103.9 FM WDKX
Rochester, NY
Your #1 Radio for R&B
On air:
Afternoon Drive with
Atu
Listen Online
103.9 WDKX Live Stream
REQUEST A SONG!
Request A Song
Tyler Perry's brood dominated the early going Thursday night at the 39th NAACP Image Awards. Perry's TBS show, "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," won for comedy series, and its star LaVan Davis won for actor in a comedy series.
"Nobody thought it would work," Perry said of the show. "I don't care if a thousand people tell you no, if you get one yes from God, that's all you need to make it. Today I stand here with that God yes."
Janet Jackson won for supporting actress in a motion picture for her turn as psychiatrist in Perry's adaptation of his own stage play, "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?"
Both Jackson and Davis directly addressed Perry. "Some said that I couldn't. You said that 'I want him,'" Davis said, before adding, "NAACP, thank you for having an award ceremony that I can win."
Aretha Franklin, honored with a Vanguard Award at the Shrine Auditorium ceremony, said she was on hand for the very first Image Awards.
"I was here when the sets were falling down and cue cards were being written in the wings just before the artists walked on stage," she said. "This is the icing on the cake for me."
Franklin stirred up controversy in recent days with an angry statement criticizing Beyonce's introduction of Tina Turner at the Grammy Awards as the "the Queen." In his opening monologue, host DL Hughley pointedly called her "the Queen" and joked that he didn't want to get on Franklin's bad side.
"The Great Debaters," a film based on the real-life victories of a black debating team in the 1930s, was the night's leading nominee with eight nods.
Teenage actor Denzel Whitaker took home the prize for supporting actor in a motion picture, for his role as a member of the debate team.
Other best-picture nominees: "American Gangster," "I Am Legend," "Talk to Me" and "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?"
"Grey's Anatomy" won for dramatic series. The actor in a dramatic series prize went to Hill Harper of "CSI: NY." The Valentine's Day timing of the show led Harper to hand his trophy off to his mother onstage.
"This is for you. Happy Valentine's Day," Harper said. "The Image Award means legacy. This woman represents my legacy."
Harper went to Harvard law school with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and said backstage that he'd used downtime during the writer's strike to campaign on Obama's behalf. Obama's recent string of successes in the primary campaign had many talking politics onstage.
"This is such an exciting time in our lives. We can all feel the change happening and we all have the power," said "Ugly Betty's" Vanessa L. Williams, winner for supporting actress in a comedy series. "Vote."
