How was What's Happening based on the movie Cooley High? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

studd911 · 01-05-2006, 04:57 PM

Hello i have a question to ask, i was reading that the sitcome whats happenning was based on eric monte movie cooley high, how is that possible
because in cooley you had four characters of Glynn Turman .... Leroy "Preach" Jackson Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs .... Richard "Cochise" Morris
Maurice Leon Havis .... Willie Joseph Carter Wilson .... Tyrone

and whats happenning only had three roger, rerun and dwayne
and in cooley high i did not see a big person dancing or wearing a red hat, i am just curious thats all

vashti1999 · 01-05-2006, 05:07 PM

Both had a main character who was a writer (Preach, Roger)
There was a little sister in both
There was an overweight working mom who planned on spanking her son in both
There was a soda shop hangout with a sassy waitress in both
There was a younger, not so hip friend in both (Pooter, Dwayne)

TV shows inspired by movies aren't going to follow the movie to the very last detail

studd911 · 01-05-2006, 06:18 PM

hey even though the charactor of Richard "Cochise which was played by Jackson Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs who replaced his charactor in whats happenning, because i no in the movie he was a basket ball star and was supposed to go to college and he was a ladies man getting all of the girls

vashti1999 · 01-05-2006, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by studd911

hey even though the charactor of Richard "Cochise which was played by Jackson Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs who replaced his charactor in whats happenning, because i no in the movie he was a basket ball star and was supposed to go to college and he was a ladies man getting all of the girls

SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN COOLEY HIGH YET

The Cochise character was killed in the movie, so essentially there wasn't a replacement for the character on What's Happening, and I don't think they'd revive him for the tv show

TMC · 06-08-2016, 03:44 AM

TV One's Unsung Hollywood episode on WH!! stated that a pilot episode was filmed, presumably a comedy-drama, based on Cooley High, with Ernest Thomas playing Preach. But it was said that the pilot didn’t test well and the network execs weren’t interested in the “heaviness” of the social commentary and they mainly wanted a comedy.

Sonny Carson · 07-21-2016, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

TV One's Unsung Hollywood episode on WH!! stated that a pilot episode was filmed, presumably a comedy-drama, based on Cooley High, with Ernest Thomas playing Preach. But it was said that the pilot didn’t test well and the network execs weren’t interested in the “heaviness” of the social commentary and they mainly wanted a comedy.

I just saw pictures of the pilot episode of Cooley High on google last month. It looked pretty much like the movie though with kind of a "White Shadow" kind of look. Wish the pilot was available to judge it compared to the movie! Ernest Thomas looks just like Glynn Turman as "Preach"!

TMC · 06-01-2021, 11:58 PM

Ernest Thomas talks about the Cooley High pilot (beginning at the 5:18 mark in the video above) here. He said that when he was guest appearing on The Jeffersons, Isabel Sanford's agent told him that he would be perfect for an upcoming pilot called Cooley High. Nobody has ever seen the actual pilot but there are now photos of it online. To make a long story short, according to Ernest, ABC felt that the pilot, which was shot with a single-camera, wasn't funny enough. But they liked Ernest enough that when the decision was made to retool Cooley High into a multi-camera show, he was the only actor who was kept.

TVFactFan · 07-18-2021, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

Ernest Thomas talks about the Cooley High pilot (beginning at the 5:18 mark in the video above) here. He said that when he was guest appearing on The Jeffersons, Isabel Sanford's agent told him that he would be perfect for an upcoming pilot called Cooley High. Nobody has ever seen the actual pilot but there are now photos of it online. To make a long story short, according to Ernest, ABC felt that the pilot, which was shot with a single-camera, wasn't funny enough. But they liked Ernest enough that when the decision was made to retool Cooley High into a multi-camera show, he was the only actor who was kept.

Definitely was retooled because Cooley High was based in Chicago and What's Happening was based in LA

Old School · 09-04-2021, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

Ernest Thomas talks about the Cooley High pilot (beginning at the 5:18 mark in the video above) here. He said that when he was guest appearing on The Jeffersons, Isabel Sanford's agent told him that he would be perfect for an upcoming pilot called Cooley High. Nobody has ever seen the actual pilot but there are now photos of it online. To make a long story short, according to Ernest, ABC felt that the pilot, which was shot with a single-camera, wasn't funny enough. But they liked Ernest enough that when the decision was made to retool Cooley High into a multi-camera show, he was the only actor who was kept.

Roger is a writer just like Preacher in the movie, has a single mother, a nosey little sister and wears the same type of funny glasses.

Ms Thomas is like Preacher's mother in the moive- a hard working maid.

Dee is just like Preacher's nosey, smart mouth sister from the movie.

Dwayne is just like Pooter they youngest of the friends and very naive.

Shirley is a play on Martha- the lady who ran the restaurant in the movie, where all the kids would hang out at...

The show takes some aspects of Cooley High and flips them with a Los Angeles setting.

Video Description: Eric Monte (creator of Cooley High) says What's Happening was based on Cooley High...also says that Norman Lear is a racist.

Cochise, Preacher & Pooter...

01-05-2006, 04:57 PM	#1
studd911 Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 21, 2004 Posts: 1,285	How was What's Happening based on the movie Cooley High? Hello i have a question to ask, i was reading that the sitcome whats happenning was based on eric monte movie cooley high, how is that possible because in cooley you had four characters of Glynn Turman .... Leroy "Preach" Jackson Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs .... Richard "Cochise" Morris Maurice Leon Havis .... Willie Joseph Carter Wilson .... Tyrone and whats happenning only had three roger, rerun and dwayne and in cooley high i did not see a big person dancing or wearing a red hat, i am just curious thats all

01-05-2006, 05:07 PM	#2
vashti1999 NY METS - #1 Forum Fanatic Join Date: Oct 14, 2003 Location: The world's greatest city - New York City Posts: 11,404	Both had a main character who was a writer (Preach, Roger) There was a little sister in both There was an overweight working mom who planned on spanking her son in both There was a soda shop hangout with a sassy waitress in both There was a younger, not so hip friend in both (Pooter, Dwayne) TV shows inspired by movies aren't going to follow the movie to the very last detail
	__________________ .

01-05-2006, 06:18 PM	#3
studd911 Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 21, 2004 Posts: 1,285	cooley high based on what happenning hey even though the charactor of Richard "Cochise which was played by Jackson Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs who replaced his charactor in whats happenning, because i no in the movie he was a basket ball star and was supposed to go to college and he was a ladies man getting all of the girls

06-08-2016, 03:44 AM	#5
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,428	TV One's Unsung Hollywood episode on WH!! stated that a pilot episode was filmed, presumably a comedy-drama, based on Cooley High, with Ernest Thomas playing Preach. But it was said that the pilot didn’t test well and the network execs weren’t interested in the “heaviness” of the social commentary and they mainly wanted a comedy.

06-01-2021, 11:58 PM	#7
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,428	Ernest Thomas talks about the Cooley High pilot (beginning at the 5:18 mark in the video above) here. He said that when he was guest appearing on The Jeffersons, Isabel Sanford's agent told him that he would be perfect for an upcoming pilot called Cooley High. Nobody has ever seen the actual pilot but there are now photos of it online. To make a long story short, according to Ernest, ABC felt that the pilot, which was shot with a single-camera, wasn't funny enough. But they liked Ernest enough that when the decision was made to retool Cooley High into a multi-camera show, he was the only actor who was kept.