Livin' For love - The Natalie Cole Story (2000)
Based
on Natalie Cole's 2000 autobiography, Angel On My Shoulder, this TV
movie tells about the ups and downs (or rather downs and ups!) of the talented
daughter of Nat King Cole. Diahann Carroll portrays Natalie's strict mother,
Maria
Cole (who in real life was a performer herself, until she gave her career
up). Theresa Randle stars as Natalie during the earlier years, and Ms. Cole
herself takes over from 1984 until today. Nat King Cole is played by James
McDaniel. This two-hour TV movie is directed by Robert Townsend, and premiered
December 10, 2000 on NBC.
A film such as this is far too short to do Natalie's revealing, candid, warm,
inspiring and funny book justice. It's a good film, but it suffer from being
a bit "rushed" from time to time. Ms. Carroll is excellent as Maria
Cole, bringing to her a mix of disapproval and love, something Natalie Cole
talks about in her book. Diahann is also suited to play Natalie Cole's mother
simply because they both are beautiful women! Great to see Natalie and Diahann,
two wonderful performers, interact in one of the last scenes of the film -
wish they could go from acting together to singing together!
This is not the first time director Robert Townsend and Diahann Carroll worked
together. He also directed the movie The Five Heartbeats (1991),
in which Diahann co-starred as Eleanor Potter. Mr. Townsend, a self-confessed
fan of Diahann, said in an interview in 1999 that he would love to work with
Diahann again. I'm glad his wish came true!
CAST & CREDITS
Cast:
Theresa
Randle ... Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole ... Herself
James McDaniel ... Nat 'King' Cole
Diahann Carroll ... Maria Cole
Randy J. Goodwin ... Marvin Yancy
Clé Bennett ... Abdullah
Sandi Ross ... Aunt Bay
Alisha Morrison ... Young Cookie
Catherine Burdon ... Adult Cookie
Stephanie Sams ... Natalie Cole (age 8-11)
Andrea Lewis ... Natalie Cole (age 14-15)
Leah Miller ... Cheryl
Barbara Mamabolo ... Pam
Directed by Robert Townsend
Written by Cindy Myers, based on Natalie Cole's book.
DVD RELEASE
Released on VHS only.
EXTERNAL LINKS (Opens in new window)
Livin'
For Love on IMDB.com
Natalie Cole Discography
Page
