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Sol Negrin, a cinematographer who received five Emmy nominations, three for his work on the classic Telly Savalas cop series Kojak, died March 20, the American Society of Cinematographers announced. He was 88.

Negrin's other credits as a director of photography include episodes of McCloud, The White Shadow, St. Elsewhere and Rhoda; the 1972 documentary The Concert for Bangladesh; and the 1974 feature Amazing Grace, starring Moms Mabley.

He contributed additional cinematography to films including King Kong (1976), Superman (1978), Jaws 2 (1978), RoboCop (1987) and Coming to America (1988).

Negrin also earned four Clio Awards for his...

The main problem I have with the term ‘Blaxploitation’ film is that it’s used as a lazy and convenient handle that doesn’t adequately express the range of black films that came out during the early to mid 70’s - as if all of them were cheap action movies. The reality is that, they were quite diverse - ranging from action to horror to dramas to westerns and even comedies, many of them forgotten over the decades. One of them was the 1974 United Artists film, "Amazing Grace," directed by Stan Lathan, with Moses Gunn and Rosalind Cash, but is notable for being the only lead film role for legendary comedian Moms Mabley. The subject of Whoopi Goldberg’s...