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Richard Roundtree, famous for his role as John Shaft, passed away at 81 after battling pancreatic cancer. He leaves behind an enduring legacy. Before his iconic role, Roundtree started as a model and participated in theater. He continued to star in various Shaft movies and other notable shows and movies. Roundtree's passing is a big loss to the entertainment industry. Tributes have poured in, highlighting his importance and influence.

Shaft actor Richard Roundtree has passed away at the age of 81. The award-winning actor who starred in numerous television and movie roles across his illustrious career that spanned about five decades, was born on July 9, 1942. His professional acting career kicked off around 1963, but he didn’t rise to prominence until 1971 when he took on the titular role of detective John Shaft in Gordon Park’s blaxploitation crime thriller.

According to Deadline, Roundtree reportedly passed away on the afternoon of Oct. 24, after a...

As confirmed by Deadline, Richard Roundtree, the groundbreaking star of the original "Shaft" franchise has died as a result of pancreatic cancer. He was 81. Roundtree was a gifted athlete who played for New Rochelle High School's nationally-ranked and undefeated football team but later dropped out of college after he was scouted by Ebony Fashion Fair founder Eunice W. Johnson and began modeling for companies like Duke hair products and Salem cigarettes. A few years later, he joined the Negro Ensemble Company theater group in New York City, where he became a fast leading man. This led to a successful career in front of the camera, where Roundtree would become colloquially known as the "first Black action hero."

He appeared in a number of Blaxploitation films in the 1970s, but he became a cinematic icon as detective John Shaft in the films "Shaft," "Shaft's Big Score!," "Shaft in Africa," and the short-lived series adaptation.

Richard Roundtree, who broke ground with his signature role in the Shaft movie franchise, died October 24 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer with his family at his bedside. He was 81.

Roundtree’s career spanned five decades and included everything from his most popular blaxploitation role to a very early appearance on As the World Turns in 1956 to being a Season 2 main cast member on Ava DuVernay’s OWN series Cherish the Day last year.

He is best known for playing detective John Shaft in the 1971 action thriller and its sequels, Shaft’s Big Score! (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973) as well as the short-lived 1973 Shaft TV series.

For his performance in the original film, Roundtree was nominated for a New Star of the Year Golden Globe and hailed as the first Black action hero. More importantly, the films made Shaft a cultural hero, a symbol of Black power onscreen, at the box office and beyond.

Los Americans is an eight-part series that focuses on a multi-generational, middle-income Latino family living in Los Angeles. The Valenzuela family deals with many issues facing American families today, including: unemployment, cultural identity and alcoholism. The series features Latino-Americans in a realistic and complex manner seldom seen on television or the Internet.

While the series portrays some of the experiences unique to the Latino community, such as the challenges of straddling two cultures, the series also shows that much of the family’s struggles can be identified with families from various socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. Following each episode of Los Americans, viewers will be directed to online resources and information offering solutions and help for the issues portrayed in the program.

The series is written and directed by Dennis Leoni, who is best known for having created and produced the award-winning, television series Resurrection Blvd. for Showtime. Los Americans...

In Part One of our interview with Monica Calhoun, the Indie Soap Award winning actress shared the acceptance speech she would have made at 2011 Indie Soap Awards, described learning about Diary Of A Single Mom, and backstage technical insights about how to put together an Indie Soap Award winning drama in 18 days. In Part Two, she shares more about her technique as an actress, the future for the show, and ways she is similar and different to character. Will Ocean ever give Mike a chance? Find out below!

We Love Soaps TV: So much of the success of Diary depends on how you express emotion on your face. In the first episode, whether we get hooked into these characters and invest time in them or not, depends on you. And that continues through season two and three. If Ocean is afraid, the audience is scared. If she smiles then we...

If soap fans want to enjoy continuing stories that truly entertain, educate, and inspire, then they need look no further than the prolific indie soap opera Diary Of A Single Mom. I personally challenge anyone upset about the state of daytime television to watch the first episode and try not to get pulled into the lives of Ocean Jackson and her friends and family. A large part of the success of this series lies upon the aforementioned narrator, played with exquisite brilliance by Daytime Emmy-nominated and Indie Soap Award-winning actress, Monica Calhoun. Please enjoy this exclusive new interview with the talented artist, and learn how Diary came about, what she draws upon creatively, and the fascinating backstage elements that have made this show such a success.

We Love Soaps TV: It is so wonderful to meet you Monica. I would like to start by congratulating you for winning the Outstanding...

Billy Dee Williams (Bo, Diary Of A Single Mom; ex-Touissant, General Hospital/Gh: Night Shift; ex-Jim, Guiding Light; ex-Brady, Dynasty) - 74

Judith McConnell (ex-Sophia, Santa Barbara, ex-Eva, One Life To Live; ex-Miranda, Another World; ex-Valerie, As The World Turns; ex-Augusta, General Hospital) - 67

Patrika Darbo (Dr. Freed, Miss Behave; ex-Nancy, Days Of Our Lives) - 63

Susan Miller (Creator/Producer, Anyone But Me; Bestsellers)

Candace Cameron Bure (Summer, Make It Or Break It) - 35...

There is more bad news on the daytime soap front as TV Guide Magazine has revealed there's a chance ABC will axe not one but two daytime soaps soon (All My Children and One Life To Live).

We would love to think this is a sad April Fools' Day joke, but unfortunately have been hearing the same thing for a while. The scary part is that ABC might finally have replacement shows they are happy with this time. The lack of a "suitable" replacement has saved their soaps in the past. It's likely we'll know the outcome of ABC's decision very soon.

TV Guide Magazine has learned that the network is not just planning to cancel AMC in the coming days but will very likely cancel One Life To Live, as well. Word is, ABC Daytime chief Brian Frons has a talk show and reality show lined up for fall...

Ken Howard (ex-Garrett, Dynasty) - 67

Richard Backus (ex-Ted, Another World; ex-Barry, Ryan's Hope; ex-Jason, Lovers And Friends; Writer for As The World Turns; One Life To Live; Days Of Our Lives) - 66

Janice Lynde (Peggy, Diary Of A Single Mom; ex-Leslie, The Young And The Restless; ex-Laurel, One Life To Live; ex-Gloria, General Hospital; ex-Tracy, Another World) - 63

Todd Curtis (ex-Jordy, Capitol; ex-Skip, The Young And The Restless) - 52

Siena Goines (ex-Callie, The Young And The Restless; ex-Valerie, Passions) - 42

Annie Wersching (ex-Amelia, General Hospital) - 34

Trivia: Also born on this day was the late Tom O'Rourke, who played Justin on Guiding Light for several years, among many other roles. He died in September 2009, a few days before the Guiding Light finale.

Coming off the success of the recent Indie Soap Awards and a successful winter full of fabulous new episodes, the web series community is excited about what's next. We Love Soaps TV is happy to offer our Indie Soap Spring Preview Guide with the latest news and happenings from returning shows to crossovers and spin-offs. Check it out below.

Season Premieres

Then We Got Help!

Season Two Premiere Date: March 18

Creator and star Julie Ann Emery offers a preview of the new season: "The thing I think I'm most proud of is Season Two is fully fan funded. We did a crowd funding campaign and we surpassed our maximum budget asked for. We may not have the biggest audience on the web, but our fans are Fierce!

"We used that money to improve our sound, get all our actors back, and add an impressive list of guest stars including Sam McMurray (Rasing Arizona,...

Photos by Gustavo Monroy 

Editor's Award: Song Of The Year

Presented by: We Love Soaps' Damon L. Jacobs & Roger Newcomb

Winner: Pretty, "Gumdrop the Unicorn"

Performance by: Bret Silverman

Outstanding Use Of Music

Presented by: Julie Ann Emery, Then We Got Help!

Nominees: Anacostia; Gotham; In Between Men; Miss Behave; Out With Dad; Venice

Winner: Out With Dad (accepted by Jason Leaver)

Outstanding Directing

Presented by: Afton Boggiano & Toby Levin, Empire

Nominees: Tina Cesa Ward, Anyone But Me; Scott Brown, Asylum; Mark Gardner, Cell; Robert Townsend, Diary Of A Single Mom; Jason Leaver, Out With Dad; Steve Silverman, Pretty; Gregori J. Martin, The Bay

Winner: Gregori J. Martin, The Bay

Outstanding Lead Actress

Presented by: Michael O'Leary, Steamboat

Nominees: Tamieka Chavis, Anacostia; Rachael Hip-Flores, Anyone But Me; Jourdan Gibson, Cell; Monica Calhoun, Diary Of A Single Mom; Tina Sloan, Empire; Martha Byrne, Gotham; Jillian Clare, Miss Behave; Cwennen Corral, The Cavanaughs; Crystal Chappell,...

The 2nd Annual Indie Soap Awards presented by We Love Soaps were held at The Ailey Studios in New York City on Monday, February 21, hosted by the hilarious Martha Byrne, creator and star of Gotham. Video from the event is coming soon but in the meanwhile, you can check out our exclusive pictures from photographer Gustavo Monroy below.

Byrne opened the show with a hilarious monologue which covered a variety of topics from producing shows on low budgets, merchandising (she took not one, but two drinks from a Gotham mug), the impact of secret weapon Nadia Bjorlin, confusing sexuality, and so much more. Byrne introduced the presenters and cracked jokes throughout.

Here's a rundown of the show:

Breakthrough Performance

Presented by: Nick Mathews, In Between Men

Nominees: Pasha Diallo, Anacostia; Jessy Hodges, Anyone But Me; Leon, Diary Of A Single Mom; Afton Boggiano, Empire; Bianca Magick, Miss Behave; Kate Conway,...

In Part 1 of our exclusive five part photo spread from the 2nd Annual Indie Soap Awards, we covered Breakthrough Performance, Supporting Actress, Guest Appearance and Editing. Some very "Pretty" people continued the show. The ceremony pictorial continues below.

Photos by Gustavo Monroy

Fan's Choice Award

Presented by: Steve Silverman & Terri Simmons, Pretty

Nominees: Anacostia; Anyone But Me; As The Corn Grows; Desire & Deceit; Diary Of A Single Mom; Empire; Gotham; Luck And The Virgin; Miss Behave; Montreal Hearts; The Bay; The Cavanaughs; The Like Us Show; Venice; Venus Spa

Winner: The Bay

Outstanding Writing

Presented by: Hillary B. Smith, Venice/Fumbling Thru The Pieces

Nominees: Susan Miller & Tina Cesa Ward, Anyone But Me; Anthony Anderson, Anacostia; Sonya Steele, Celeste Bright; Mark Gardner, Cell; Cheryl L. West, Diary Of A Single Mom; Greg Turner & Brian Hewson, Empire; Susan Bernhardt, Miss Behave; Jason Leaver, Out With Dad; Steve Silverman, Pretty

Winner: Susan Miller & Tina Cesa Ward,...

The 2nd Annual Indie Soap Awards were held on Monday night at The Ailey Studios in New York City hosted by the hilarious Martha Byrne and presented by We Love Soaps.  Diary Of A Single Mom captured the Indie Soap of the Year award.  The show also took home the prize for Outstanding Lead Actress with Monica Calhoun winning her first Indie Soap Award.  Anthony Anderson from Anacostia was named Outstanding Lead Actor giving perhaps the most poignant speech of the night.  The mostly industry crowd praised the new frontier of storytelling on the web in a number of speeches from winners that consisted of former daytime soap favorites and new indie pioneers. 

The complete list of winners are below:

Indie Soap Of The Year

Diary Of A Single Mom

Outstanding Lead Actor

Anthony Anderson, Anacostia

Outstanding Lead Actress

Monica Calhoun, Diary Of A Single Mom

Outstanding Supporting Actor

Jordan Clarke,...

The nominees in the Outstanding Lead Actress category at Monday's 2nd Annual Indie Soap Awards all brought their "A" games in 2010.

Outstanding Lead Actress

Tamieka Chavis, Anacostia

Rachael Hip-Flores, Anyone But Me

Jourdan Gibson, Cell

Monica Calhoun, Diary Of A Single Mom

Tina Sloan, Empire

Martha Byrne, Gotham

Jillian Clare, Miss Behave

Cwennen Corral, The Cavanaughs

Crystal Chappell, VENICETake a look at a sample of work by these talented women in the episodes below.

The 2nd Annual Indie Soap Awards will be held on Monday, February 21, at The Ailey Studios in New York City. Seating is limited so be sure to purchase your tickets here. The show is honoring the best in indie soaps in 2010 and is sure to be a lot of fun. The indie web series community is an incredible group of talented, hard working, creative geniuses who know how to party!

If you haven't seen the list of nominees, you can read them below.

Indie Soap Of The YEAR8.13

Anyone But Meceleste Bright

Celldiary Of A Single Mommiss Behave

Prettythe Best Friend

Oustanding Lead ACTORAnthony Anderson, ANACOSTIADanny Cameron, CELLMichael Park, GOTHAMNick Mathews, In Between MENWill Conlon, Out With DADTrevor Nelson, Miss BEHAVESam Pancake, PRETTYCamden Toy, The Bay

Outstanding Lead Actress

Tamieka Chavis, ANACOSTIARachael Hip-Flores, Anyone But Me Monica Calhoun, Diary Of A Single Mom

Tina Sloan, EMPIREMartha Byrne, GOTHAMJillian Clare, Miss BEHAVECrystal Chappell,...

We Love Soaps TV announced on Monday the nominees for the 2nd Annual Indie Soap Awards, honoring the best in continuing story format web series in 2010.   Last year's winner for Indie Soap of the Year, Diary Of A Single Mom, received 13 nominations to lead the pack.  In total, 29 web series were nominated for awards, including 15 shows receiving "Fan's Choice" nominations for being one of the Top 15 vote-getters in 2010 in the weekly Wls TV Indie Soap of the Week Poll.

This year's awards show will be a live event in New York City on February 21, hosted by Gotham creator and star, Martha Byrne.   Stay tuned for information about the show and tickets in the coming days.

The Indie Soap Awards were founded by We Love Soaps TV in 2009 to celebrate the creative talents of the indie web series world, who are blazing a trail into the future for the continuing story format.

For three years Robert Townsend has been working as one of the more prolific and successful web series directors around, trying to do good with a number of projects with socially progressive non-profit One Economy. With over 30 years in the industry, Townsend is an understated but respected player in black Hollywood. Perhaps best known for his sitcom The Parent ’Hood and film Meteor Man – at least to me! – Townsend continues to work, making documentaries and films, most recently directing and producing a number of successful web series, including Diary of a Single Mom and the upcoming Los Americans. “It’s for the web but we’re trying something different,” Townsend said in an interview. For Townsend, these series, targeted at multicultural audiences, are not just a job but a philosophy. Diary, whose third season premiered last week, tells the story of a single mother, Ocean (Monica Calhoun, The Best Man,...

According to the Internet Movie DataBase (IMDb.com): "The STARmeter rankings provide a snapshot of who's popular based on the searches of millions of IMDb users. Updated weekly, these rankings also graph the popularity of people over time and determine which events affect public awareness."  Here is a listing of some present and past soap stars and their current ranking, as well as some public figures.  Do you agree with the list? Is Lisa Rinna really more popular than President Obama? Weigh in below.   1. Darren Criss (Glee) 3. Leonardo DiCaprio (ex-santa Barbara)4. Johnny Depp (star of Dark Shadows movie)9. Dot Jones (Glee, Venice) 11. Jill Clayburgh (ex-sft)19. Brad Pitt (ex-aw)28. Amber Tamblyn (ex-gh)54. James Franco (ex-gh) 101. Parker Posey (ex-atwt)

119. Jessica Lowndes (90210) 121. Amanda Seyfried (ex-atwt)125. Demi Moore (ex-gh)134. Lyndsy Fonseca (ex Dh, ex-y&R)144. Courtney Thorne-Smith (ex-Melrose Place)157. Morgan Freeman (ex-aw)189. Josh Duhamel (ex-amc)200. Julianne Moore (ex-atwt)208. Paul Wesley (ex-gl)236. Lindsay Lohan...

Diary Of A Single Mom returned today with its Season Three premiere. We find Ocean and her family still reeling from the aftermath of Senior’s emotional and physical warfare. Ocean, Lupe and Peggy question their livelihood and how they’ll maintain a roof over their heads. Lupe’s health leaves her feeling especially vulnerable. Watch the Indie Soap Award winner for Best Indie Soap of 2009 below.

This weekend, while at the press junket, Robert Townsend announced that TV One wants to do a one hour special of Diary Of A Single Mom in January. Negotiations are happening now for the special which would gauge the audiences interest in the show.

Beau Bridges joins Brothers & Sisters. Calista Flockhart to miss three episodes

Bridges will reunite with Norma Rae co-star Sally Field for a romantic arc. Also, Calista Flockhart will miss Episode 100 as part of a three episode break.

Video: A Fancy Interview with Joan Collins about her New Show “One Night With Joan”

Video: Dr. Griffin Castillo's All My Children backstory

Emmy® Award-winning actor Jordi Vilasuso joined the cast of ABC’s daytime drama “All My Children” this week, playing the role of Dr. Griffin Castillo, a doctor originally from Mexico. He comes to the town of Pine Valley after working with doctors without borders on humanitarian missions. Check out a Griffin’s back story below.

Leslie Uggams reflects on All My Children stint as Rose Keefer

"Soap opera fans are so loyal. It was fabulous, and a lot of people that came to see me with Ben, didn't even know that I sang.

William December Williams aka Billy Dee Williams is 73 years old today. Mr “Colt 45 every time,” has been working steadily since the 1950s – and is still working, 50+ years later; most recently, appearing in the Robert Townsend-produced web series, Diary Of A Single Mom.

Upcoming, you can see him next, co-starring in 2 indie feature films – Quiet Earth & Barry Munday, both scheduled for 2010 releases. I can’t say how involved his role is in each one, so we’ll just have to wait to find out – assuming either of them actually sees daylight.

That’s it for birthdays today. To take us out, here’s Billy Dee being Billy Dee:...

I had no idea Robert Townsend was knee-deep in the web series game. Then again, I really shouldn’t be surprised. The web is the next frontier! I thought maybe we’d previously mentioned it on this blog, but a search negated that.

It’s called Diary of A Single Mom, and it’s already halfway through its second season. I completely missed the first. It stars Monica Calhoun as Ocean Jackson, a single mother of two striving to keep her family afloat while working to fulfill her own ambitions of finishing her Ged, going to college and opening her own business. Along her journey, she befriends and joins forces with two other single moms, Lupe (Valery Ortiz), a mother juggling different fathers for each of her two children while facing health concerns that will change her life, and Peggy (Janice Lynde), a once married, wealthy 50-something who suddenly finds herself widowed,...