Reuben Cannon facts for kids
Reuben Cannon (born February 11, 1946) is a very important American film producer and casting director. He made history as the first Black casting director in Hollywood!
Reuben Cannon was in charge of finding actors for TV shows at Warner Brothers from 1977 to 1978. After that, in 1978, he started his own company called Reuben Cannon & Associates. Through his company, he has helped cast almost 100 different TV series, movies made for TV, and big movies shown in theaters.
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What Does a Casting Director Do?
A casting director is like a detective for actors! Their job is to find the perfect actors for every role in a movie or TV show. They read the script, understand what kind of person each character is, and then audition many actors to see who fits best. It's a very important job because the right actors can make a story come alive!
Helping Stars Shine
Reuben Cannon is famous for his work on the movie The Color Purple. He won an Artios Award for finding the best actors for this drama film. This movie was the very first time Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey acted in a feature film. Both of them were so good that they even got nominated for an Oscar! Danny Glover also had an early role in this film thanks to Reuben Cannon.
Working with Tyler Perry
Reuben Cannon has also worked a lot with the famous filmmaker Tyler Perry. He has been a producer for many of Tyler Perry's popular TV shows and movies. This means he helped make sure the shows and movies got made, from start to finish.
Movies He Helped Create
Here are some of the movies Reuben Cannon helped make:
- Madea's Big Happy Family (2011)
- Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010)
- I Can Do Bad All by Myself (2009)
- Madea Goes to Jail (2009)
- The Family That Preys (2008)
- Meet the Browns (2008)
- Why Did I Get Married? (2007)
- Daddy's Little Girls (2007)
- Diary Of A Mad Black Woman (2005)
- Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004)
- Love Don't Cost a Thing (2003)
- Dancing in September (2000)
Awards and Honors
Reuben Cannon has received many awards and honors for his amazing work:
- Humanitas, Film Award, for Dancing in September (nominated), 2001
- The Chrysler Group, Behind the Lens Award, 2002
- Morehouse College, honorary doctorate (a special degree), 2002
- Artios Award, Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film Casting – Drama, 1986
