THE LIFE & TIMES OF PETEY GREENE

Don Cheadle stars as Petey Greene At the heart of Focus Features’ new movie in Talk to Me. Talk to Me is Petey Greene, an average Joe with a bigger than average mouth who lived in times worth talking about.

RALPH WALDO ‘PETEY’ GREENE Talk to Me’s real star is an unlikely cultural icon.

Michael Gibson Michael BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD

PETEY GREENE WASN’T NO SAINT. drinking with me!’” pregnancy as easily as he attacked message: none of his wealth, He was a drug addict, a convict At some point, Greene made the politicians and promoted social popularity or success had come (excuse me, ex-convict) and self- decision that if people weren’t going reforms. while he was out on the streets styled friend of the pimp and to treat him, he was going to treat The subjects that he tackled wheeling and dealing. He deeply prostitute. He was a fast talker, himself, and, unfortunately for him, spoke to the hearts and minds of the believed that only in America did small time thief and a total lush. Greene talked faster than he ran. people who heard him because everyone, no matter what their He was also the voice of a city in Greene landed himself 10 years in finally someone was speaking their background, have some opportunity a time of upheaval and confusion. the Lorton Reformatory for armed language. He was catty, he was loud for success. Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) robbery after trapping himself in a and he was adored. “I’m concerned about the plight takes on the role of Petey Greene in freezer locker while running from He spoke during times of crisis, of my people, and I don’t come from Focus Features’ new movie Talk to police. when race riots were rising up all Africa, and I ain’t gonna drive no Me (in theaters July 13), a piece that All of a sudden he was following over the country, when some of the Cadillac back over there in no takes us back to the days of mesh in the footsteps of his father and key figures in America – both black jungles,” he said to the Post. African- underwear and flower power to every stereotype of black men and white – were being felled by Americans were just that – meet an unlikely cultural icon born in1960s America. assassins’ bullets. He was there for Americans, and when he said it, he out of the mid to late 1960s. But Greene could not be held. Vietnam and the draft, the moon was talking to blacks as well as Greene was a Washington, D.C. He achieved an early parole after he landing and Woodstock. Momen- whites. native, born and bred on the streets soothed an allegedly suicidal inmate tous times called for a momentous Before his death from cancer in of the “Chocolate City” to which he off of a 300-foot water tower (or flag speaker, and this oddball fit the bill. 1984, Greene was a two-time Emmy would eventually play guidance pole, accounts differ). In 19 minutes, Greene’s hijinks extended far past winner with his radio show and counselor. His father was incar- he had the man safely on the ground his substance abuse and verbosity successful television program “Petey cerated, and it was his grand- again, a time span that could not (one he got over, one he didn’t). His Greene’s Washington.” He worked mother, whom he affectionately compare to the six months he general notoriety secured him a visit with his community through the called ‘Aunt Pig,’ that cared for the allegedly spent cajoling his buddy to the White House, an honor he said anti-poverty program United young man through his childhood. into climbing up there in the first he would have refused had he known Planning Organization and or- In later interviews with the place. how boring it was going to be. ganized the group Efforts for Ex- Washington Post, he would lament But his little scheme worked, However, he didn’t walk out totally Convicts (EFEC). that his grandmother had not lived and Greene was paroled for his empty handed. Greene was different and special to see him in his heyday. selfless actions and general good “Truly it was very nice,” he said because he had a thumb always on Greene made it to high school behavior. While serving his sentence, in the Post. “I even stole a spoon.” the pulse of the people. He spoke to before dropping out and joining the Greene befriended the brother of If Greene was famed for the them, and they spoke back because army while he was still a teen. He WOL program director Dewey “spoon incident,” he was even better he did not shy away from the harsh shipped out to Korea that year, but Hughes played in the movie by known for his self-awarded “Ph.D. in truths with which they coped daily. the military life was not his racket. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men). poverty.” He never forgot where he It’s no real wonder that By 1953, he’d been discharged for Upon Greene’s release, Hughes got came from, and to assure his somebody stood up to make a movie drug abuse. him a job at WOL on his own show listeners of that fact, Greene invited out of this heroic and woefully “When I was begging for wine called “Rapping with Petey Greene.” society’s rejects onto his show: undertold story. Maybe it’s even a and whiskey no one ever [treated Soon, his confrontational style prostitutes, pimps, etc. subconscious call for the next Petey me],” Greene joked to the made him loved by the masses and He was a peacock in an age of Greene to come forward, someone Washington Post, looking back on hated by the elite to whom he gave pigeons, prancing around in his tie- brazenly unprofessional and shock- his years scrounging for the cash to no quarter. dyed clothes and buying expensive ingly real to point out that some- get drunk. “Now when I go No subject was off limits. Greene Cadillacs. But even in his thing’s going wrong in our white drinking, they say, ‘Petey was talked about prostitution and teen flamboyant moments there was a picket America. HISTORIC EVENTS TIMELINE

MAJOR EVENTS OF portant choice on the part of Between 1965 and 1970, America was shaken by Talk to Me’s Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor) March 19: The first two scholarships President Johnson who had at- and Petey Greene (Don Cheadle) in the SEC to be awarded to black tempted to brand himself as a Civil 1965 athletes in the SEC were given to Rights president. wars between peoples, wars between races and Greg Page and Nat Northington of Jan. 4: President Lyndon B. Johnson the University of Kentucky. From Dec. 12: Guess Who’s Coming to good old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll — and Petey Greene announces his “Great Society” this point on, the population of Dinner, a film starring Sidney reform package. The central goals black athletes began a rapid rise in Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, were to eliminate poverty, end racial the United States, particularly in released this year. It was the first was making his own waves on the air. injustice and improve education for football and basketball. film featuring an interracial couple all Americans. where the parents gave the couple The Great Society would October: The Black Panthers Party the green light and was shown in its eventually lead to Medicare and was formed by Huey P. Newton. entirety in the south – kiss and all. Medicaid. Based on the teachings of Marxism and Leninism, the Black Panthers MAJOR EVENTS OF Feb. 21: Malcolm X (born Malcolm aimed to secure equal rights to Little), a Muslim minister and Black freedom, property and education Nationalist leader is assassinated. for all blacks. They were widely 1968 He spent his career pointing out the considered to be extremists and legal and religious contradictions in were feared particularly by the white In general, 1968 was a heartbreaking white mistreatment of blacks. majority. year for America. The Vietnam War took a turn for the worse, and some March 7: On one of Martin Luther Nov. 8: Edward Brooke becomes the of the brightest leaders of the age King, Jr.’s marches from Selma to first black person appointed to the were gunned down. It was a de- Montgomery, civil rights marchers Senate. He was elected by the state moralizing year. were gassed and beaten by law of Massachusetts and would be the enforcement in what was widely only black man in the Senate until Jan. 30: The Tet Offensive, an condemned as “Bloody Sunday.” 1993. unexpected attack on the part of the Viet Cong fighters rocks American Aug. 6: The Voting Rights Act is Dec. 26: Dr. Moulana Karenga of forces. Though they were eventually passed, a measure meant to make it the California State University of beaten back, the VC managed to class single mother whose struggle Tommie Smith and John Carlos, had paid. The festival lasted three harder for polling places to deny Long Beach created Kwanzaa, a recapture much of the surrounding was to balance her nursing career who won Gold and Bronze re- days and became symbolic of the blacks the vote. Pan-African celebration meant to countryside. with her home life. And she was spectively, both raised their fists in flower child, free love culture. create a shared socio-historical It achieved its goal of inflicting black. The show was controversial, the black power salute as they stood Aug. 11: The Watts riots begin in consciousness for African-Ameri- a major blow to the confidence of but ultimately was praised for on the podium during the playing Dec. 1: The draft lottery is instituted when a police officer cans. the American government, which combating stereotypes. of the American National Anthem. to garner enough troops to keep the stopped Marquette Frye because he almost immediately began scaling This was not taken well. The two Vietnam War going without ac- suspected him of driving drunk. MAJOR EVENTS OF back its troop escalations. Many Oct. 16: At the Mexico Summer men had great difficulty finding cessing Reserve troops due to Frye’s family attempted to intervene consider this to be the turning point Olympics, two Americans partici- employment over the next several Johnson’s fear of public backlash. and was arrested. toward failure in the Vietnam War. pated in the 200-meter race. years until eventually they were The system was made to be as fair as During this scene, a crowd 1967 praised for their courage. possible by assigning numbers (1- gathered and began angrily de- April 4: Martin Luther King, Jr., the 366) to randomly selected nouncing the actions of the police June 16: The Monterey Pop Festival, most respected black voice in the MAJOR EVENTS IN birthdays. The lower your number officers. Eventually the crowd turn- a three-day musical marathon, takes Civil Rights movement was killed by the more likely to be called up for ed violent and for six days raged place in Monterey, Calif. The festival duty. through the city. was run entirely non-profit, and all 1969 By the end, 34 people had died, proceeds were donated to various MAJOR EVENTS OF 1,032 were injured, 4,000 were charities. It’s considered to be the Jan. 20: Richard Nixon becomes Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Martin arrested and over $50 to 100 million precursor to Woodstock. Sheen feel the intensity at the WOL station. president after having beaten out in damages had been incurred. Hubert Humphrey by only one 1970 June 25: Boxing superstar Mu- percent of the popular vote. Nixon Dec. 9: The first time the “Charlie hammad Ali was stripped of his James Earl Ray. King, whose teachings is most famous for the infamous April 4: The legendary rock group Brown Christmas Special” was heavyweight title because he refused had included methods of non-violent Watergate scandal and was im- the Beatles disband over musical aired. It has played continuously to serve in the army during the protest, was considered by moderates peached for wiretapping the Demo- differences. every Christmas up to the present Vietnam War. to be the acceptable alternative to the cratic convention’s planning room. day. All Photos: Michael Gibson Black Panthers and Malcolm X, and Also, his approach to the Vietnam April 22: The first Earth Day is July 13: A race riot broke out in his death was a major blow to the War, including bombings and in- celebrated. Founded by Gaylord Dec. 10: A Patch of Blue, a film Newark, New Jersey when a cab movement. vasions of Cambodia and his policy Nelson, 20 million Americans ral- starring Sidney Poitier and Eliza- driver was arrested and beaten by of “Vietnamization” were failures. lied to save the environment. beth Hartman as an interracial police officers. Civil rights leaders April 4-8: Stokely Carmichael, a black Congress established the Environ- couple, releases in America. got the cab driver out of jail and to activist, took a crowd around to shops June 1: John and Yoko Lennon mental Protection Agency in July of Hartman’s character, Selina a hospital, but an angry mob in Washington, D.C. asking them to recorded “Give Peace a Chance,” the 1970 in response to public outcry D’Arcy, was blind, making the point thought the man had died and close in respect after Martin Luther peace anthem of the age. against air and water quality, and that race was not a factor in the began a riot that lasted six days. 23 King, Jr.’s assassination. Many refused Earth Day organizers claim this relationship. Certain scenes had to people died, 725 were injured and and the requests became markedly June 28: The Stonewall riots, protest was instrumental to that de- be edited out for Southern 1,500 were arrested. less polite, eventually resulting in a sparked by police raids on gay bars cision. audiences. four-day-long riot that left 12 dead, shocked New York. It was one of the July 15: In Detroit, Mich., a police 1,097 injured and over 6,000 arrested. first moments that homosexuals May 4: Four students are shot at MAJOR EVENTS OF raid on an after hours bar sparked The rioters caused $27 million in stood up for gay rights. Kent State University when the Na- an angry crowd to start breaking damages. tional Guard opened fire on pro- windows in nearby shops. This riot July 20: Neil Armstrong became the testers of the Vietnam War. The 1966 lasted five days in which 43 people June 5: Robert Kennedy was as- first man to walk on the moon. scene is forever immortalized by the died, 1,189 were injured and over sassinated by Sirhan Sirhan as he picture of the girl wailing, hunkered Jan. 13: Robert C. Weaver becomes 7,000 were arrested. passed through a kitchen exit from Aug. 15: The Woodstock Music over the body of her fallen friend. the first black cabinet member. He the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Festival, a commercial enterprise was appointed as Secretary to the Aug. 30: Thurgood Marshall was Director Kasi Lemmons that would have turned out great Sept. 18: Guitar god Jimi Hendrix Housing and Urban Development appointed the first black Supreme and Taraji P. Henson Sept. 17: NBC’s surprise hit “Julia” for entrepreneurs if more than died of a drug overdose. Janis Joplin Cedric the Entertainer as Green’s rival DJ “Nighthawk” Bob Terry Committee. Court Justice. This was an im- aired in 1968. It featured a middle 200,000 of the 400,000 participants also died in the same year.

◆ POLITICAL ◆ ENTERTAINMENT ◆ CULTURE ◆ MUSIC ◆ GAY RIGHTS HEY AMERICA,TALK TO ME ABOUT RAVE REVIEWS!

“ A VIBRANT, FUNNY, MOVING, HIGHLY ENTERTAINING AND RICHLY REWARDING MOVIE EXPERIENCE! Don Cheadle soars into the highest rank of film actors with this role. Will have you talking long after leaving the theatre. Unforgettable. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Taraji P. Henson are magnificent.” PETE HAMMOND, MAXIM

“####! THE SUMMER’S BEST SURPRISE! As irreverent and outrageously funny as its shock jock hero. Don Cheadle’s brilliant performance is Oscar®-worthy.” PAT COLLINS, MY 9/WWOR TV

“ FUNNY, POWERFUL AND POIGNANT! Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor are two of the finest actors in films.” JEFFREY LYONS, NBC’S REEL TALK

CHEADLE EJIOFORTHE ENTERTAINER HENSON EPPS SHEEN Never underestimate a man with something to say.

Inspired by a true story

SOUNTRACK AVAILABLE ON ATLANTIC RECORDS FEATURING CLASSIC HITS BY THE DRAMATICS OTIS REDDING JAMES BROWN AND NEW MUSIC BY MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO The legendary Petey Greene told it like it was. Now we want to hear from you. Go to focusfeatures.com/talktome to talk to us about the topics of the day and whatever else is on your mind. EXCLUSIVEIN THEATRES ENGAGEMENTS STARTING START APRIL FRIDAY, 20TH JULY 13TH

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