Actress Pam Grier left an indelible mark on black culture with her no-nonsense, kick-butt performances in a slew of 1970s ‘blaxploitaion’ films that not only made her sexy person a media sensation, but she became a leading role model for black women around the world. From Foxy Brown to Coffy, Grier earned the distinction of being the first African American female to headline an action film. Even famed film critic Roger Ebert praised Grier for her “believable female lead” and noted that Grier was an actress of “beautiful face and astonishing form.”
Those are the attributes we all know about the beloved actress whose fame and legacy have transcended several generations of moviegoers, and continue to inspire black women to take the bull by horns and mandate a standard of living for their families and in their communities.
While she has never been completely gone from the silver screen, her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s film Jackie Brown, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. More recently we’ve seen her in recurring character roles on “Law and Order; Special Victims Unit” and “Smallville.”
Recently the, actress spoke with the Michigan Chronicle about her life now and her involvement with revitalizing Detroit’s Redford Theater.
On her affection for Detroit …
In the early part of my [acting] years, Detroit was on the promotion list for all of my films and we would go to the Fisher Theater. The patrons and the theater managers and owners were so good to me and really helped in establishing an audience, They also helped establish women’s independence in film and the fact that I brought a voice to women’s sexuality as opposed to being victimized and being expected to stay in the kitchen, pregnant and barefoot … all of that nonsensical stuff that causes such great imbalance.
Detroiters were so progressive and I was so proud to be in this city and state that have been so monumental to our establishing our world domination in industry.
On her involvement with the Redford Theater …
The Redford group contacted me over a year ago and unfortunately I was not available then. But I try to really be a part of people passion and development and sustainability, and the Redford people told me that they would love to host a [Pam Grier] film festival. I had just been in Detroit during the summer for the Rainbow Push Automotive Summit with Rev. Jesse Jackson and all of these black female automotive executives and the city was fabulous. I was so impressed.
So this weekend we’re going to show my films, have a Q&A and a behind-the-scenes retrospective. I’ll share anecdotes from my career and we’re going to have a lot of fun.
On Detroit’s renaissance …
Detroit is reviving with all of the new blood and young kids as well as the tech companies moving there. The office buildings, the lofts and all of the great food. You have the great lakes and so many natural resources. Detroit is back. And I want to be a part of the rebuilding of Detroit and the revitalization of the Redford Theater, including getting film shown and made there. It is just such an amazing city and I’ve always felt connected to it. Detroit never let us down and it rose in spite when people said ‘let it fall.’ It’s just awesome.
For more information on the two-day film festival visit www.RedfordThetre.com or call 313-537-2560.
Showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday Feb. 21 and Feb. 22 and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22. Door open 1 hour prior to for autographs.
About Post Author
