The Actor Jenifer Lewis: Mother, Activist, Hurricane

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

News, David, Books, Arts, Storytelling, Wnyc, New, Remnick, News Commentary, Yorker, Politics

4.2 • 5.5K Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2022

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jenifer Lewis is known as the “Mother of Black Hollywood” for good reason; her screen progeny have included Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, and Tupac Shakur. In her latest turn, she’s playing the alpha boss of a home-shopping network on the Showtime series “I Love That For You.” It’s no surprise that Lewis keeps getting cast as formidable ladies—the roles come naturally to her, as you’ll hear in her conversation with the New Yorker contributor Michael Schulman. Lewis’s new memoir is called “Walking in My Joy: In These Streets.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
0:12.5	Welcome to The New Yorker Radio Hour, I'm David Remnick.
0:15.8	Wherever she is, the actor Jennifer Lewis tends to steal the show.
0:19.5	For the last four decades, she's made a name for herself on stage, in films, and
0:29.8	on television, and she's known for playing some very strong women, not unlike herself.
0:36.2	Right now she's playing the CEO of a home-shopping network on the new Showtime series.
0:41.5	I love that for you.
0:43.2	Do I have suggestion box on my forehead?
0:46.2	Hmm.
0:47.2	Right, everybody excited?
0:48.2	Good meet you.
0:49.2	Lewis's new memoir is called Walking in My Joy, and she recently spoke with New Yorker
0:54.6	contributor, Michael Schillman.
0:59.0	So my colleague, Kallelia, and I jumped on Zoom to talk with Miss Lewis.
1:02.9	I was in my home office.
1:05.0	She was in her living room in LA with flowers, and she was beautifully made up for a photo
1:11.4	shoot.
1:12.4	Okay, we all record.
1:13.4	Recording?
1:14.4	Michael, you're recording?
1:15.4	And just over her shoulder with this beautiful white-grand piano.
1:18.1	All right.
	...

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