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Prince took his stardom to new heights when he made a splash with Purple Rain.

Director Albert Magnoli’s musical drama starred Prince as the Kid, an aspiring musician from an abusive upbringing who navigates a rivalry with another performer (Morris E. Day) and a romance with a fellow singer (Apollonia Kotero).

Following the success of his 1982 album, 1999, Prince told manager Robert Cavallo of his big-screen aspirations. After facing resistance from studios, Cavallo produced the project himself, with Prince writing the songs and culling story ideas from his own journey.

Magnoli worked on the script with screenwriter William Blinn (Fame) but also encouraged collaboration from Prince’s friends who were cast in supporting roles, including Day, who fronted the band Prince put together. Recalls co-star Jerome Benton, who was the sidekick in the band: “Albert would ask me, ‘If Morris said this, what would you say?’ [And then,] ‘Morris, if you said this,...

IFC variety comedy series “Sherman’s Showcase” is returning for a second season on the network along with AMC+ on October 26, and the full guest lineup has been announced, headlined by Egot winner and series executive producer John Legend and “Insecure” and “Rap Sh!t” creator Issa Rae. IFC announced the news on Wednesday during AMC Networks’ day at the TV Critics Assn. press tour.

New guests on the show include Ace Vane, Demi Adejuyigbe, Desi Banks, Jerome Benton, Michael Blackson, Heidy De La Rosa, Chris Hardwick, Emily Kinney, Ted Lange, Laci Mosley, Rashida Olayiwola “Sheedz,” Dewayne Perkins, Jay Pharoah, Rae, Chance The Rapper, Amanda Seales, Kent Shocknek, Paul F. Tompkins and Porsha Williams. Returning guest stars to the series include Eliza Coupe, Morris Day, Rob Haze, Legend, Nigel Lythgoe, Vic Mensa, Tawny Newsome, Xosha Roquemore, Chandra Russell, Zuri Salahuddin and Bresha Webb.

The variety series comes from co-creators Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle,...

Superstore vet Lauren Ash is trading big box stores for the newsroom: The actress has joined ABC’s midseason comedy Not Dead Yet, which stars Gina Rodriguez as Nell Stevens, a self-described disaster who takes a job writing obituaries.

Per our sister site Deadline, Ash will play the series-regular role of Lexi, who is the daughter of a wealthy newspaper owner and recently appointed editor. She is described as comedically out of touch with how normal people live, thanks to her upbringing in the rarefied world of boarding schools and private planes.

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To most of the outside world, Prince was shy, standoffish, and barely spoke above a whisper, if he spoke at all. Among friends, he was a comedian with a bottomless bag of gags, pranks and practical jokes. In observance of the late musician’s birthday — he would have been 60 today — we pay tribute to his comic side with seldom-told tales from bandmates, friends and others close to him collected over the past two years. We hope to make this an annual article, so hopefully there are many more like this to come (hit me if you’ve got a good one). Thanks to everyone who shared their memories — there’s no better way to start than with this one:

Marc Anthony (Singer/friend)

He was absolutely hysterical. His image was so serious, but he loved to laugh. That’s the first thing that took me aback — how funny and how quick he was.

Three decades before his untimely death, Prince recorded a song that eerily plays out like a postmortem ode. Could the spiritual star have predicted the spring tragedy that was to come? In 1986, the late star directed his first film, Under the Cherry Moon, which focused on a lady's man named Christopher Tracy plotting to swindle wealthy women out of their money. Prince starred as the protagonist alongside Jerome Benton—one of the members of the Prince-founded band The Time—as the character's sidekick Tricky. While the film was a critical flop, the accompanying soundtrack album Parade was strongly regarded as Prince's creative comeback after his previous...

Prince, iconic singer-songwriter and seven-time Grammy winner, has died at the age of 57. In 1986, to celebrate the release of his movie Under the Cherry Moon, Prince agreed to go on a blind date with a radio contest winner. People caught up with the lucky fan to discuss her night out with the music icon. Read the cover story below:First you win a contest, and then you win friends. That's how it happened for Lisa Barber, 20, a Sheridan, Wyo. motel chambermaid who last month dialed an MTV contest number and, by being the 10,000th caller, won a date with Prince and...

The Original 7ven (formerly The Time) will open the 2011 Soul Train Awards. The Original 7ven, Morris Day, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Jesse Johnson, Monte Moir,Jellybean Johnson and Jerome Benton will open the 2011 Soul Train Awards with an extended performance including their classic hits and their newest single, .#Trendin.on Sunday, November 27 at 9:00pm Et/Pt - Simulcast on Bet and Centric The Original 7ven, the band formerly known as The Time, recently released a new album, Condensate. The first single, .#Trendin,. was the #1 most-added song in the adult urban radio format in its first week out and was called a ..funk-fueled jam that.s right on time.. by USA Today. People magazine called it .funky. and raved...