"The Color Purple," Cast Reunion with Whoopi Goldberg on Oprah

Oprah's television show on November 15, 2010 featured Whoopi Goldberg and a reunion of the cast of the movie, "The Color Purple," for the first time in twenty five years.

Alice Walker wrote the Pulitzer Prize novel, "The Color Purple," and forty five years later the story's still an important part of America's film history. It's an emotional story spanning four decades, encompassing issues of infanticide, domestic violence, racial oppression, love and spiritual drama. The movie premiered in 1985 and was based on a period of time from 1909-1949 when African-Americans, especially women, were still struggling for civil rights.

Oprah Winfrey's acting premiere was in, "The Color Purple," as the character, Sophia. Her real best friend, Gayle King, happened to play an extra in a church scene.

Whoopi Goldberg, now on, "The View," offered a rare tour of her home and her family. She closely guides her privacy when she's not working. Whoopi Goldberg recently lost her mother, Emma, who she reports she was extremely close to. She also reports she still speaks to her mother daily and is attempting to deal with the emotional lost. Whoopi and Oprah also cleared up a misunderstanding about a rumored feud between them which turns out to be false.

In the movie, "The Color Purple," Whoopi Goldberg plays the main female character, Celie. Celie is married to an abusive husband, Albert, who is a sharecropper. The story explores her life and her fight to stand up for herself, along with other family member stories. Whoopi's real daughter, Alex, played a bit part as a young girl in a dinner scene in the movie.

Danny Glover played the lead male character, Albert, and said, "The Color Purple," was one of the greatest emotional moments of time for him, along with the relationships he formed with the other actors and actresses. The dinner scene was an interesting one to film, he recalls, because when it was filmed he remembered everyone had partied hard the previous night and it had to be shot several times.

Stephen Spielberg was the director of, "The Color Purple," and reported via location camera he was honored and proud to begin his early directing career making this film and working with all the dedicated actors and actresses.

Quincy Jones, a music maverick, initiated, "The Color Purple," into becoming a movie. He was a friend of the author, Alice Walker, at the time. He was a producer for, "The Color Purple," and also created the musical score.

The full cast that appeared on Oprah's stage shared memorable personal moments and lines from their memories of filming, "The Color Purple."

"The Color Purple," was a movie I've watched numerous times, and each time it touches my soul as an African-American and also as a woman. Experiences of the characters as they struggled to find their true identities still comes across as a subject that affects women today. The domestic family violence theme not only continues as an African-American problem, but crosses all color barriers.

"The Color Purple," continues to be a relevant movie, one that should be explored and viewed today.

Oprah Winfrey was one of the producers and investors who originally brought, "The Color Purple," to the Broadway theatre in a musical adaptation on December 1, 2005. It ran on a Broadway theatre in New York City until February 24, 2008. "The Color Purple," musical is now on a national tour. You can find further information about the movie and stage musical version of, "The Color Purple," via the link below.

http://www.colorpurple.com/

You can see the full details of, "The Color Purple," cast reunion at www.oprah.com

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