Lnsg0jDbHk4

 The Shogun of Harlem! To walk the streets looking like that guy, you had to be one tough cookie. Those clothes are not normal, and they weren’t in the 80’s either. It looks like he went through Andre 3000’s closet in the years right after his breakup with Erykah Badu, and put together a red ensemble to wear while whipping ass.

There are so many unsung blacktors and blacktresses, that I could never do them all justice in one entry. I need your help. Leave a comment and let me know who your favorite blacktors and blacktresses are. I am looking forward to seeing who you all choose to mention!

This story is filed under: A Guy Named Leon, Comic Relief, Entertainment