The Magician

“Brian Miller over at our Miami Dolphins Fan-Sided Blog has informed us colleagues of some recent accomplishments that deserve promoting. Although this is an Oakland Raiders blog, as my boss put it, ‘[this] really involves all football fans’.“

“Four decades have passed since Marlin ‘The Magician’ Briscoe became the first African American starting quarterback in the NFL as a rookie for the Denver Broncos in 1968…”

“There has been much discussion in recent years about the ability of an African American to quarterback in the NFL. Prior to the new millennium, the Warren Moon’s and Randall Cunningham’s of the world were more exceptions to the rule rather than a rewriting of the rule.”

“According to the officially launched web site, ‘The Magician’ sat in a dark dingy hotel room in a rough part of Los Angeles. Crack pipe in hand. He lights another rock, inhales and his pain subsides. He flashes in and out, sees images of his former self. A life that held promise despite the color of his skin. He is ‘The Magician’.”

Marlin Briscoe, Turner Gill and John Beasley discuss Briscoe’s career and plans for the upcoming movie, “The Magician”.

“Omaha actor John Beasley is having a busy month, thanks to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The Kennedy is staging all 10 of August Wilson’s plays, sometimes referred to as the Century Cycle, over five weeks.”

“The rest of the cast contributes memorably, from John Beasley’s homespun philosopher Bynum, to Michole Briana White’s predatory Molly, to Rosalyn Coleman’s movingly dignified Martha. Even the scenes between Dominique and another child actor, Terrance Thomas, are staged with a sweet authenticity.”

“Into this ‘respectable’ house walks Herald Loomis (Russell Hornsby), a glowering, hatted figure in an overcoat who is accompanied by his daughter Zonia (Dominique Ross). Fresh off seven years on Joe Turner’s chain gang, Herald is searching for his wife, Martha (Rosalyn Coleman). He is also searching for himself — or, as the shamanistic boarder Bynum Walker (John Beasley) calls it, ‘trying to find your own song.’”

“West Omaha Films, a company formed by Omaha actor John Beasley and partners Terry Hanna and David B. Clark, said in a recent press release that a working script is nearly complete. That will be followed by hiring a director and casting the movie, The Magician.”

John Beasley discusses the formation of West Omaha Films and the inspiration behind the movie project “The Magician” on Omaha’s KPTM Fox42.

Video courtesy of KPTM Fox42.