Don Cornelius | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cornelius in 1994 | |
| Born | Donald Cortez Cornelius (1936-09-27)September 27, 1936 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | February 1, 2012(2012-02-01) (aged 75) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupations | Television host, producer |
| Years active | 1966–2012 |
| Television | Soul Train |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
Donald Cortez Cornelius (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012) was an American television show host and producer widely known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance and music showSoul Train, which he hosted from 1970 until 1993. Cornelius sold the show to MadVision Entertainment in 2008. On November 3, 2023, he was posthumously inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame with theAhmet Ertegun Award.[1]
Cornelius was born onChicago's South Side on September 27, 1936,[2] and raised in theBronzeville neighborhood. After graduating fromDuSable High School in 1954,[3] he joined theUnited States Marine Corps and served for 18 months inKorea. He worked at various jobs following his stint in the military, including sellingtires,automobiles, and insurance, and as anofficer with theChicago Police Department.[4] He quit his day job to take a three-month broadcasting course in 1966, despite being married with two sons and having only $400 in hisbank account.[2] In 1966, he landed a job as an announcer, news reporter and disc jockey on Chicago radio stationWVON.[5]
Cornelius joined Chicago television stationWCIU-TV in 1967 and hosted a news program calledA Black's View of the News. In 1970, he launchedSoul Train on WCIU-TV as a daily local show. The program entered nationalsyndication and moved to Los Angeles the following year.[6][7][8]Eddie Kendricks,Gladys Knight & the Pips, Bobby Hutton andHoney Cone were featured on the national debut episode.
Originally a journalist and inspired by thecivil rights movement, Cornelius recognized that in the late 1960s there were very few television venues in the United States forsoul music (at the time, only one series, the public television showSoul!, was focused on the genre). He introduced many African-American musicians to a larger audience as a result of their appearances onSoul Train, a program that was both influential among African-Americans and popular with a wider audience.[9][10]
As writer, producer, and host ofSoul Train, Cornelius was instrumental in offering wider exposure to black musicians such asJames Brown,Aretha Franklin,Marvin Gaye, andMichael Jackson, as well as creating opportunities for talented dancers, setting a precedent for popular television dance programs.[11] Cornelius said, "We had a show that kids gravitated to," andSpike Lee described the program as an "urban musictime capsule".[11]
With the creation ofSoul Train, Cornelius was at the helm of a program that showed African Americans in a new light, creating aBlack is Beautiful campaign.[12] Prior toSoul Train, African Americans were only occasionally performing on TV, mostly as guests on white-centered programs.Soul Train showcased African American culture, and brought African American musicians and dancers to television.[13] The show's appeal to white audiences steadily grew and eventually earned a huge following.[14][15]
Besides his smooth and deep voice and hisafro, which slowly shrank over the years as hairstyle tastes changed, Cornelius was best known for thecatchphrase that he used to close the show: "and you can bet your last money, it's all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!" After Cornelius's departure, it was shortened to "and as always, we wish you love, peace and soul!" and it was used through the most recent new episodes in 2006. Another introductory phrase which he often used was: "We got another sound comin' out of Philly that's a sure 'nough dilly".
He had a small number of film roles, such as record producer Moe Fuzz in 1988'sTapeheads and a fictional version of himself in 1987'sThe Return of Bruno, a mockumentary about fictional singer Bruno Radolini, portrayed byBruce Willis. In this doc Cornelius appears as the host of the localDetroit funk-gospel based showBless My Soul, that presents Radolini's return to the stage with a duet together withThe Temptations.
Cornelius last appeared on the episode of the TV seriesUnsung featuringFull Force, which was aired two days before his death.
In October 2008, Cornelius was arrested at his Los Angeles home onMulholland Drive on afelonydomestic violence charge.[16] He was released on bail. Cornelius appeared in court in November 2008, and was charged with spousal abuse and dissuading a witness from filing a police report.[17] Cornelius appeared in court again in December 2008, and pleaded not guilty to spousal abuse.[18]
He was banned from going near his estranged wife, Russian model Victoria Avila-Cornelius (Viktoria Chapman), who had obtained tworestraining orders against him. In March 2009, he changed his plea tono contest and was placed on 36 months of probation.[19]
In the 2022A&E documentary miniseriesSecrets of Playboy, Cornelius was accused of sexually assaulting twoPlayboy bunnies in the 1970s. The women were alleged to have been brought to Cornelius's house for a three-day period where they were locked in separate rooms, bound, drugged and sexually assaulted. Cornelius's son, Tony, released a statement calling the allegation an "unbelievable story without real proof".[20][21]
At around 4 a.m.PST on February 1, 2012, police were called to Cornelius's home in Los Angeles after reports of a shooting.[22] He was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and was taken toCedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at the age of 75.[2][23]
Anautopsy found that Cornelius had been suffering from seizures during the last 15 years of his life, a complication of a 21-hour brain operation he underwent in 1982 to correct a congenital deformity in his cerebral arteries. He admitted that he was never quite the same after that surgery, and it was a factor in his decision to retire from hostingSoul Train in 1993.[24][25] Cornelius's health took a further, sharp decline in the last six months of his life. FormerSoul Train hostShemar Moore suggested that he may have also been in the early stages ofdementia orAlzheimer's disease by this point.[26][27] On the night of his suicide, Cornelius told his son in a phone call, "I don't know how much longer I can take this".[28]
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