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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: January 16, 1950
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: Some fun facts about Debbie Allen on the occasion of this, her 67th birthday:
- She attended Howard University, which was one of the inspirations for Hillman College on A Different World, a show she was the producer and director of from 1988-1993.
- Her sister is Phylicia Rashad, of The Cosby Show and Broadway fame.
- She has served as choreographer for the Academy Award ten times, earning four Emmy nominations for her work, including the year they did this performance of “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin.
- Starting in season 3, she served as a special guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance.
- She’s played Dr. Catherine Avery on Grey’s Anatomy since 2011, a grand total of 30 episodes and counting.
- Before Tracee Ellis Ross won her Golden Globe last week, Debbie was the last black woman to win a Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical, for Fame in 1983.
- She was a producer on Steven Spielberg’s 1997 film Amistad.
- She’s the only performer to have appeared on all three versions of Fame (the original film, the TV adaptation, and the remake film).
- She received a “special thanks” credit on David Lynch’s deeply bizarre 2006 film Inland Empire, and while her role isn’t specified, I deeply hope it was for choreographing the film’s two big dance scenes near the end:
So happy birthday, Debbie Allen! Your contributions to the entertainment industry have been as varied as they have been delightful. May your legend only grow.
