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Born on April 16, 1928 , William Ferdinand Brown was an American playwright best known for writing the book of the musical, The Wiz, an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls, for which he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical.

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The Wiz is a 1978 American musical adventure fantasy film produced by Universal Pictures and Motown Productions, and released by Universal Pictures on October 24, 1978. A re-imagining of L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz featuring an all-black cast, the film was loosely adapted from the 1974 Broadway musical of the same name. It follows the adventures of Dorothy, a shy, twenty-four-year-old Harlem schoolteacher who finds herself magically transported to the urban fantasy Land of Oz, which resembles a dream version of New York City. Befriended by a Scarecrow, a Tin Man and a Cowardly Lion, she travels through the city to seek an audience with the mysterious Wiz, who they say is the only one powerful enough to send her home.

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Produced by Rob Cohen and directed by Sidney Lumet, the film stars Diana Ross ( Dorothy ) , Michael Jackson ( scarecrow) , Nipsey Russell (Tin Man ) , Ted Ross ( lion) , Mabel King ( wicked witch ), Theresa Merritt( aunt em) , Thelma Carpenter ( good witch) , Lena Horne ( Glinda ) and Richard Pryor ( The wiz ) . Its story was reworked from William F. Brown's Broadway libretto by Joel Schumacher, and Quincy Jones supervised the adaptation of Charlie Smalls and Luther Vandross' songs for it. A handful of new songs, written by Jones and the songwriting team of Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, were added for it.

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When Harlem schoolteacher Dorothy (Diana Ross) tries to save her dog from a storm, she's miraculously whisked away to an urban fantasy land called Oz. After accidentally killing the Wicked Witch of the East upon her arrival, Dorothy is told about the Wiz (Richard Pryor), a wizard who can help her get back to Manhattan. As Dorothy goes in search of the Wiz, she's joined by the Scarecrow (Michael Jackson), the Tin Man (Nipsey Russell) and the Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross).

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The Wiz (1/8) Movie CLIP - The Crow Anthem (1978) HD

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-One of the first Broadway hits with an all African-American cast
- The Wiz won seven Tony Awards
-A Munchkin married the lead singer of Village People
-The 1978 movie version was supposed to star Stephanie Mills
-Many critics also thought Diana Ross was too old
-One of Michael Jackson’s very few acting roles
-Original Baltimore cast featured Butterfly McQueen
-Movie considered part of the blaxploitation movement
-The Wiz movie was a commercial failure