Source: Paramount Pictures

Last week, when I was thinking up a cute title for my skin care article, immediately Bebe’s Kids came to mind. “Here’s some lotion for your ashy ankles.” It was the line Jamika (Vanessa Bell Calloway) slung at Robin’s ex wife Dorothea (Myra J.) after the two finally confront Dorothea and her friend in the bathroom. Seeing how a couple readers responded to the title, I was reassured that Bebe’s Kids was not just my movie, it was the movie for black kids running around in the ’90′s. While it bordered on completely inappropriate for children, I know this is probably the only movie I can quote and sing…or rap, from beginning to end. But as much as love to love this movie, I did not know most of these behind the scenes secrets. So hopefully, you’ll learn something as well.

It’s always sad when people pass away, especially exceptionally talented people who leave this earth at a young age. Whether it’s from illnesses, accidents, or cold-blooded murder, these 10 actors and actresses’ deaths were shocking because they were very unexpected. Here’s a shout out to those who we enjoyed for their great roles who left us way too soon.

Michelle Thomas, aka, Myra from “Family Matters”

I used to love everything about “Family Matters,” especially during the much lauded Steve Urkel years. And when you think of Steve Urkel, not only do you think of his love Laura Winslow, but you have to think of his character’s past steady girlfriend, Myra Monkhouse. Played by Michelle Thomas, Myra was a bubbly but nice character, who could, under jealous circumstances, get a little feisty. She was in the role of Myra from ’93 to ’98. In real life, Thomas died unexpectedly in 1998. Just a year earlier the actress was diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer, and she went on to undergo surgery twice for tumors. In the end, Thomas died in December of 1998 surrounded by friends and family in the hospital. She was only 29.

Source: imdb.com

*Smiles Profusely* I don’t know about you but just the mention of House Party is guaranteed to put a huge grin on my face. At a time when movies like The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller‘s Day Off were making a killing at the movie theaters, the black community was waiting for that same type of good-natured flick. You know, the type of movie where we could see young black kids having fun, where the only real threat to their lives was catching a butt whooping instead of a bullet. That’s what House Party did for us. It showed us the fun side and honestly made us feel lucky to be young and black.  We needed this movie and we needed it to be well done. Luckily, with the combination of a talented cast, hilarious one liners, great music and a little bit of romance, we got just that.

The music gets you hype, you still do the dance with your homegirl and the DVD is on the shelf right now, but you probably don’t know these the behind the scene secrets. Check them out.