Well that was fast. It seemed like only yesterday that I received a forwarded e-mail telling the story of this sweet old man, Eugene Allen, who served as a White House butler for 34 years. Yesterday it was announced that Columbia Pictures has picked up the rights to his story and are planning on bringing it to the big screen.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Allen started at the White House as a "pantry man" in 1952 when blacks weren't allowed to use public restrooms in his native Virginia. He served presidents as racial history was being made, from Brown v. Board of Education to the 1963 march on Washington to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy.
Allen left the job in 1986, when Ronald Reagan was in office.
Allen and his wife of 65 years talked and marveled at the fact that a black man could be president. But on Election Day, Allen cast his vote alone; his wife died the day before.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Allen started at the White House as a "pantry man" in 1952 when blacks weren't allowed to use public restrooms in his native Virginia. He served presidents as racial history was being made, from Brown v. Board of Education to the 1963 march on Washington to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy.
Allen left the job in 1986, when Ronald Reagan was in office.
Allen and his wife of 65 years talked and marveled at the fact that a black man could be president. But on Election Day, Allen cast his vote alone; his wife died the day before.
If I may add my casting expertise, I think they should cast Jeffrey Wright in this role. He's wonderful.
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