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IMDbPro

Jamaa Fanaka(1942-2012)

  • Director
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Jamaa Fanaka
Jamaa Fanaka was born on 6 September 1942 in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Welcome Home Brother Charles (1975), Penitentiary (1979) and Street Wars (1991). He died on 1 April 2012 in South Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
BornSeptember 6, 1942
DiedApril 1, 2012(69)
BornSeptember 6, 1942
DiedApril 1, 2012(69)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos2

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Known for

Marlo Monte in Welcome Home Brother Charles (1975)
Welcome Home Brother Charles
4.9
  • Director(as Jamaa-Fanaka)
  • 1975
Leon Isaac Kennedy in Penitentiary (1979)
Penitentiary
5.7
  • Director
  • 1979
Street Wars (1991)
Street Wars
4.7
  • Director
  • 1991
Ernie Hudson, Mr. T, Leon Isaac Kennedy, and Eugenia Wright in Penitentiary II (1982)
Penitentiary II
4.5
  • Director
  • 1982

Credits

IMDbPro

Director

  • Street Wars (1991)
    Street Wars
    4.7
    • Director
    • 1991
  • Penitentiary III (1987)
    Penitentiary III
    4.5
    • Director
    • 1987
  • Ernie Hudson, Mr. T, Leon Isaac Kennedy, and Eugenia Wright in Penitentiary II (1982)
    Penitentiary II
    4.5
    • Director
    • 1982
  • Leon Isaac Kennedy in Penitentiary (1979)
    Penitentiary
    5.7
    • Director
    • 1979
  • Jerri Hayes in Emma Mae (1976)
    Emma Mae
    6.3
    • Director
    • 1976
  • Marlo Monte in Welcome Home Brother Charles (1975)
    Welcome Home Brother Charles
    4.9
    • Director (as Jamaa-Fanaka)
    • 1975
  • A Day in the Life of Willie Faust, or Death on the Installment Plan
    6.6
    Short
    • Director (as Walt Gordon)
    • 1972

Writer

  • Street Wars (1991)
    Street Wars
    4.7
    • Writer
    • 1991
  • Penitentiary III (1987)
    Penitentiary III
    4.5
    • Writer
    • 1987
  • Ernie Hudson, Mr. T, Leon Isaac Kennedy, and Eugenia Wright in Penitentiary II (1982)
    Penitentiary II
    4.5
    • written by
    • 1982
  • Leon Isaac Kennedy in Penitentiary (1979)
    Penitentiary
    5.7
    • written by
    • 1979
  • Jerri Hayes in Emma Mae (1976)
    Emma Mae
    6.3
    • Writer
    • 1976
  • Marlo Monte in Welcome Home Brother Charles (1975)
    Welcome Home Brother Charles
    4.9
    • written by (as Jamaa-Fanaka)
    • 1975
  • A Day in the Life of Willie Faust, or Death on the Installment Plan
    6.6
    Short
    • Writer (as Walt Gordon)
    • 1972

Producer

  • Street Wars (1991)
    Street Wars
    4.7
    • producer
    • 1991
  • Penitentiary III (1987)
    Penitentiary III
    4.5
    • producer
    • 1987
  • Ernie Hudson, Mr. T, Leon Isaac Kennedy, and Eugenia Wright in Penitentiary II (1982)
    Penitentiary II
    4.5
    • producer
    • 1982
  • Leon Isaac Kennedy in Penitentiary (1979)
    Penitentiary
    5.7
    • producer
    • 1979
  • Jerri Hayes in Emma Mae (1976)
    Emma Mae
    6.3
    • producer
    • 1976
  • Marlo Monte in Welcome Home Brother Charles (1975)
    Welcome Home Brother Charles
    4.9
    • producer (as Jamaa-Fanaka)
    • 1975
  • A Day in the Life of Willie Faust, or Death on the Installment Plan
    6.6
    Short
    • producer (as Walt Gordon)
    • 1972

Personal details

  • Alternative names
    • Walter Gordon
  • Born
    • September 6, 1942
    • Jackson, Mississippi, USA
  • Died
    • April 1, 2012
    • South Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA(complications from diabetes)
  • Other works
    Contributed to the book Gods In Spandex, Or, A Survivors' Account Of 80's Cinema Obscura (Succubus Press/2007).
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Article

Did you know

  • Trivia
    He was a member of the L.A. Rebellion, a group of African American U.C.L.A. film school graduates who came of age in the late 1970s in the era of the so-called Blaxploitation era. The group's defining aesthetic was to move beyond the pimp stereotypes and funk soundtracks in film portrayals of African Americans.
  • Quotes
    I exposed the Achilles' hell of Hollywood.

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