Viewers of the TV show, which depicted humorous interaction between two black couples in Greenwich Village, New York, will remember Nunn as a lovable, wine-sipping, tipsy husband, telling his wife, Cheryl, that birth control pills could prevent another Malcolm X or Martin Luther King from being born.
“Call me starmaker,” Milburn Davis said of his power to detect super-star talent and predict success. Sitting in his living room holding the pages of a new script that he is working on, he reflected on his decision to produce “Grape,” his one act comedy that had been hailed following a cold reading at the St. Marks Theatre in Greenwich Village when he was a member of the Negro Ensemble Company’s Playwright Workshop.
“I returned to Atlanta from New York in 1984 determined to produce 'Grape', he said. “Even as the show unfolded in my mind I knew that Bill Nunn would be perfect for the role of Ben Thomas.” Davis said he’d become friends with Nunn while they were both acting in a Spelman College production of “Macbeth.”
After completing two workshops in program production sponsored by Prime Cable TV and securing a grant from the City’s funding unit, he began shopping for his actors.
Davis laughs when he recalls going to a musical event at the Alliance Theatre and seeing Nunn jumping around in a kilt-like costume.
When the show ended Davis said he remained behind to greet Nunn. “We embraced and I told him I had a television role for him that would definitely bring him to the attention of Hollywood. I told him that the part didn’t pay much, only a small stipend.”
Laughing, the big talented guy replied: “I don’t believe that part about being discovered by Hollywood, but I’ll do it because you’re a friend."
Three other actors were auditioned and “Grape” was shot at Prime Cable’s studio on Campbellton Road, with Davis directing the show and Bubba Johnson managing the camera shots. The show was an overwhelming success. Prime Cable officials were excited, particularly, Jabari Simama, Prime’s director for community television, who announced that “Grape” was the type of programming that they preferred and that it would be placed in their permanent archives.
Flash forward a short while later when Davis and a friend rode through Atlanta’s West End in his friend's car and his pal stopped his vehicle to make a phone call at a corner pay phone.
“I was surprised to see Bill pedaling a bike down the street. He waved and came over. After we shook hands and embraced he excitedly divulged that I was right about him being discovered by Hollywood,” Davis said. “What are you talking about?” Davis asked, puzzled.
“He told me that Spike Lee had come to town and on visiting the Prime Cable studios and seeing footage of ‘Grape’ summoned him to play one of the lead roles in ‘School Daze.’”
Of course everybody knows what happened after Nunn appeared in “School Daze.” His career took off like a rocket! To date, Nunn has appeared in a galaxy of memorable productions--"Spider-Man", "People I Know", "He Got Game", "Sister Act", "Money Train", "The Last Seduction", "Do the Right Thing", "Dancing Bear", "Runaway Jury", "Mo' Better Blues", "Lockdown", "Stolen from the Heart", "True Crime" etc.
"I'll always be grateful to Bill Nunn for his fine acting performance in 'More Power to the Grape'," Davis said. In retrospect, we can say that Milburn Davis, a master playwright, also has awesome star-gazing power and can detect stellar quality in a truly talented actor!