Moses, Tom.

Success [Script for an African American Soap Opera].

N.P. N.P., 1982. 11” x 8½”. Thin card wrappers/loose leaves, three-hold and punched printed rectos only. pp. 61. Very good: front wrap with staining from paperclip, otherwise bright and clean throughout.

This is a screenplay for an African American soap opera which never aired, Success. The title page mentions that “this story is created by the author from a true life experience, with some fictional creativity.” The author's name is too common to successfully research, and we'll note that IMDB has a listing for a Tom Moses who was a Black actor who appeared on McCloud and Columbo in the early 1970s.

This script predates television's first Black soap opera, Generations, which premiered March 27, 1989 and ran through January 1991. The plot of this pilot begins with flashbacks, initially in Washington, D.C., where we meet Angela Saunders, a ten year old girl who overheard her parents arguing and learned that her father was not her biological father. The next scene took place in 1974 and Angela asked her mother about her birth father, wanting to know who he was and it was revealed that he was “in Hollywood,” and that his name was Tom Phillips. The action then cuts to 1983 with Tom reading a letter from Angela asking if he was her real father and we learn that Tom was an actor and also ran a performing arts school. Later, Angela goes to California to meet Tom and stay with his family; on arrival she asks if her mother could visit as well. Tom's wife agrees, setting up one of the story's major conflicts. Interspersed throughout is standard soap opera fare including sexual trysts, a philandering producer, familial misunderstandings, searing hatreds, blackmail, and other juicy bits.

OCLC locates no copies. Very good. Item #8128

Price: $1,500.00