The Temptations was a four-hour television miniseries broadcast in two-hour halves on NBC, based upon the history of one of Motown's longest-lived acts, The Temptations. Executive produced by former Motown executive Suzanne De Passe, produced by Otis Williams and Temptations manager Shelley Berger, and based upon Williams' Temptations autobiography, the miniseries was originally broadcast on November 1 and November 2, 1998. It was directed by Allan Arkush.
About the miniseries
The miniseries stars Charles Malik Whitfield as Otis Williams, Leon as David Ruffin, D.B. Woodside as Melvin Franklin, Terron Brooks as Eddie Kendricks, and Christian Payton as Paul Williams. Also featured were Charles Ley as Dennis Edwards, J. August Richards as Richard Street, Obba Babatunde as Berry Gordy, Vanessa Bell Calloway as Johnnie Mae Matthews and Mel Jackson as Norman Whitfield.
As the miniseries was based upon Otis Williams' book, it comes from his perspective: the focus of the story tended to be on Williams and his best friend Melvin Franklin, with David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks seen as antagonists for much of the second half. Nevertheless, the miniseries gave a decent general overview of both the history of the group and that of Motown, and, thanks to De Passe's connection, the film was able to use athentic props and locations--including the actual Hitsville U.S.A. studio/headquaters--in the film.
Differences from factual events
A number of liberties were taken with factual events for dramatization purposes, including the following:
- Elbridge Bryant is portrayed as singing lead on "Come On", not Richard Street. Missing at the recording session are James Jamerson, Norman Whitfield, and The Andantes, who were among the musicians involved with the record.
- There are only two Primes and three Primettes. There were actually three primes and four Primettes, and they never performed onstage together.
- Bryant is fired during the 1963/1964 New Years party, not the 1963 Christmas party.
- Ruffin/Kendrick/Edwards forms in the early 1980s instead of the late 1980s.
- Otis Williams' son dies while they are on the 1982 Reunion tour. The accident actually happened the following year.
- David Ruffin dies and is left in the street, his body unidentified for a week in the morgue. In reality, Ruffin was driven to the hospital, and the driver identified him as "David Ruffin of the Temptations" to the hospital staff.
- Melvin Franklin apparently dies in the kitchen of his mother's house. In reality, he died in the hospital after a long bout with diabetes and other diseases.
Epilogue
The miniseries was a ratings success, and Arkush won a 1998 Emmy award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or a Movie. The miniseries has been subsequently rerun on the VH-1 cable television network and released to VHS and DVD.
Otis Williams' ex-wife Josephine, Melvin Franklin's mother Rose Franklin, and, on David Ruffin's behalf, the Ruffin family, filed suit against Williams, Motown, De Passe Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, and NBC for use of their likenesses in the film, defamation of character, and emotional distress because of the inaccurate depictions of events. They also alleged that the miniseries mis-portrayed them and/or their relatives and twisted facts. The judges ruled in favor of the defendants, and the ruling was upheld when the plaintiffs appealed in 2001.
References
- Cheryl Ruffin-Steinback, et al. v. Suzanne De Passe, et al. Appeal filed Sept 28, 2001 in United States court of Appeals. Text available here.
- "Drama vs. Reality". Temptsinfo.com
External links
