For five years after moving to LA, Don Cornelius ran two versions of Soul Train simultaneously — a full-color nationally syndicated show filmed on weekends in Los Angeles, and the original black-and-white weekday version on Chicago local TV. He commuted between the two every week.
Where this was said
At 22:02 · chapter starts 20:20
Don Cornelius had a burning desire to put Black people on TV in a positive light, and he believed that simply showing the cool parties and sock hops he was already DJing would be enough. When he pitched the idea to WCIU, the station agreed to air it but wouldn't front the money. Cornelius put up $400 of his own cash to shoot the pilot. It was in black and white, not technically polished, but it was an immediate hit — because, as Cornelius would later say, it wasn't about quality. It was theirs. That $400 investment turned out to be the smartest business decision in his life, because it meant no one else had any legal claim to the show. Chuck and Josh then relay the legendary story of James Brown appearing on Soul Train in the early '70s and asking, with some disbelief, who was backing the operation. When Cornelius replied 'It's just me, James,' Brown asked again, assuming there was a misunderstanding. The answer was the same. It was simply his. [1] — Chuck Bryant "When WCIU agreed to let Don Cornelius shoot a Soul Train pilot but refused to fund it, he put up $400 of his own money. That decision — mad…" 20:20
When WCIU agreed to let Don Cornelius shoot a Soul Train pilot but refused to fund it, he put up $400 of his own money. That decision — made out of necessity — meant he owned the show outright. No network, no studio, just him. James Brown was so stunned he asked twice.
Don Cornelius personally funded the Soul Train pilot for $400, a decision that meant he retained 100% ownership of the show.
Don Cornelius moved Soul Train to Los Angeles in 1971, where it became nationally syndicated while the original Chicago version simultaneously continued airing on local TV.
Don Cornelius flew to LA every Friday to shoot 4 episodes over the weekend and then flew back to Chicago to host the local Monday show.
Johnson Products' Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen weren't just sponsors — they were philosophically aligned with Soul Train's mission. Both were saying the same thing: Black culture and Black beauty deserve to exist entirely on their own terms, without conforming to white standards.
The entire plot of the original Terminator film depends on the phone book. The Terminator looks up 'Sarah Connor,' finds multiple listings, and starts killing them one by one. No phone book, no movie.
Rico has already appeared in Den of Thieves, Den of Thieves 2, and Roadhouse alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Dave Bautista. Jason Statham is developing a specific role for him. Working alongside elite actors taught Rico something about himself: the emotional suppression that makes him a great fighter is exactly the material that makes great acting — if he learns to stop pushing it away.
Trump joked that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. personally ran over, butchered, and delivered the evening's beef tenderloin to the dinner — then topped it with a punchline about RFK wanting to serve raccoon roadkill as an appetizer. The crowd's laughter at jokes targeting his own administration signaled a rare night of good-natured self-deprecation from Trump.
Jimmy Tatro is playing the nemesis-son to Will Ferrell's washed-up golfer in The Hawk, his fifth project with Ferrell and Ferrell's first lead TV series. The real highlight: Molly Shannon, playing his on-screen mother, drove off set on the last day with Chief Keef blasting from her subwoofers.
Alan Ritchson walked into a Thor audition with his sides still in his hand, half-assed it on a spotlight-lit stage before two silhouettes in a dark theater, and bombed so completely that the casting director broke protocol to call his team. The feedback? He had no craft. That one sentence sent him to acting school — and changed the trajectory of everything.
Alan Ritchson walked out of his Titans audition so sure he'd booked the lead that he called his wife and told her he was going to buy a Tesla. She said he hadn't booked it. He went and bought the car anyway. His instincts were right — he was offered the role — just not the one he wanted.
Reacher drew 56 million global viewers in a single week of Season 2. Alan Ritchson points out what makes it unusual: unlike ensemble shows, almost all of that visibility lands on one person. It's an anthology with a rotating cast built around a single titular character — and the scale of it is something even he calls unprecedented.
Motor City has no spoken dialogue. Every major leading man in Hollywood — Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Gerard Butler, Adrian Brody — was attached at some point. It was greenlit nine times. The concept was simple: Greg Silverman wanted a film everyone in the world could watch with the exact same experience, regardless of language. Alan Ritchson read the script and called it a masterpiece.
Working with Arnold Schwarzenegger showed Alan Ritchson what 100% recognition looks like. People feel Schwarzenegger before they see him — like a meteor approaching. Alan's wife wants a strict no-photos policy around family. Arnold stops for everyone. The contrast was a master class in how gratitude should manifest when fame is inescapable.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.