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In TV Interview at Fordham, Denzel Washington Shares His Love for Acting—and Creating Opportunities for Others

Ryan Stellabotte — Tue, 01 May 2018 15:53:44 +0000

Denzel Washington is back on Broadway this spring, leading what The New York Times has described as an “energetic interpretation” of Eugene O’Neill’s “behemoth barroom tragedy,” The Iceman Cometh.

It’s a return to roots for the acclaimed actor, who in December 1975 made his New York stage debut in a Fordham Theatre production of another O’Neill play.

Denzel Washington, FCLC ’77, in a 1975 Fordham Theatre production of “The Emperor Jones”

“You know, my first role on stage, when I was a student at Fordham, was in The Emperor Jones,” he recently told the Times. “I’ve always loved O’Neill. And here I am, 40 years later, coming back to him in Iceman.”

Back on Campus

Washington, who has been nominated for a 2018 Tony Award for best actor, also recently returned to Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus. On a Friday last April, he surprised some students in the Lowenstein Center cafeteria and on the plaza after sitting down in Pope Auditorium with CBS News reporter Michelle Miller.

In an interview broadcast April 29 on CBS Sunday Morning, Miller talked with the star about his four-decade film and stage career, which includes two Oscars, one Tony, and a Golden Globe for lifetime achievement.

“I just do what I do,” he said. “I don’t analyze it, I don’t overanalyze it, I try not to read about what other people think I’m doing. It’s not that precious to me. I’m just doing what I know how to do and what I love to do.”

DENZEL WASHINGTON JUST SHOWED UP AT @FordhamNYC TODAY! @FordhamAlumni pic.twitter.com/dzMNIjFPmT

— Mary Todd Lincoln’s Whiskey Barrel (@ArmandoGJR) April 13, 2018

The quality that sets Washington apart, according to George C. Wolfe, director of the Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh, is his ability to use “all his skill set to disappear inside of the characters.”

“I think there are a number of actors who we go to see who are enjoyable and compelling, and you’re seeing them play this role and this role and this role, and they don’t disappear,” Wolfe told Miller. “I think he surrenders to his characters in an extraordinary way.”

‘Watching This Generation Take Off’

Miller reminded Washington of comments he made nearly two decades ago regarding the relative lack of opportunities for black actors. “I see how the playing field is laid out, and it’s not level, you know; it’s not fair. You can still bump your head, you can go but so far,” he told CBS News’ Ed Bradley in a 2000 interview on 60 Minutes.

When Miller asked Washington if things have gotten any better today, he noted the tremendous box-office success of the film Black Panther. He also reflected on his own standing as a role model, particularly for younger generations of African-American actors.

“I’m proud as a father might be,” he said. “I’m not finished the race, but I feel like I’ve passed the baton. When you run a relay race, when you hand the baton off, you still run about 20, 30 yards behind the next person. So I’m still running, but I’m enjoying watching this generation take off.”

Miller noted that Washington is in a position to help others in his field. “You’re a producer, you’re a director, you hire people—that’s power,” she said.

“That’s opportunity,” he responded, “the opportunity to give others opportunities.”

Which is something Washington has been doing at his alma mater for a long time. In 2011, he established an endowed scholarship fund and an endowed chair to offer Fordham Theatre students positive influences, like the kind he received from his Fordham mentor, Robinson Stone, who once predicted that Washington’s talent would be “among the most exciting and fulfilling of our time.”

Washington’s example and his unassuming generosity are not lost on Eric Lawrence Taylor, the current recipient of the Denzel Washington Endowed Scholarship.

“In a very cool, non-publicity-seeking way, Denzel Washington has been mentoring artists of color for a long time and really providing space for a lot of us to succeed,” said Taylor, a Fordham College at Lincoln Center senior. “I would not be here right now without this scholarship,” he added, noting that by supporting Fordham students, Washington has shown that he has “not forgotten where he came from.”

The Denzel Washington Scholars (from left): actors Darby Davis, FCLC ’16, MaYaa Boateng, FCLC ’13, Daniel Velasco, FCLC ’14, Eric Lawrence Taylor, FCLC ’18, and Amber Avant, FCLC ’15; and costume designer Siena Zoë Allen, FCLC ’15. Not pictured is Cesca Wolos-Fonteno, FCLC ’17, who studied lighting design at Fordham and is currently spending a year in service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in California.

The Iceman Cometh recently began a 14-week run that ends on July 1, shortly before Washington’s next feature film, The Equalizer 2, opens in theaters nationwide.

A group of Fordham alumni, faculty, and friends is planning to attend the May 10 performance of the play. The event, which includes dinner before the show, is currently sold out, but there is a waiting list. More info here.

Watch the Sunday Morning interview.

Blunt Career Advice From Moms and Dads

Tom Stoelker — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 19:00:00 +0000

On Feb. 2, a group of highly skilled professionals from Fordham’s Parents’ Leadership Council sat down with students to talk about their careers at an event titled “Profession Confessions.” Among other things, they offered unvarnished advice based on their own experiences.

When it came to job interviews—a topic on every student’s mind—the parents had some sage suggestions: Ask the interviewer for advice. Don’t let the qualifications scare you off; if you have 50 percent of what employers are asking for, then apply—provided you have the passion. And passion is key. An interviewer can tell within a minute if you have it or not.

The parents had more advice for those who get the job: If you make a mistake, admit it, and have a plan to fix it. Don’t compete with your boss; always make them look better.

Listen to the discussion:

The event was moderated by Richard (Rick) L. Treanor, Ph.D., PAR ’17, Partner at Oblon, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, LLP. Panelists included:

Rich Cervini, PAR ’19, Senior Vice President of Production and Technical Operations, CBS Television Distribution

Donna Morris, PAR ’19, Executive Vice President of Customer and Employee Experience, Adobe

Ed Munshower, PAR ’18, Founder, Terrace Creek Capital

John Normile, FCRH ’84, LAW ‘, 88, PAR ’19, Partner, Jones Day

Jennifer Povlitz, PAR ’19, Managing Director & Market Head of Wealth Management, UBS

Maureen F. Zakowski, M.D., PAR ’18, Professor, Icahn School of Medicine, Mt. Sinai Hospital
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Charles Osgood to Retire as Host of CBS’ Sunday Morning

Nicole LaRosa — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 22:42:49 +0000

photo by John Filo

Charles Osgood, FCRH ’54, is signing off as the voice of CBS Sunday Morning after 22 years. The veteran broadcaster’s last show will air Sunday, Sept. 25.

“It’s been a great run,” the 83-year-old told viewers on Aug. 28, when he announced his retirement as anchor of the award-winning newsmagazine program. He said people had been asking why he keeps at it given his age.

“It’s just that it’s been a joy doing it!” he said. “Who wouldn’t want to be the one who gets to introduce these terrific storytellers and the producers and writers and others who put this wonderful show together?”

With his calm, reassuring voice, and the show’s features-focused format, Osgood has offered viewers a serene haven from the hard news of the week. “We accentuate the positive and don’t try to shock,” he once said about the program. “I think there’s a growing appetite for that. We’re surrounded by shock.” When he was inducted into the University’s Hall of Honor, Fordham called him “the voice of Sunday morning, as constant and full of promise as a benediction.”

A leader in the ratings with an audience of around 6 million viewers, Sunday Morning has won three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Morning Program, including one just this year.

In his 45 years with CBS News, Osgood has anchored and reported for every one of the network’s broadcasts, including CBS Morning News and CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. He got his on-air start in the 1950s at WFUV, Fordham’s public radio station, which honored him in 2008 by establishing the Charles Osgood Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism.

Fans can take solace in the fact that the beloved host will continue to make good on his weekly signoff to “see you on the radio”: He’ll remain as anchor of his CBS Radio show, The Osgood File. And he’ll make occasional appearances on Sunday Morning.

CBS will celebrate Osgood during his final appearance as anchor with a tribute show that will feature a look back at his legendary career, as well as good wishes from surprise guests and special performers.

Former CBS Executive and Fordham Dean Recalls Watergate, Nixon’s Resignation

Chris Gosier — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 15:27:00 +0000

When President Richard Nixon announced his resignation 40 years ago on Aug. 8, 1974, it brought shock and amazement but also, for some, “a sense of relief,” said Communications Professor Emeritus William J. Small, a luminary of the news business who oversaw Watergate coverage for CBS News and later served on the Fordham faculty.

“This is now behind us” was the view of some commentators, said Small, who was a senior vice president at CBS when Nixon resigned. He didn’t recall being surprised—“I mean, the man faced impeachment”—but acknowledged that there was uncertainty about what Nixon would do in the face of the crippling scandal.

“People were amazed” at the president’s resignation, he said. “It was considered an option, but I don’t know anyone who knew when it would happen, or even for sure that it would. His people were still bravely talking about surviving the impeachment attempt—whatever people were left at that point.”

Small was interviewed on the occasion of being named for a Lifetime Achievement Award that he will receive at the 35th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards at Lincoln Center on Sept. 30. He was Fordham’s Distinguished Felix E. Larkin Professor and director of the Center for Communications at the Graduate School of Business Administration (GBA) from 1986 to 1997, and served as dean of GBA dean from 1992 to 1994. He went on to serve as chairman for news and documentary Emmys for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Watergate was one of the dominant stories during his stint as Washington bureau chief for CBS News from 1962 to 1974. “We were always playing catch-up” to theWashington Post, but weren’t too far behind, he said.

Ben Bradlee, the Post’s executive editor at the time, once told Small of the importance of CBS’s Watergate coverage. “He said other papers were afraid to touch that story at the beginning,” Small said. “Those papers wouldn’t pick it up, he said, until CBS started, and then it became a national story and (the Post) became the heart of it.”

“[Bradlee] was very gracious about the role we played,” Small said. “We did a lot of original reporting … and I was very proud of the way (our reporters) followed it.”

Small received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Fordham in 2003, and continues to take courses in the University’s College at 60.

—- Chris Gosier

Media Update: Spotlight on Fordham

Fordham News — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:43:27 +0000

Yesterday saw yet another wave of media visit Fordham on campus and off, with Fordham professors weighing in on TV, radio, print, and on the web. CBS’s Lou Young visited the campus to interview Joseph Lienhard, S.J., professor of theology.

After a full day of analysis that saw his feedback appear in the Daily News to The Wall Street Journal, Terrence Tilley, Ph.D., the Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Chair in Catholic Theology and chair of the department, spent the wee hours chatting with the hosts of the Dallas-based Red Eye Radio.

Meanwhile, back in New York City, Maureen Tilley, Ph.D., professor of theology, provided more papal feedback on Fox news. To link to the video click here.

Michael Lee, Ph.D., associate professor of theology, talked to the Huffington Post. “You can tell that this is man who is speaking from experience, not in a lecture,” he told the site. “His sermons have talked about proximity to the poor. Benedict continued a strong line in Catholic social teaching in general, but I don’t think he had that proximity. Francis does.”

University Issues Graphic Identity Guide

Bob Howe — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 15:52:54 +0000

This summer, Fordham University established new style guidelines for its corporate identity. Why does a university, much less a Jesuit university, need a corporate identity? To those who consider the term at all, “corporate identity” evokes the images of familiar commercial concerns: IBM’s blue logo; Nike’s “swoosh,” or perhaps the CBS Television eye. But the Fordham logo (above) incorporating the name and seal, is different. The logo, color, and text are just the visible tip of University’s intellectual and spiritual identity.

“Necessary to our advancement is the clear and direct association of all of the University’s schools, departments, programs, centers and institutes with each other and with the symbols that have been the graphic expression of the heritage, values and traditions of the University for 165 years,” wrote Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, in his introduction to the Graphic Identity Guide issued in August.

Fordham’s “branding,” in other words, is graphic shorthand that conveys the University’s mission and integrity at a glance. The logo, of course, is only as valuable as Fordham’s reputation for academic and moral excellence; the map is not the territory. Nonetheless, the consistent use of images, colors and formats ensures that even casual viewers of University publications and materials will immediately associate them with Fordham and its traditions.

The Graphic Identity Guide is available in print format from the Office of Procurement, (718) 817-4910 and in PDF format. For questions about the University’s policies on the use of its graphic identity material, please contact Catherine S. Spencer, assistant vice president for marketing and communications: (212) 636-6522, [email protected]. For information about obtaining the University logo and seal, or for technical questions about graphics materials, please contact Marjorie Coyne, art director, marketing and communications: (212) 636-6539, [email protected].