The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings

Director: John Badham (1976)

Cast: Billy Dee Willliams, James Earl Jones, Richard Pryor

Barry Gordy started his entertainment career as the founder of Motown Records.  In the1960's By 1972 Gordy had found success as a film producer with the multi-Oscar nominated Lady Sings the Blues, Making Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor into household names. Williams, Pryor and James Earl Jones would star in Gordy's third film The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings. Williams plays Long, a flamboyant Negro League Pitcher based on Baseball Hall of Famer, Satchel Paige, James Earl Jones character, catcher Leon Carter, was based on Negro league legend Josh Gibson and Pryor's Charlie Snow, represented all the negro league players who tried sneak into the Major Leagues telling everybody they were Hispanic. As the story goes Bingo is getting tired of the negro league owners taking  all their money and their love of the game, so he teams up with Leon and Charlie and creates his own All-Star team and play the way they want to play with The league fun and joy. The league tries to shut them down, culminating in a championship game between Bingo's All-Stars and the Leagues stars, Who do you thinks wins? 

Fun Facts: Being an audacious producer Gordy picked a novice director named John Badham to make the film. A year later Badham would direct  Saturday Night Fever, War Games and Short Circuit.  Gordy would produce other films including Mahogany and The Wiz.