*Janet Jackson will executive produce the story of the first and only woman gangster during prohibition – 1920’s New York City mobster, Stephanie St. Clair – AKA Queenie. The film will be set against the backdrop of The Cotton Club, with Kenny Leon (“A Raisin In The Sun”) directing.
Queenie (photo above) was a mob boss in Harlem, NYC in the early part of the 20th century. Even though her criminal enterprises clashed with those of the Italian mafia, she managed to stay entirely independent – and never came under mafia control. Because of her successful numbers game in Harlem, St. Clair lived a lavish life, making over $20,000 a year in the 1920s. After prohibition, she became an activist for the black community. Queenie died a rich woman in Harlem in 1969 at the age of 82.
In Bill Duke’s 1997 gangland crime drama “Hoodlum,” she was played by Cicely Tyson, as some of you might recall.
No premiere date for Janet’s Queenie project has been set.
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In May, Grammy Award winner Fred Hammond will do his first live recording since 1999 with the Fred Hammond LIVE: Night of Worship and Live Recording Concert.
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The ticketed event will take place at The Fountain of Praise Church in Houston on Sunday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m. and will be the source of his forthcoming album.
The new project is scheduled for release later this year and will include 12 original songs. The forthcoming album will be the follow-up his 2014 album, “I Will Trust.”
For more information about the live recording and to purchase tickets, please visit www.tfop.org. Ticket prices range from $30 for General Admission and $50 for VIP.
