A DAY IN "THE LIFE OF RILEY"

Hi folks,

See LIFE OF RILEY in pictures via the FACEBOOK link below signature. But let me highlight this week a special video DAILY COMMUNE & LIFE OF RILEY produced – presented by MISS JESSIE’s.

Meet the Director, Playwright, and Cast of SMART PEOPLE here:

Story WITH video - http://dailycommune.com/smart-people/

Video ONLY - http://bit.ly/smartpeople-video

As always, THANKS to each and every one of you for your support.

Best and LOVE,

Patrick L. Riley

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF RILEY: pop culture & possibilities

P.S. SOME LIFE OF RILEY LATEST IN PICTURES AND CAPTIONS: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.l.riley/media_set?set=a.10153520770523737.1073741969.662073736&type=3

P.P.S TESSA THOMPSON on THE OSCARS – presented by MISS JESSIE’S

https://www.facebook.com/patrick.l.riley/videos/10153491349763737/?l=3404659370660713019

PRESENTED BY MISS JESSIE'S: Tessa Thompson ON OSCARS - A DailyCommune/LIFE OF RILEY SPECIAL!! Was great to re-acquaint with Tessa to whom Anika Noni Rose​ introduced me the opening night of Tyler Perry's’s For Colored Girls​. Knowing I’d be interviewing her, LIFE OF RILEY partner, CEO and Co-Founder of Miss Jessie's​, Miko Branch, sent over a VIP bag for Tessa to enjoy – including FULL-SIZED PRODUCT and her book Miss Jessie's: Creating a Successful Business from Scratch-Naturally (Amistad; Hardcover; $24.99). Tessa told me she LOVES MISS JESSIE’S: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.l.riley/videos/10153491349763737/?l=3404659370660713019! AND IN TURN, she shared her thoughts on Diversity in Hollywood; the Oscar Black-out; and the upcoming NAACP Image Awards​ for which she is a nominee for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture - Creed. Check it out: The 47th NAACP IMAGE AWARDS LIVE! FRIDAY FEB 5TH on TV ONE Red Carpet 8/7C Image Awards 9/8C. AND BEFORE WE TUNE INTO THAT, look for more information from Tessa and the rest of her cast members in SMART PEOPLE at Second Stage Theatre​! All my LIFE OF RILEY fam knows when I can pour some THEATER tea for you, I do: https://youtu.be/LrdnbMgJn9s. MOREOVER, you ALL know that I am Mr. Kenny Leon’s #1 fan – from my days as a Man of Morehouse who got the chance to work under his expertise in his alma mater Clark Atlanta University’s Coronation for which he was Visiting Guest Alum Director in 1992 to the years of enjoying Atlanta’s Alliance and True Colors Productions under his helm (and promoting them accordingly as I started my career at Fox 5’s “Good Day Atlanta”) to these last twenty years that I’ve been in New York City and a front row to his many Broadway offerings – including his Tony-award-winning turn as Director of the most recent Raisin in the Sun Revival and the tour de force that was The Wiz LIVE! for which I got to interview this NBC event’s Dorothy, Shanice Williams for recurring client NBCBLK: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/shanice-williams-tonights-wiz-live-debut-n471616! My primary question for her? “What was it like to work with Kenny Leon?” AND LIFE OF RILEY and DAILY COMMUNE just got a NEW INVITATION to ask that same question of SMART PEOPLE playwright Lydia R. Diamond (whose last Broadway collaboration with Kenny Leon, “Stick Fly”, would provide me opportunities to do talk-backs on its Broadway stage: https://youtu.be/LrdnbMgJn9s). Same question for the impressive SMART PEOPLE cast – known for their work across all formats: starting with Tessa and continuing on with her fellow cast-mates Mahershala Ali (“House of Cards”); Joshua Jackson; and Anne Son. WELL, SMART PEOPLE’s OFFICIAL OPENING is February 11, 2016…and set on the eve of Obama’s first election, it captures the sentiments of a nation through the complex and not always harmonious lens of a group of four Harvard intellectuals. Though you may cry, you will also have many moments of LAUGHTER! INCLUDING PREVIEWS, it runs January 26 through March 6th. I’M THINKING FROM OUR MEET AND GREET…AND WHAT WE’RE TOLD THE NARRATIVE ENTAILS, THAT THIS IS A MUST-SEE! Who will join me and catch a performance?? CALL IN FOR TICKETS at 212.246.4422 or hit up www.2ST.com  for TICKETS and MORE INFORMATION. COME ON, SMART PEOPLE! As always, THANKS to each and everyone of you for tuning into LIFE OF RILEY. SPECIAL SHOUT OUT to: Fox Entertainment Reporter Simone Boyce, a fellow journalist whose work I’ve been admiring since she hit the airwaves. Great to meet her and invite her out to our return to Billie’s Black for Billie’s Black presents All Star Karaoke with Patrick L. Riley in the SPRING 2016 (Dates TBD). AWESOME LUNCH-TIME MOMENT! #missjessies #allstarkaraoke #billiesblack #Oscarssowhite #BlackOscars #Oscars #Academy #iammissjessies #titibranch #SELMA #shondaland #shondarimes #naacp #imageawards #diversity #smartpeople #tessathompson

Hi folks!

CAN YOU FEEL A BRAND NEW DAY?

Well, LIFE OF RILEY will be bringing you a few more videos to off-set when I’m not booked on one of my clients’ airwaves… and I have something exciting to share – like the official key art for THE WIZ LIVE: http://bit.ly/thewizlive_plr. I just had to get it OUT to YOU! LOL!  

NBC’s THE WIZ LIVE is premiering December 3!

And it goes without saying for what my MISS ROSS jones is that we will be EASING ON DOWN THE ROAD during SEASON 4 of BILLIE’S BLACK PRESENTS ALL STAR KARAOKE WITH PATRICK L. RILEY!

We kick off Tuesday, October 27^th at 7p! We’ll be up 10 TUESDAYS until the end of the year!

And we really do LOVE “THE WIZ” at #ALLSTARKARAOKE:

I did BRAND NEW DAY one time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOKtUdgTunQ;

we have had Tony-award-winning choreographer for “The Wiz” on Broadway, George Faison, in the house to promote Faison Firehouse’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’” which we shouted out that night: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.l.riley/videos/vb.662073736/10152636368748737/?type=3&theater.  

And I shouted out in my theater segment on ARISE ENTERTAINMENT 360: http://youtu.be/BKwfoTKRwJ8 .

FRENCHIE DAVIS sang ‘HOME’ (and joined us with the cast of “Invisible Life” on #THEBOSS - https://www.facebook.com/patrick.l.riley/videos/vb.662073736/10153063149713737/?type=3&theater).

Reservations are highly recommended: 212 280 2248: http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2015/9/27/working-overtime-sessions.html.

Miss Jessie's is back among our sponsors! And as ‪#‎missjessies CEO and CO-FOUNDER MIKO BRANCH did last season in promotion of her book Miss Jessie's: Creating a Successful Business from... (Amistad; Hardcover; $24.99): https://youtu.be/RL-EqYvCAeI, we hope you will come SING your FAVORITES with us, ENJOY cocktail specials and tasty soul food, and NETWORK with a ROOM FULL of FABULOUS FOLKS! Miko and I LOVE #THEBOSS - 

https://www.facebook.com/patrick.l.riley/videos/vb.662073736/10152964609513737/?type=3&theater.

SEASON 4 is - in part - POWERED by ALL STAR KARAOKE PLATINUM PATRON Mr. Reginald Van Lee. WE THANK HIM and all of you who continue to be such a support! And Riley/Land Gourmet Pantry via Joseph Riley Land is back IN THE HOUSE - literally as the critically-acclaimed pantry has taken up semi-permanent space in the back of Billie’s Black. Gift certificates to purchase ‪#‎rileyland products will be raffled. Plus, look for Riley/Land inside our ALL STAR KARAOKE signature cocktails (Riley/Land-curated mixers that will also be in stock for sale. Stay tuned!). Would LOVE TO SEE YOU some Tuesday - really soon! Let us know if you want to use ALL STAR KARAOKE as a back-drop to promote or present any of your projects inside an intimate but power-filled room of taste-makers and top talent! PLEASE TELL YOUR PEEPS...and SHARE! ‪#‎BILLIESBLACK‪#‎ALLSTARKARAOKE#MOTOWNMAY ‪#‎StockYourPantry

#‎HarlemEats ‪#‎missjessiesbook#iammissjessies‪#‎Legacy of ‪#‎TitiBranch

Money Minute

I’ve always wanted to be a television presenter – as my British friends and colleagues sometimes say. Excited to be hosting a second season of Wells Fargo presents The Money Minute on www.advocate.com. Check them out here: http://www.advocate.com/advocate-money-minute. Episodes 3 and 4 are out:

* http://www.advocate.com/advocate-money-minute/2015/10/07/saving-college-tuition-hayley-erica

* http://www.advocate.com/advocate-money-minute/2015/10/13/purchasing-second-home-hayley-erica

Sidmel

I got news of her passing after midnight…and couldn’t lift myself from my fetal position to post anything nor could I lift myself out of bed to turn the computer on to email something. I just laid there until the pain subsided and I fell asleep to dreams of a time when SIDMEL took a chance on ME!!! AND THE MANY REFLECTIONS CAME FLOODING THROUGH! Well, I'm up now... and the news is still true.... and I did get out of bed - knowing there would be a sea of condolences and memories in social media…and RIGHTLY SO! Sidmel Estes Sumpter was not only the FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT of our beloved National Association of Black Journalists, she paved the way so that ALL WOMEN MANAGERS – and ALL BLACK JOURNALISTS and JOURNALISTS OF COLOR who want the opportunity to work – can stand firm in their calling and WORK! And as one of her first two producers she hired for the now-iconic GOOD DAY ATLANTA which she Executive Produced, she showed of what she was made – hiring this reporter trainee from WSB-TV who was interested in the entertainment/news mix of morning TV to learn not only how to build a morning news show…but she gave me my FIRST opportunities to grow my gift for conducting the interview and to build my “pop culture expert/entertainment reporter” reel through a number of Atlanta-based opportunities that would have New York City calling in 1995! Sidmel didn’t want me to leave her or WAGA, but knew she had to let me go. In our last, in-depth chat, she acknowledged that she was being selfish and shouldn’t have tried to hold me back from trying to take my career to the next level, but she LOVED having me at GOOD DAY ATLANTA with her and she explained that I was one of her “BABIES” – a term of endearment she called us all…and – in turn – those of us who have come up through the student pipeline are coined #NABJBABIES. In our last chat a couple of years ago (Orlando NABJ), Sidmel told me how proud she was of what I made of myself - as producer, talent, and MAN --- something she pointed out that she knew I was figuring out when we worked together and I was 22 and 23 years old. Well, like Sid, I can right now acknowledge that I am being selfish and trying to hold her back from leaving us and taking her life’s destiny and legacy to the next level. She is one of my INDUSTRY MOMS after all! She took a chance on me at the beginning…and so many thousands and thousands of others – including putting the fire under us entertainment beat journalists to start the NABJ Arts & Entertainment Task Force! She was spirited, fierce, pioneering, and FULL OF LOVE…and she did an AWESOME JOB while here on earth – indeed jumping over the moon to be with her parents again in heaven. This, as we keep her family, especially her sons Joshua and Sidney, in our PRAYERS! THOUGH A SAD MOMENT IN TIME that will reverberate for the rest of their lives, THEY SHOULD BE SO PROUD! SHE LOVED HER BOYS!!! WE WILL LOVE SIDMEL ESTES SUMPTER FOREVER! I LOVE YOU ALL! Please don’t forget to LOVE ONE ANOTHER – from near or far! JUST LOVE ONE ANOTHER as I LOVE YOU! #NABJ40

STEEL MAGNOLIAS

So my call-back did come from the "Don't Sleep" (Hosted by T.J. Holmes), after my taping last week (http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2012/9/28/arms-open-wide.html). An 11th hour booking switch, though, bumped me. So, I'll await the next call for my LIVE close-up now that the show has begun. But soon come: I'm so PROUD of TJ and recurring client BET for taking this bold new step - respectively – for their brands!

That said, my evening freed up to join the cast of Lifetime's "Steel Magnolias" and its Director, my friend and mentor from my Atlanta days, Kenny Leon.

So many friends and associates were also in the house - including my Flo Anthony; Audrey Bernard; Erika Munro Kennerly;

KJ Rose; Carl Nelson; Kai Wright; Katrina Boswell; Kevin "Moochie" Freeman; Mrs. Spike Lee, Tonya Lewis Lee; Carolyn Edgar; George Faison; T; etc. But the stars of the night were the stellar remakes cast: Phylicia Rashad;

Alfre Woodard; Queen Latifah; Jill Scott; Condola Rashad; Adepero Oduye;

and the actor who portray's "Shelby's husband". #SteelMagnolias #Lifetime www.mylifetime.com/movies/steel-magnolias.  I get scared of REMAKES, but LET ME TELL YOU: THIS IS A MUST-SEE AND YOU BETTER BRING YOUR KLEENEX! I LOVED IT!

Other pix from that fun night: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151075847748737.435111.662073736&type=3&l=e0093edbb1.

CYNTHIA BURGOS & CLOSET TALK TV

We had to hop up to Harlem to support our Cynthia Burgos at the Adam Clayton Powell State Building where her work is featured in another community exhibit: “From Slavery to Presidency”. You’ll recall, she and Ant participated in the last Basquiat-inspired exhibit that took place in the same place: http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2011/8/20/art-and-annual-therapy.html. Meanwhile, here’s the latest “…Life of Riley…” entry: http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2011/8/20/art-and-annual-therapy.html. Shout out to my Spelman sister and recent fellow producer on a special project at BET that was recently nominated for the Pro Max award (A video tribute to Women in the Civil Rights Movement: http://csftp.bet.net/fileview/2569_Reel2_IWasHere_CUT5_FINAL_Mix.zip), Kirsten Magwood (AKA @dcflygirl)& my New Ro buddy Mrs. Chenoa Maxwell (AKA @ChenoaMaxwell) on their new project CLOSET TALK TV (@ClosetTalkTV): http://www.closettalk.tv/. I’m tuning in & crawling into that closet someday soon! LOL! CONGRATS LADIES!

ANOTHER BDAY & BON VOYAGE

Great day with our girlfriend Elisabeth and all of our many friends – including Carl Nelson – as she prepares to head back to Norway. Later, we joined my Amazing Grace Mara Schiavocampo at Yatenga French Bistro in Harlem where a fun group came out to TOAST and DINE with OUR MARA! Happy Birthday, MARA! And BON VOYAGE, Elisabeth! XO

HARLEM FOOD BAR

Hey folks! Happy Tuesday EVERY Tuesday with my friend Jamar Dunn who offers up $5 drink specials; $5 appetizers; and a room full of eye candy! HARLEM has a Tuesday hang now to which you must come and JOIN US some time at Harlem Food Bar: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151165173230983&set=a.10151142461645983.421142.673660982&type=1&theater. Shout out to my buddy Ryan T. Hall who is host of “Stereotypes” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOnFME-n048. He hits the streets of New York for Season 2 on the i am OTHER channel. Subscribe to i am OTHER on YouTube to stay updated on our daily releases: http://www.youtube.com/iamOTHER. Videos, news and more: http://www.iamOTHER.com/ Like i am OTHER on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/iamOTHER Follow i am OTHER on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/i_am_OTHER.

SAHARA DAVENPORT

"RuPaul Drag Race" contestant Sahara Davenport passed away this week. WHAT A LOSS: heart failure at 27 years of age! I met HER a year or so ago at a Joan Rivers party in Manhattan! SO NICE! SO TALENTED! R.I.P. http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2010/3/15/easy-breezy-george-and-weezy.html