We are privileged to get the opportunity to sit down with veteran musician and film, television and stage actor Blu Mankuma! In addition to playing “Sheriff Knox” in Stargate SG-1’s “Nightwalkers” he was a close friend of Don S. Davis, and thus are eager to have him share memories of both his friend and his own career.

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Timecodes
0:00 – Splash Screen
0:11 – Opening Credits
0:36 – Welcome
01:11 – Guest Introduction
01:22 – Blu’s First Love
06:55 – Don S Davis
11:53 – Sheriff Knox in “Nightwalkers”
28:09 – Voice Acting
34:45 – Singer and Songwriter
36:17 – Finishing a Theatre Run
41:36 – Cosmic Blu & Bandcamp
43:58 – Recognizing Blu
48:33 – Thank You, Blu!
49:32 – Post-Interview Housekeeping
50:44 – End Credits

***

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TRANSCRIPT
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David Read
Hello, everyone. Welcome to episode 297 of Dial the Gate. The Stargate Oral History Project. My name is David Read. I appreciate you being with me here today. Blu Mankuma, who played Sheriff Knox in Stargate SG-1’s Nightwalkers. You’ve seen the man in so much stuff. I recognize him in everything over the years. He is joining us live. So, if you have some questions for Blu, go ahead and submit them in the YouTube chat, and my team will get them over to me. In the meantime, I get to catch up with him. Blu Mankuma. I love saying your name. Thank you so much for being with me, sir. How are you?

Blu Mankuma
I’m almost too good.

David Read
I am so grateful to have you, sir. I’ve seen and been an admirer of your work over the years, and it’s a pleasure to have you. I’ve got to know. Theater, television, film, music. What is your first love?

Blu Mankuma
Theater, probably. Theater is the teacher. I get asked quite frequently by up-and-coming actors what my advice would be. And I tell them all, “Do stage.” Because the thing in film is, and I’m sure you know, they set up for the shot, and you’re drinking coffee. [inaudible], and “Action!”. “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” “Cut. OK, going again,” and you have that time. But on stage, man, you don’t…When it starts, you go all the way through, until it’s done. Maybe [you stop] in an intermission, and then you do the second act, or whatever. And what you learn about your character during, say, a three week, [or] a three-month run, is insurmountable. There’s no way you can do that just sitting down and reading it. The actual playing of it and reacting to what the other characters say. One day he might say “He went up the stairs,” and then the next night, he might say [in different tone] “He went up the stairs.” And your reaction to it is based on how he delivers it. And I’m saying, after three weeks of that, you know that character so well. And in film, you just don’t get that familiar. It takes so long, you know, it’s a whole different process. So, I would say stage. And to anybody that wants to try acting, do theater, and if you can, do some Shakespeare.

David Read
Oh, man, it’s a whole language in and of itself. The iambic pentameter and everything that goes behind that. How vital is an audience to a performer in terms of getting… And other actors as well that you’re dealing with when going through a piece night after night for weeks on end. As a performer, how much feedback do you get from your fellow cast, crew, audience members, in terms of sharpening a performance over a protracted period of time?

Blu Mankuma
Well, you’ll hear it from anybody who’s been in front of a camera or on stage. Well, not camera so much, but on stage, say, for example, the first three or four nights, you do this line, you get this big laugh, and then you do it on the fifth night, and you do it, and there’s nothing. Maybe a couple people stir in the back, but that’s in…It’s, like, you delivered the same way but what…You know? And you have to figure it out. You just have to figure it out. I don’t have any sage advice about [it]. It’s because “blah, blah, blah.” I don’t know. It happens. And you make your adjustment and move on, but it’s kind of startling. You hear [people going] “ha-ha,” and you have to wait for the laughter to [inaudible]. And then you say the same line the next night, and [it’s] dead silence. Comedians will tell you that “That’s my best material.” They’ll say nothing. Crickets out there. But you have to adjust on the fly and do something with what you got.

David Read
Is it really easy to fall into the feeling that “Oh, the first four times it was received well. This fifth time, it wasn’t received well at all. Maybe I should pull it.” Is it really easy, or maybe I should adjust it, or take away what’s really been making it successful? Is it easy to fall into that trap as a performer, to get stuck on yourself?

Blu Mankuma
That’s how you fall in[to] the trap. You don’t see it coming. And it’s after it happens that you have to figure it out. It’s like being on stage and forgetting your lines. It happens, and some people panic, and that’s the wrong place to go, man. Because it ain’t gonna never…But if you relax and just breathe, give it some space…”There it is.” And you keep going. Because it’s okay to take a pause, you know, [inaudible] your pauses if…It happens, but the thing is just to always be prepared for anything. And that means whatever comes up, you got to deal with it. Handle it.

David Read
Don S. Davis. He’s a mutual connection of ours.

Blu Mankuma
I love that man so much. We became very good friends. Because most of us…Because his voice was so low, his [inaudible]…And so we go for a lot of parts, and we would be competing.

David Read
Is this how you first met him?

Blu Mankuma
Yeah. And we became fast [friends]. But that’s how I met a lot of people, a lot of fellow actors. In the audition room while you’re waiting for your turn to go in, and you just talk. And that’s how Don and I struck up a friendship. And it just grew and grew throughout his whole life.

David Read
Was this in the 80s when you guys met? Early 90s? Around when do you recall meeting him, approximately?

Blu Mankuma
Oh, the exact moment? I don’t know what the role was, or anything like that. I just remember that [inaudible] we were in the audition thing. And, you know, because back then…The industry has changed so much from what it was back then. And they were just in… For whatever category there were [a] certain amount of people. Like, I loved it when… One of the other parts they were auditioning was the young Aunjanue. The beautiful young Aunjanue. And there’d be this gorgeous actress that was “Whoa!” That was all right for me. And I can say that it’s changed so much now with the whole COVID [thing]. A lot of it is [done at] home, and you don’t get that that familiarity of going down to the place and see…I did a film, and I don’t know what the name of it now, but it was Robert Townsend, who was a brother that I heard about for years and knew his work and stuff. And he came up here and shot a film. And I was lucky enough to be in it. But it’s because we went to the audition…When I went to the audition, he was there, and I was just thrilled to meet him.

David Read
The film is called Holiday Heart.

Blu Mankuma
Yeah, man, you know your stuff. Way to go, bro!

David Read
Google. Can you…I’m losing you. I’m sorry, the connection went bad for a second there. Do you have any specific memories of Don that you can share with us?

Blu Mankuma
Just that he was from the south. He had this deep southern accent… [missing audio]

David Read
Blu, are you still with me? Wireless connections, everyone. They can be unpredictable.

Blu Mankuma
[Missing audio] … is buffering I guess, and you lose me.

David Read
Yeah, I just lost you for a second there. Can you hear me now?

Blu Mankuma
I can hear you. I can hear you the whole time.

David Read
My apologies. You went down on me. Well, you said he was from the south, and that’s where I lost you.

Blu Mankuma
“Went down on you?” Hey, come on, keep it clean, OK?

[Both laughing]

David Read
You said he was from the south. And then I lost you.

Blu Mankuma
Oh, yeah, OK. He had this deep, beautiful southern accent. And he’s just one of the most gentle, nicest people I’ve ever met, and a hell of an actor. Don could throw down. We spend a lot of time [together]. I would go to his place and just hang for hours. I think he was trying to write a novel. I don’t know if he ever finished it. He was writing something as I recall.

David Read
Did you know Ruby?

Blu Mankuma
I did. I knew her before they got together. I don’t remember why, if she was an actor or something. And I was so thrilled because I knew his wife too. I knew the lady he was with before. And he wasn’t really happy in that situation, but he loved Ruby. That worked out really well.

David Read
Ruby is, pardon the pun, a gem. Absolutely beautiful personality, inside and out. I was so happy that he connected with someone in, you know, the latter part of his life. And her words, you know, just a few years ago, to me were “I miss him terribly.” When you find your person, you’re a lucky man.

Blu Mankuma
You are. You’ve been blessed by God, by the universe, by everything. Because that doesn’t happen for everyone. This

David Read
This is true. You played in Season Six of Stargate SG-1 Sheriff Knox, who was the leader of a town of people who had been taken over by some aliens. It was one of the few episodes that was totally Earth side in this show. And this was your appearance in Stargate. I know this is a stretch, [but] do you recall anything about that experience from that particular show?

Blu Mankuma
No, I don’t. Honest to God. I’ve done so many films, and I was trying to remember, but no, I don’t. I was trying to view it, so I could, you know, refresh the memory, but that didn’t happen either.

David Read
Oh, the link didn’t work. I’m so sorry to hear that. I wish I had known. I would have sent you a copy.

Blu Mankuma
That’s okay.

David Read
There was… The amount of stuff that you have been involved in… We really have to be thankful for the opportunities that we’re given. And I think that that also increases the opportunity for those things to happen to us again. Because in so many instances, if you know… I think personally, if we’re not grateful for the opportunities professionally that we’re given, they sometimes tend to dwindle. And I’m just looking at your list of experiences here. It’s just extraordinary, the career that you’ve had. Are there any highlights over the years, besides the one with Robert Townsend?

Blu Mankuma
Yeah. You know, we spoke of Shakespeare a minute ago. I was doing some plays with one of my dear, dear friends. His name was Ernie King. He had a theater in Vancouver called The Flamingo Theater. It was down by the PNE kind of thing. And honest to God, you know how I got into doing that? I looked in the newspaper for ads, and I saw they were looking for black actors. Now, how often does that happen? You know, I look in the newspaper [and there’s] the one asking, “The black actors wanted for this thing,” and I went down, and we struck up a great friendship, and ended up doing some stuff. And at first it was groups of people. He was doing these places, call for large cast. But the problem with doing Pro-Am, profession-amateur, is a lot of people… They don’t have the discipline. For example, one of the plays we did, I think it was Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, one of the guys who played one of the main characters, man, he didn’t even show up for our final rehearsal. You know, good lord. So when we got a chance, we just pared it down. There was a playwright out of South Africa named Athol Fugard, and he wrote a couple…I did… With Ernie, we did the Blood Knot, which is two actors, and it’s three and a half hours long. We cut it down to three hours, but it’s a lot of dialogue. And then we did Sizwe Banzi Is Dead. Again, two actors, and I didn’t know it when I said, “Yeah, let’s do that one.” And I went home… I had this the book, the script, and I saw on the first page, it was just chock-full. And I said every word on that [page]. I turned the page. I said everything on the next one. I had a 45-minute monologue. I didn’t know that when I said, “Yeah, let’s do that one.” But, oh, you won a triumph.

David Read
How do you consume that and then spit it out in all the right sequence? 45 minutes. Is it a muscle? What is it?

Blu Mankuma
I’m with Bill Cosby on it. Because this is this photographer, and he was telling stories about the families that would come in and get their portraits taken, get their pictures taken. And he described everything. So, I just didn’t… I told her like Bill Cosby would tell her. It was really a triumph. But the connection with them, with the Bard, is… I was doing that. And there’s a school in Vancouver called Langara College, and they teach acting and, you know, so and so forth. Antony Holland used to run it. And he came to see the show. And he went back and put a notice up and Lane Darren told students, “If you want to see real acting, go see this show.” And then he came and asked me if I would like to do Othello.

David Read
Othello, wow.

Blu Mankuma
So, I thought about it. I thought about it for quite a while, and then I said, “Okay.”

David Read
I would be scared. I would be terrified.

Blu Mankuma
I was. I’m getting to that part. But I decided “Yeah, OK. I think I’m decent, but I wanna know what my [inaudible], who I am in this game?” And so, I said, “Yeah.” And then I panicked. And I used to live in Richmond, B.C., which has got a lot of bogs, and there’s a lot of…. I went to one of those bogs and sat on the log, and the words came… Here were the words, “What have I done?” [Be]cause to me, at that time, Shakespeare was “Thus, thee, thou, forsooth.” And I don’t even know what that means, and let alone, you know… But I knew… I told myself, “You’re not only gonna do it, you’re gonna do it well. You’re gonna knock it out of the park.” And it’s because I wanted to be the actor that had that in my travels history, I had it in in my past, that I had done that well. And I knew the growth bit that I would experience as an actor would be phenomenal and indeed was. We set records. It was a great production. I’m so grateful [that] I said yes to that. But years later, I don’t know if you recall, Kenneth Branagh [and] Laurence Fishburne did the film version of it, of Othello.

David Read
Yes, [in] 1995.

Blu Mankuma
Yeah, and Fish… I did [a] film with Laurence [Fishburne]. I call him Fish because… But he said, when he did it, he was talking to James Lipton on [Inside] the Actors Studio. Remember that? And he said, “So I was in my agent’s office, and I was about to walk out, and then he said, ‘Oh yeah, by the way, Branagh. Othello. Think about it.’” And then he said “I thought about it. And I came back, and I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’” “And then what happened?” And Fish said, “I panicked. I went, ‘[inaudible]’, scared the living daylights.” But he did the same thing that I did. He jumped on it. Made it happen for himself. And he’s a wonderful actor. Just, you know…[inaudible]. I don’t [inaudible] we did together. Cadence? It’s with Martin and Charlie Sheen. It’s my favorite experience shooting a film. It’s called Cadence. And working with the brothers was phenomenal. We shot in Kamloops.

David Read
1990. Charlie Sheen. Martin Sheen. Larry Fishburne. Michael Beach! Oh, Michael Beach.

Blu Mankuma
We’ll always be [brothers]. That was one of the most phenomenal experiences I’ve had to film a new film. And [at] first, when Gary was in it… Gary, what’s his last name? Jesus.

David Read
Let me see here.

Blu Mankuma
He was a good partner, [but] Martin took it over. Busey. Gary Busey.

David Read
Oh, OK. I don’t have him here in the cast.

Blu Mankuma
Well, he wasn’t. He didn’t happen. He was doing it for a while, but he was off… Something about him [was off]. He had been in a motorcycle accident and hit his head on the curb or something like that, and he was just out of control. I don’t want to speak ill of the man, because I like him a lot. His son was there, and he’s a Busey. Jake Busey. And Martin had to let him go. And broke his heart because they’re old friends. They go way, way back. But for the sake of the film, he had to step into the role himself. He was doing it in the rehearsals anyway.

David Read
That’s the thing that would terrify me. Whereas, you know, if someone comes along and says, “You’re Othello. I think you can do this,” part of me would be like, “Are you sure?” I don’t. I mean, A, “What an honor. Thank you very much. I’m flattered, but do I really have it in me?” And I hear what you’re saying, where you sat there and something came down in the form of that pep talk and said, “Yeah, you do.” You just go for it. Jump in.

Blu Mankuma
Yes. Hell, you’re gonna slam dunk this, brother. Because I wanted to be that actor that had done that, and I projected my view of myself into the future with that kind of past, and thought, “Yeah, your confidence should be through the roof, man.” And to not only do it, but to do it well. And that’s what we did. Like I said, we set records. It was cool.

David Read
You have to believe in yourself.

Blu Mankuma
You have to. But there’s a natural inclination, especially, look… The biggest fright in the world is stage fright. I was in this program one time. This guy had to… It was the IRA. So, they had guns, and they were [shooting], and it was this thing. But this guy told him… He had to go up in front and tell them something. It was something important that had to do with the group. And this guy was all kinds of nervous and twitchery and he said, “What’s wrong?” He thought the guy that was watching him be that way…He was thinking, “Maybe there’s an attack coming.” And he knows something I don’t know. So, he asked him. He said, “No, no, I have to talk. I have to get up in front of people and talk.” [inaudible] And he’ll face gun fire, you know, his life in jeopardy, all that, naturally. But go up and say a few words in front of people. That’s the biggie.

David Read
Julian Glover, theater actor for years and years, would puke his guts out before every single performance. He never got over it.

Blu Mankuma
Well, the first lady of American theater in the early part of the century, Helen Hayes, she used to wet her pants, opening nights and such, and I said, “See, it’s not about what you’ve achieved. It’s like, “I’m OK, someone, I have to do my thing.” And, that panic sets in, and you have to become friends with it.

David Read
Yeah. You have to accept it.

Blu Mankuma
Yeah, and embrace it. Don’t try to push it away. Use it. Really can help with the performance. Trust me.

David Read
Well, you’re being asked to go out on stage and execute 100,000 beats in order. I think there’s some part of you, and correct me if I’m wrong, that just has to lean into the fact that “We’ve prepared. We’re ready. It will come.” And you just do it.

Blu Mankuma
I learned, you know… You’ve done theater, right?

David Read
In college. In high school, yes. But not since. This is my great regret.

Blu Mankuma
I understand. Trust me, I do. But there’s a thing you do when you’re reading the script at first where you… And it’s called Italian. Do you know what that means? It’s when you say the word just quickly as you can.

David Read
Yeah, without any inflection, right?

Blu Mankuma
Yeah. So, I adapted that. It was my own idea that if I could say my dialogue, at that speed, as fast as I can, then when I slow it down to the real time, it’s nothing to remember. If I can remember saying [it], and say it really [fast], it’s really solid in my brain. And that’s how I’ve done that ever since I figured that little move out. And all the plays. I mean, I’m talking about… Remember the 45-minute monologue and all that? That’s how I did it. I was taking Tai chi, I remember, at the time, and my teacher had a thing where he would say… You get in the pose, in the position, and he’d just leave the room and go have a tea or something.

David Read
And leave you there.

Blu Mankuma
Yeah. But it’s good, because that’s how you get good at it. What I would do while he was gone, is run through my lines. In my head, you know. So, it was useful for all purposes.

David Read
Center yourself.

Blu Mankuma
Yeah. You got to stay centered. And because it’s hard when you’ve been down here in that position, and you can’t just stand up and shake it off. You got to stay there. And he might be gone for half [an] hour, you know, you got to do it. And that’s how I worked it out.

David Read
It’s a lot of discipline.

Blu Mankuma
Yeah. But every step of it, everything I did to make myself capable of doing it, enhanced every other aspect of it. So, it was just total growth, man. I’ve had a phenomenal career, I gotta say. I don’t know if you know but I have… I didn’t even know it was possible… I have two lifetime achievement awards, and I didn’t even know that was a thing…

David Read
To have more than one?

Blu Mankuma
Yeah. Honest to God. I was so flattered.

David Read
Well, I have always loved your work, and frankly, if I may be perfectly frank, I was disappointed that we only got you in one episode. Because, like, “This guy can do anything,” you know, “He would have been great in more shows.” I do have some fan questions for you. Lockwatcher, “You are one of the only few actors who also had an animated role in Stargate Infinity,” which is… No one ever talks about Stargate Infinity. How did you get involved in voice acting? At what point did that come along? Or was it the first thing?

Blu Mankuma
No, the voice acting was totally separate. When I used to live in Richmond, I would go down to Pinewood Studios. It was this place called Little Mountain Sound [Studios]. That was a recording studio. And Jeff Turner worked there. He was one of the engineers. And he left Little Mountain, and he was from England, he and his wife Jeannie. And he founded Pinewood Studio[s] in Vancouver. And I used to go down there and just sit, because I love the atmosphere, and sit and read billboard. Just sit, you know. And there was a production outfit right next door called KOKO. And the guy came in, and he needed somebody to do a voice for a product. This brother came in. He had a clothing store. I can’t remember the name of it right now. And he needed somebody to the voice on it, and it had to be a West Indian kind of thing. And he pointed me, saying, “Can he [do it]?” And Jeff said, “Yeah, sure he can.” So that’s how I got my first voiceover thing. And it was a success. It was a hit for the people, the guy’s business. The commercial was very, very successful for him. And that was how I started, you know… But how do you tell somebody, “I you want to get in a voice acting, go down to a studio, pick up a billboard and just read it. And something will happen.”

David Read
Something will just… It’s like an apple falling on your head.

Blu Mankuma
Honest to God, man. But that’s how it happened for me. And boy, have I had a tremendous… that’s my favorite work. I love being an actor. I love all the stage, and film, and all that, but voice acting [is] one of the things you don’t have to memorize it. And then I’m very good at cold reading and things like that. And I love all of the people you [inaudible]. Some of those folks are so talented. When I was doing Beasties… What we call Beasties up here is Beast Wars.

David Read
Beast Wars, yeah. I have a question about Beast Wars.

Blu Mankuma
Well, at one point, one of the guys started doing… Was it Sean Connery? Somebody like Sean Connery. I don’t think…

David Read
A name actor.

Blu Mankuma
It might have been James Bond. And then somebody else answered him with the same voice, and suddenly I was in a room full of Sean Connerys. I can’t do him, so I just sat back and enjoyed myself. It was just great. I was in a room, and Sean Connery broke out. It was just wonderful.

David Read
There is something very intimate about the medium where time means… I mean, obviously you have a block of time where you have to get this… But you can take your time with it. You can fine tune a performance. You can figure out exactly how you want to perform it, and then just go nuts with it. There’s something that I love about… I’ve done a little bit of it myself… And you really find facets of yourself that you didn’t know were there. It’s like, “I can express myself this way. And it works.”

Blu Mankuma
Yeah. And it’s all voice. That’s how you’re doing it. It’s such an instrument. I just love it. I adore that work. Because I’ve had the most fun. How do you not going to have fun? You’re doing a cartoon. But one thing happened that blew my mind. There was this kid. I got a piece of fan mail from a kid. What had happened with him is he lived in Chicago, and his family decided… They moved down south. I don’t know if it was New Orleans or Dallas, but a long ways away from Chicago. And what that was, and to a whole new thing. And when he got there, he was so young and stuff, he locked himself in… He just stayed in his room. And he didn’t wanna go out. He didn’t know anybody. He just went… And he was watching Beasties, Beast Wars. And he loved Tigatron. And here’s that kid, [he] said to me, I swear to God, that watching Tigatron gave him the courage to go out the door and go meet some other kids and stuff. And he ended up loving where he had moved. But the way he got the nerve to do it was watching Tigatron. Now, look, I made a lot of cartoons, but I never heard a story like [this], you know. It blew my mind. And just raised my appreciation level for what we do and, “How the hell man…”

David Read
You can only hope that your performance is impacting people, but sometimes, you have to get a letter that’s like a conk over the head. It’s like, “Oh, yeah,” you know, “This does mean something.” It’s not just a cartoon. It can be but doesn’t have to be.

Blu Mankuma
It can be so much more, but who knew? And unless that kid had told me that… Look at his circumstances. You move from Chicago down to what? New Orleans? That’s a culture shock, and you’re a kid, and you’re gonna get picked on, and whatever. But I will always treasure that. I tell that story whenever I get a chance. Because…Wow.

David Read
A fan by the name of T-Rex Laser Beam Explosion says, “I loved Blu’s performance as Tigatron in Beast Wars. Has stage performance helped you tighten your voice acting at all?” Has one art form fed the other at all? Or are they pretty unique in their own terms?

Blu Mankuma
They are. But also, remember [that] I’m a singer songwriter. So, I’ve taken voice lessons and then try to make it as great an instrument as I can for different purposes and stuff. But when you do stage, they’re always talking about it, you gotta reach the sits and the bleachers way up there. They’ve gotta hear and understand. So even if you’re speaking softly, they’ve gotta hear you and stuff. It’s quite a discipline, and one of the chief reasons I tell actors starting out “Do stage.” Because it’s such a wonderful education you get from just doing [theater]. What you’re doing on [an] opening night compared to what you’re doing on [a] closing night is night and day. Because of the layer you peel back on that character, what you learned. And you can’t learn that… Well, maybe you can in film, but it’s a whole different process. But on stage, you know, every night you go the whole thing. You gotta do the whole thing, the whole thing, the whole thing.

David Read
Blu, is there a situation in stage where you arrived at the end of a run and it was, like, “It’s really time to put this thing to bed. I’ve had a good time, but I’ve really felt that I’ve done all I can with this character.” Or has it all been, like, “I want to keep going and I have to abandon it, but I wanna keep doing it.”

Blu Mankuma
Well, I have a very good answer for that. I did a show. Are you familiar with the play? Ain’t Misbehavin’?

David Read
I am about to be. Please continue.

Blu Mankuma
Yeah, that’s wild music, and it’s just one of the greatest things. That show was phenomenal. The day after we opened, we were sold out for two months. They loved that show. So, I did it for almost three years. I did it for two years plus, and then I decided I wanted to… Because films were beckoning, and I wanted to go get back into my film career. But, man, every night was a party night. Now look, dude, that show was so cool [that] in the audience one night, Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali was in. Will Chamberlain came to see us. Whoever was in town. Because Vancouver can, you know… A lot of things. Muhammad Ali… There was a new car he was promoting, and so that’s why he was in town. But he ended up at the show, and [inaudible] went, “Good lord, good lord.” But I did end up saying, “Okay, I’ve done everything I can do here.” I could have kept going. We were a phenomenal success, man. But two and a half years, that’s enough.

David Read
Sure, absolutely. At a certain point, you know, when you’ve invested that long into a character, I mean, Fats Waller.

Blu Mankuma
The feet’s too big.

David Read
Right. At a certain point, it’s like, “I love doing this.” But also, at a certain point I would probably be like, “I’m ready,” you know, “I’m ready for the next thing. I may be holding on to this because I may be scared about what’s next.” You don’t want to get too uncomfortable as an artist, I would think.

Blu Mankuma
No. It would have had more to do, at that time, with the actual salary I was getting, I wanted to be $1,000 a weekend, and I just decided, “Okay,” because there were film parts that… The moment when I really made my [decision], I got a film part, and it was in this thing, and I was gonna be chasing Tatum O’Neal and [inaudible]. And I can’t remember the name of the film. But I was gonna do it. And because of the show, they said they had a scheduling conflict, so they were gonna… They really wanted me, so they were gonna give me another role. And that role, and [inaudible]… So, I was going to do it. But that day, Bill Millard, who owned the Arts Club and stuff, he scheduled a special thing for us to do, and we each made $25 for it. But that knocked out the funeral, which I was… And that was, to me, the last straw. I was, [like], “OK, I gotta make a move here.” And that’s when I decided, “OK, I’m gonna leave.”

David Read
You have to take care of yourself. I mean, there are times when it’s, like… Certainly, I’ve been in situations where it’s, like, “Yeah, this is worth doing, just to do it. Just to be here for this. But at a certain time, you have to know when to fish or cut bait. It’s, like, “I gotta go to something else.”

Blu Mankuma
And I always… At that time in my life, I wanted to feel growth. I wanted to feel progress, and certainly financially. And like I’ve said, I had answered all the questions I wanted to answer. And in the run of the show, we were a phenomenal success. Are you familiar with Granville Island?

David Read
Yes. I’ve been. It’s a beautiful place now. Tom McBeath and I met there.

Blu Mankuma
Good friend of mine. Tom [is a] good fella. A wonderful actor. So that was what that was about. And no hard feelings about anybody, about anything, which is just the way that life progresses. And it just progressed beautifully for me, and I hope it did the same for everybody else. I was with a wonderful cast.

David Read
Misadventures of a Little Wolf wants to know, “Where can we find…?” Some of these names. Don’t get me started on the names. “Where can we listen to your music?”

Blu Mankuma
I’m working on a new CD. And it’s going to be…It’s called Cosmic Blu, but I have to do a couple more songs. It’s turning out to be a Christmas CD because I got a Christmas song that… But the old CD… Now write this down, “bluman.bandcamp.com.” And that’s my CD, Outta The Blue.

David Read
Got it right here, Outta The Blu. OK. I’m sharing it with everyone. This is great. OK, so we can get the digital album. I love the arts.

Blu Mankuma
Thank you. Thank you.

David Read
Did you do this artwork?

Blu Mankuma
No, no, no, I had the idea, but a friend of mine did that. Just wonderful. I told him I wanted a tree and blah, blah, blah, blah, and it turned out beautiful. I’m very pleased.

David Read
Well, I’m sharing this with everyone now. I can’t wait to listen. This is great stuff. Thank you so much for sharing it.

Blu Mankuma
You’re more than welcome.

David Read
This has this has been terrific. I’ve got a number of people… Luanne says, “I’ve always enjoyed watching you in the many films” that she’s seen you in. But this… I really appreciate you taking the time and exploring the various art forms that you’ve experienced with us. I think it’s… When we get to later points in our life and we get the opportunity to look back on a lot of the stuff that we’ve contributed to the world, it’s some pretty solid experiences that, if we’re lucky, we get to share.

Blu Mankuma
Oh. Man. For real.

David Read
I appreciate you taking the time this hour to share some of them with us. And I can’t wait to dive into some of this.

Blu Mankuma
Let me tell you one other thing, because… Another one of those fortuitous things. I don’t have a vehicle right now, so I’ve been taking the bus. And I took the bus, and took it down Broadway and I was on the Kingsway… I got on the bus, and this guy, he looked at me, [and] he said, “Blu?” I said, “Yeah,” [and he said], “Blu Mankuma? I’ve been looking all over for you.” And his name is Will Williams. And what he was looking for me for was he has a new series that’s going to start shooting pretty soon. He had a role for me. He didn’t know where to find me. He didn’t know my name, my agent, or anything like that, and we just ran into each other on the bus. But it’s called Black Knights of the FBI and it’ll be… We haven’t started shooting yet.

David Read
TV series. FBI drama. Wow. Is this a historical piece?

Blu Mankuma
Yeah. it’s based on… It’s not about, but it’s based on the two first black FBI agents. Because you know that J. Edgar wasn’t fond of black people, yeah. But they were in a situation way back when they wanted to investigate Marcus Garvey. He was telling black people to go back to Africa and all that. And there ain’t no way they could have gotten anywhere near him if they weren’t black, right? So, he needed black FBI agents, and that’s how these two guys became agents, and that was their first assignment, investigating Marcus Garvey. I didn’t even know about that. I used to teach black history, and I didn’t know about that. But that’s what gave Will the inspiration to write the story that… Now, the Black Knights of the FBI is more to me like In the Heat of the Night. It’s reminiscent of that. You know how brilliant that was.

David Read
Oh yeah. That was shot near where I grew up.

Blu Mankuma
Right on. And just so you know. Because I have said, Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger… I got the privilege of working with both of those brothers. Both of them. Giants. Oh, man. You want a thrill, dude? Well, I was on… I just gotten to the set, and I can’t remember the name of the thing, because they changed it, but there was Sydney standing there, and I was trying to get to my trailer, and I saw him, and I think as I got close, he said, “Blu.” And man, outside… Because I’m gonna stay cool, you know, I’m gonna keep it real. And I was, but inside I was, [excited]. I lost my mind. Inside. But outside, “Hey Sidney, how are you? Nice to meet you, fella.” But one of the biggest deals of my life, me being… Working with him.

David Read
He is… I remember the first time I watched Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. And his scenes, especially with his dad… Oh, man, goosebumps. So good. Way ahead of his time.

Blu Mankuma
Yeah. Mine was the school thing in England, and the title escapes me now. But at one point… He was a teacher, right? And these cockney kids, and… But they loved him, and at the end they gave him an award. And he was trying to make a little speech about it, but he was just tired. He was so emotional. That’s my favorite moment of him on film. Because it chokes me up when I watch him do it.

David Read
I’m gonna have to… I haven’t seen it. I’m gonna have to…. I’m gonna go watch it.

Blu Mankuma
To Sir, with Love. With. Lulu. It’s a beautiful film. Beautiful film. Yeah, watch that. Well, I love so much of what he did, but that, man… And that’s such a beautiful film, and that’s a real-life story. There was a man…

David Read
Blu, thank you for sharing so much of yourself with us today.

Blu Mankuma
You’re so welcome.

David Read
This has been a privilege to have you and to get your thoughts on your experiences in life, and, you know, it means… And thank you for sharing some stories about Don, because in this community, he was very important to us.

Blu Mankuma
He was huge to me. He always will be, yes. And Ruby.

David Read
Absolutely. And I’m going to keep my ears to the ground on this Black Knights of the FBI if you guys start shooting next year. And I’m gonna post a link to Outta the Blu on Bandcamp.

Blu Mankuma
OK, that’s great. I’m so happy.

David Read
Thank you, sir.

Blu Mankuma
It’s been a pleasure, been an honor. Thank you to everyone who participated.

David Read
Thank you, Blu. You take care of yourself. Be well, please. God bless you.

Blu Mankuma
Always. You do the same. God bless you. Bye-bye.

David Read
That’s Blu Mankuma, everyone, Sheriff Knox and Stargate SG-1. What a treat that was. And what an honor. Just a great human being. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate. We’ve got a few more episodes heading your way before we end with Season Three at the beginning of December with Michael Shanks. He’s going to be wrapping us up on Season Four. If you enjoyed this episode and you want to see more content like this on YouTube, please click Like. It does make a difference with the show and will help us continue to grow our audience. Please also consider sharing this video with a Stargate friend. And if you want to get notified about future episodes, click Subscribe. And if you plan to watch live, do click that notification icon. Clips from this live stream will be released over the course of the next few days, excuse me, weeks on both the Dial the Gate and gateworld.net YouTube channels. My tremendous thanks to Antony, my one-man modding machine today, brother. I really appreciate you being out there for me. Linda, my producer, and Frederick Marcoux over at ConceptsWeb. Appreciate everyone for tuning in. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate. And I will see you on the other side.