The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte hosts the Tonight Show (2020)
Documentary
September 10, 2020 – Peacock
The film is a documentary film that chronicles the seminal event and almost-forgotten moment in American history during which legendary entertainer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte hosted the iconic “Tonight Show” in place of Johnny Carson for an entire week. THE SIT-IN follows the history-making week in February 1968 when an African American got the opportunity to host the whole week of the popular show for the first time ever.
Amidst a backdrop of riots across the country and the Vietnam War, Belafonte introduced a fractured, changing country to itself for five nights with guests that included entertainment icons Aretha Franklin and Sidney Poitier as well as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. THE SIT-IN highlights never-before-seen footage from this pivotal week, which set the stage for the confluence of late-night and politics that we see today. Belafonte appears in the film, along Questlove and Whoopi Goldberg who recount the historic moment.
Director: Yoruba Richen
Writers: Èlia Gasull Balada, Yoruba Richen, Valerie Thomas
Stars: Gina Belafonte, Harry Belafonte, Taylor Branch, Bill Carter, Petula Clark, Whoopi Goldberg, Phil Gries
►Cast
| Gina Belafonte | → | Self |
| Harry Belafonte | → | Self |
| Taylor Branch | → | Self |
| Bill Carter | → | Self |
| Petula Clark | → | Self |
| Whoopi Goldberg | → | Self |
| Phil Gries | → | Self |
| Tamron Hall | → | Self |
| Norman Lear | → | Self |
| Quest Love | → | Self |
| Freda Payne | → | Self |
| Bobby Rivers | → | Self |
| Buffy Sainte-Marie | → | Self |
| Robin Thede | → | Self |
| Joan Walsh | → | Self |
| Dionne Warwick | → | Self |
| Aaron Williams | → | Self |