Victims of Motown productions

[smark21]

A number of the posts in the People Magazine article on Motown 25 mention people who were victimized by the special. I think it would be useful to have a thread dedicated to people victimized by Motown TV specials like Motown 25 as well as the upcoming Broadway show Motown the Musical. To be a victim, the person had to be not invited, or given minimal screen time, or had their footage cut from the show, or were physically assaulted by someone on stage.

[marv2]

David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks.

[jillfoster]

David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks.

Yeah, with David, you can just hear Suzanne Deass saying "Hey, we didn't invite him to be on Motown 25, but now we can bleed some money from his legacy by making him the villian crackhead of our mini series! YAY!"

[BayouMotownMan]

The Marvelettes, Edwin Starr

[marv2]

Yeah, with David, you can just hear Suzanne Deass saying "Hey, we didn't invite him to be on Motown 25, but now we can bleed some money from his legacy by making him the villian crackhead of our mini series! YAY!"

Exactly and excellent point! She wanted nothing whatsoever to do with David Ruffin but she sure featured his character prominently in HER film, "The Temptations"!

She is a trip!

[marv2]

Jean Terrell and Rare Earth! These people also had hits for Motown if that is the criteria.

[Shaqueetha_Jackson]

floremce Blonde Ballard

[soulster]

Victim? You have to be a target to be a victim.

[jobeterob]

Clearly for years, the biggest victim was Diana.

In the last 10 years, you have seen the shift to the public understanding what she went through as a Supreme and how both Berry and then Mary used Diana ~ Berry drove her hard, didn't credit her on many songs on which only she appeared, and then Mary used her to pay off debt and in vain, make a successful career.

There's your victim.

[jsmith]

RE: Clearly for years, the biggest victim was Diana.
OHHH come on. Without her getting cozy with Berry, the group would have been quite a different [[& better) animal.
She knew what she wanted & went 100% for that goal .... how's that being a victim.

[captainjames]

I would have to say I was disappointed that Annette Beard and Rosalind Ashford did not perform with Martha Reeves [[The Vandellas). It was Great to see Martha for 30 seconds but, It was Martha and The Vandellas for so many years. I would have love to seen Ron White as well but, I think he was ill or had death in the family. There were some who were not asked to perform and some who refuse to perform, so I am not sure who were actually victims.

[Ngroove]

Junior Walker - seriously, a sax deserves more than only thirty seconds also.

But in Motown's defence, was nice of them to re-sign him into the company proper, when they did.

[soulster]

But in Motown's defence, was nice of them to re-sign him into the company proper, when they did.

When did they do that? He went to Columbia Records once his contract with Elektra expired in the 80s.

[Ngroove]

When did they do that? He went to Columbia Records once his contract with Elektra expired in the 80s.

1983, as perhaps an act of not just welcoming them in to perform the show, re-opening its doors to some of their former stars whom previously left along the way, like the Four Tops, whose second round with Motown lasted between 1983 to 1986.

[marybrewster]

victim? You have to be a target to be a victim.

amen......

[jobeterob]

Well seriously then, the only target in the place was Diana.