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Film
Based on
the Life
of
Charlie
Beckham
to
Premiere
at the
Charles
H.
Wright
Museum
of
African
American
History |
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DETROIT
- A film
adaptation
of the
successful
one-man
play
based on
the life
of
longtime
City of
Detroit
executive
Charles
(“Charlie”)
M.
Beckham
will
premiere
on
Thursday,
November
11, 2021
at 7:00
p.m. at
the
Charles
H.
Wright
Museum
of
African
American
History,
315 E.
Warren
Ave.,
Detroit
48201.
“The
Charlie
Beckham
Story:
Seemed
Like a
Good
Idea at
the
Time”
stage
play
debuted
to rave
reviews
at the
Wright
Museum
in 2018.
Now, the
engaging
and
inspirational
memoir
has been
put to
film
with
Beckham
sharing
memories,
musings,
anecdotes,
lessons
learned,
and
light-hearted
recollections.
“I
originally
got the
idea to
tell my
life
story in
this
format
after
watching
Mike
Tyson’s
one-man
play,
‘Undisputed
Truth,’
“ said
Beckham.
“The
challenge
for me
was
transforming
from a
guy who
has done
50 years
of
public
service
into
telling
my story
in front
of
audiences
in a
play.
Actually,
it
turned
out not
to be as
hard as
I
thought.”
The film
gives
audiences
an
intimate
glimpse
into
Charlie
Beckham’s
more
than 40
years of
service
to the
City of
Detroit.
He
served
as a
trusted
advisor
and
executive
manager
in the
administrations
of the
city’s
last six
mayors.
Beckham’s
life and
career
hit its
lowest
point in
the
1980s
when, as
director
of the
Detroit
Water
and
Sewerage
Department
under
Mayor
Coleman
Young,
he was
convicted
of
federal
bribery
charges
and
sentenced
to three
years in
prison.
In the
film,
Beckham
addresses
how he
endured
the
scandal,
which he
describes
as one
of the
most
intense
onslaughts
the
federal
justice
system
has ever
mounted
against
a
government
official
in
Detroit’s
history.
Beckham
retired
in 2018
from his
position
as the
City of
Detroit’s
Group
Executive
in
Charge
of
Neighborhoods
under
Mayor
Mike
Duggan.
A Live
Q&A with
Beckham
will
follow
the
showing
of the
film.
The
session
will be
moderated
by
Beckham’s
nephew,
Pulitzer
Prize-winning
journalist
Stephen
Henderson
of
WDET-FM’s
“Detroit
Today”
and
Detroit
Public
Television’s
“American
Black
Journal.”
Tickets
to the
film
premiere
and Q&A
are $20
for
general
admission
and can
be
purchased
on
Eventbrite
at:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-charlie-beckham-story-film-adaptation-of-the-one-man-stage-play-tickets-47700636889
A
portion
of the
proceeds
from the
premiere
will
benefit
the
William
Beckham
Academy
of
Detroit,
which is
named in
memory
of
Charlie
Beckham’s
late
older
brother,
William
J.
Beckham,
Jr.
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