Celebrity (American TV series)

Celebrity is a television miniseries based on a novel by Thomas Thompson. It was broadcast from February 12 to February 14, 1984, on NBC.[1][2]

Celebrity
GenreDrama
Based onCelebrity
by Thomas Thompson
Written by
Directed byPaul Wendkos
Starring
ComposerLeonard Rosenman
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes3
Production
ProducerRosilyn Heller
EditorsJames Galloway
David Newhouse
Eric A. Sears
Running time313 minutes
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseFebruary 12 (1984-02-12) –
February 14, 1984 (1984-02-14)

Series overview

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Celebrity is based on a 1983 novel by Thomas Thompson.[2] The series was filmed in Texas, New York and Los Angeles and is altogether six and a half hours long.[3] In Germany, the UK and North America the series is published on VHS.[4][5][6] The series was shown in Spain, Brazil, Finland, Turkey and Canada.[7]

Plot

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During their days as high school students in Texas, three friends – T.J. Luther, Mack Crawford and Kleber Cantrell – are involved in a rape. While only one of the boys commits the crime, the others watch and do nothing. The victim dies, and the boys hide the body and promise each other to never speak of it again.

All three grow up to be very successful in their fields. 25 years later, Kleber is a world-famous journalist, Mack is a movie star, and Luther is a demagogic evangelist who runs a controversial church. When they meet up again, the meeting ends in tragedy. One of the friends is shot dead, the other one is critically wounded and the third one is the murderer.

Cast

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Starring
Guest starring
Co-starring

Awards and nominations

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Nominations

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Primetime Emmy Awards

  • 1984: Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or a Special (Philip H. Lathrop)

Edgar Allan Poe Awards:

Critical reception

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John J. Connor (The New York Times) mentions that the series has a strong cast. Furthermore, the series has a great script, which includes the major events during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, such as the Vietnam War or the assassination of John F. Kennedy.[3] Tom Shales (The Deseret News) adds that the tale is very well plotted and "irresistible as a good rumor".[2] According to Arthur Unger (Monitor) Celebrity is easy to watch and once started is difficult to stop.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Celebrity (1984 TV Mini-Series) Episode List". imdb.com. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Shales, Tom (11 February 1984). "'Celebrity' Mini series is irresistible". The Deseret News. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  3. ^ a b John J. O'Connor (10 February 1984). "'CELEBRITY,' A MYSTERY IN THREE PARTS". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Celebrity - Der Ruhm". Amazon. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  5. ^ "Celebrity". Amazon. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  6. ^ "Celebrity". Amazon. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Celebrity. Release Info". Imdb.com. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Celebrity (1984 TV Mini-Series) Awards". imdb.com. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  9. ^ Unger, Arthur (February 10, 1984). "Networks are heating up potboilers for 'sweeps' period". csmonitor.com. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
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