Since the glamour of black and white TV, fashion on-screen has always been a major visual element for viewers, sometimes with audiences tuning in just to see the clothes. Whether you love the fashion, the characters, or both, you are not alone. Not wanting to spoil the entire list for anyone, here are a few of the most fashionable black women to ever grace the small screen — and a few non-brown honorable mentions.

blackenterprise.com

Spinoffs are greatly appreciated for a few reasons: they allow viewers to see lesser characters develop independently; they give viewers a different take of the characters from the previous sitcom; and, finally, spinoffs are uniquely responsible for creating that ‘neighboring effect’ on television, allowing audiences and characters, alike, feel as if they are stepping from one living room into another. This has been seen time and time again in television. Cheers begot Fraiser, Grey’s Anatomy begot Private Practice, Buffy begot Angel, and  Dr. Who begot Torchwood. Check out some our favorites over the years.

From HelloBeautiful

Reunited and it feels so good!

One of our favorite on-screen couples from the ’90s have found themselves back in each other’s arms. Well, almost.

Clueless stars Stacey Dash and Donald Faison — better known as dysfunctional couple Dionne and Murray — will be starring side-by-side again on an episode of the TV Land comedy, “The Exes.”

According to reports, Dash will play Dana, a recommitted virgin who is currently dating Faison’s character, Phil.

The episode is slated to air in July, but until then, lets take a look at 10 other couples from television and the big screen that we’d love to see work together again.

Read more at HelloBeautiful.com

AP Photo/Dave Allocca, StarPix

This Black History Month, we celebrate some of pop culture’s most influential movers and shakers who have changed the landscape of the world of entertainment. From the first African-American billionaire to the one of the hardest working men in radio, African-Americans have pioneered various media outlets, some even simultaneously.

Here are only a few of pop culture’s African-American innovators in the areas of music, television and film. We threw in a bonus, above: Michael Jackson. Besides his singing career both with the Jackson 5 and as a solo artist, and his investments across the music industry (including The Beatles portfolio), he invented the moonwalk, a move that continues to mystify and inspire dancers good and bad around the world. Check out this slideshow for more on the late, great MJ.

The future of a kid star or teen actor is an unsure one. We learned this fact from the entire cast of Different Strokes… and, actually the stars of MOST eighties sitcoms, including Jaimee Foxworth, who played the youngest daughter, Judy, on Family Matters for the first few seasons before her character was suddenly dissolved and wound up doing adult films. So, for a star to not only survive the kid star to adult role transition–continuing to have a thriving career, but to also transition into a stunningly attractive adult, that is an amazing feat. Actresses and actors such as Hilary Duff, Dakota Fanning and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are looking better than ever, so let’s check out who’s looking better with time in our community.

Source: AP Images

It’s been long overdue, but Bill Cosby and his TV daughter Tempestt Bledsoe finally had a one-on-one reunion on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” Friday night, proving the two haven’t lost their chemistry in the 20 years since “The Cosby Show” went off the air.

In a stroke of pure genius, Jimmy had both “Cosbys” on to promote their current projects. Bill was there to talk about his new book, I Didn’t Ask To Be Born, while Tempesst was discussing her new NBC sitcom, Guys With Kids. Since Jimmy is the producer of Tempestt’s show, it only makes sense that he organized this on-air reunion last Friday. At 75, Bill didn’t miss a beat when it came to the jokes during his segments, like when Tempesst said that the two of them get together often. He told her not to lie, joking:

“Sometimes my checks are late and that’s when I see Tempestt.”

See what I mean?

Overall, it was clear Bill wasn’t just a TV dad to the kids he saw grow up on his show. Check out clips of their interview below.

s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

They are celebrating over at HBCU Spelman College. Former Cosby kid Keshia Knight Pulliam hosted a major fundraiser at SAKS in Atlanta, reports The Young Black & Fabulous, and raised $1 million for her alma mater. The money will benefit Spelman students who aren’t able to graduate due to financial hardship. 

While African Americans give to charity more than whites, HBCUs are suffering in part because alumni do not give gifts to their schools. “One of the toughest problems HBCUs face is getting alumni to give back,” reports NewsOne. “Several studies report alumni giving at HBCUs to be in the single digits.” 

Marybeth Gasman and  Sibby Anderson-Thompkinseven penned a book, Fundraising from Black-College Alumni: Successful Strategies for Supporting Alma Mater, about how HBCUs can get black alumni to give back. The two theorize that HBCUs can’t use the traditional fundraising methods of other universities. They need to think out of the box when approaching alumni during fundraising efforts. According to the article, “Graduates often cite being treated poorly by a rude employee in the bursar’s office or some other administrative office as one of the main reasons they don’t give back.”

Empower magazine reports that some HBCUs, like Tennessee State University, has an average alumni giving rate of three percent. The national average is 20 percent. (A few like Alabama A&M has a rate of 50 percent.)

“African Americans prefer to give to concrete causes, want to be thanked and need to understand where their donations are going,” Gasman tells the magazine.

There have been some major gifts, such as Bill and Camille Cosby’s $20 million donation to Spelman back in 1987, which was and still is the largest gift to the  institution. But in order for financially-strapped HBCUs to survive, its successful alumni must give back.

Pulliam, who also starred in Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, graduated with a B.A. in sociology and a concentration in film in 2001.

Some actors and actresses can fondly reflect on the major roles they’ve played in the past while others tend to look back with resentment. The reasons behind this resentment sometimes stem from squabbles with former cast members, beef with former producers and directors, and sometimes it is the irony of having a career that is hindered or limited by the role that once made them famous. Check out these celebs that seem to have a bit of a chip on their shoulders regarding roles they’ve played in the past.

WENN

From The Grio

Twenty years after groundbreaking series The Cosby Show ended in 1992, Tempestt Bledsoe has returned to NBC in the Jimmy Fallon-produced sitcom Guys with Kids to play Marny, the working mother of four kids and wife of stay-at-home dad Gary, played by Anthony Anderson. Slated for Wednesday night, the second episode of Guys with Kids kicks off September 26.

Bledsoe’s Vanessa left an indelible mark. Smart — wise beyond her years, even — Vanessa possessed the many positive qualities a lot of people recognized in their own daughters, granddaughters, sisters and nieces. But, as thankful as the Chicago native is to have been the vessel for Vanessa Huxtable, that role was far from her last act. Shortly after the show ended, Bledsoe helmed her own self-titled talk show. In the last decade especially, her career has been a mix of acting and reality gigs. Actually, the FOX reality series Househusbands of Hollywood that she starred in alongside her longtime love Darryl Bell, better known as Ron Johnson from A Different World, bears a great resemblance to Guys with Kids.  She also hosted Clean House.

Read more at The Grio

More on Madame Noire!

• Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making of “Soul Food”
• Did You Know? 14 Black Celebrities Who Adopted or Were Adopted
• Just Another Thing That Gets Better With Age: Why It’s NOT Impossible To Make New Friends As You Get Older
• Is There A Right Way To Demand A Paternity Test?
• I Know You Didn’t Just Say Dutch: Why Women Should NOT Split The Tab On A First Date
• Where Are They Now? 8 Sassy And Silly Sidekicks From Some Of Our Favorite Black Sitcoms
• Did You Know They Dated (Part IV)? 14 Celeb Couples We Were VERY Surprised By

Source: mediaoutrage.com

Every actor wants that breakout role that will propel them into the mainstream stratosphere. However, finding that one perfect character can be a blessing and a curse for some actors as they can become typecast and find it difficult for lightning to strike twice. Not only are many asked to play similar characters for the rest of their careers, but even decades after taking on these roles, people still ask them to say memorable catchphrases or do famous dances. These are a few of the many stars who created iconic characters but never quite found the same success again because of said character.