Georg Stanford Brown: Tom Harvey on “Roots” and much more

Georg Stanford Brown, at right, as Tom Harvey in the acclaimed miniseries "Roots".

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075572/mediaviewer/rm486878977/

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He was a freed slave and blacksmith who stood up to the Ku Klux Klan. Although Georg Stanford Brown is perhaps best known for his role as a young police man in the 1970s crime drama “The Rookies”, to me he will always be Tom Harvey in the acclaimed miniseries “Roots”.

Brown kept on acting, but has been most prolific behind the camera as a director of dozens of television movies and series.

It was Georg Stanford Brown’s birthday a few days ago, and it reminded of that role as a courageous blacksmith, and more.

The Rookies
My earliest recollection of Georg Stanford Brown is on the very edge of my memory. He played a police officer on a drama called “The Rookies” that ran from 1972 to 1976 for 93 episodes. What I mainly remember was the cover of an issue of “TV Guide”. It had in profile, the head of Brown and his co-stars Sam Melville and Michael Ontkean, who is Canadian. The show also had Gerald S. O’Laughlin, who would go on to play in “Our House” in the ‘80s opposite Wilford Brimley and Deirdre Hall; and Kate Jackson who went on to title roles in “Charlie’s Angels” and “Scarecrow and Mrs. King”.

I was too young to remember specific episodes.However, when “The Rookies” ended, and Georg Stanford Brown went on to his next significant role, I remember that one well.

Roots
It opened with a picture of a Black woman screaming. It was a Saturday night, 9 p.m., and peasant vision was tuned to Channel 13. At the sight of that scene, my Mom suggested I go to bed. So I did.

That was the opening scene of “Roots”, a landmark miniseries in 1977 that brought light to the history of slavery in the United States. It also spurred on a new interest in geneology and family history.

As it turns out, my Mom ended up watching that first episode of “Roots” and the entire miniseries.

The following Wednesday, I saw red spots on my stomach at school. That was a sign of Red Measles. I showed my teacher who said, to be safe, I shouldn’t come to school the next day. When I got home, my Mom agreed, and thought it best since I would miss Thursday, it was best if I stayed home Friday too. That way, I could be rested up and better for the start of a new school week the following Monday.

That night, my Mom tuned in to the next episode of “Roots”. By now, she knew what it was all about, and figured there was no reason I could not watch it too.

The next two nights, I believe, were the final two installments.

At this point in the series, the main focus was “Chicken George”, played by Ben Vereen. He was a slave who was the grandson of Kunta Kinte, the original slave from Africa, and the great-grandfather of Alex Haley, the author of the book on which the miniseries was based. “Chicken George” gained some measure of independence, although not freedom, because he had a skill at raising chickens for cock fighting.

He had a son named Tom Harvey, who was played by Georg Stanford Brown. Tom became a blacksmith, and a leader in his community.

Then along came Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation, thus freeing the slaves. Tom Harvey remained in his village as a blacksmith, which was a vital role in the community. Soon, marauders came at night, hiding their faces with bandanas, and terrorizing the freed slaves.

Tom Harvey set to find out who was responsible. As people came to his shop to have their horses shoed, he scratched a distinctive mark on each one, kind of like a finger print. As the marauders came, he scoured the hoof prints and was able to identify all the marauders.

He took that information to the sheriff who seemed receptive, but was actually in league with the marauders. Consequently, Tom Harvey gets roughed up and I think even whipped. They don’t even bother to cover their faces any more, having been discovered.

Soon after, Chicken George returns to the village, and discovers what happened. Having learned a lot in his travels, he constructs a plan with his son Tom. They confront the leader of the bandits, who by this time have joined the Ku Klux Klan. When he tries to escape, Chicken George pulls a gun. They take this man, who by now is beginning to sweat and quiver with fear, to the tree where slaves were whipped. They tie him to the tree, strip off his shirt, and start to point out the error in his ways. He closes his eyes, bracing for what is coming – and Chicken George and Tom stop. They don’t whip their adversary. They let him sweat, cry and cower for a bit. Then they let him go.

After that, the marauding stops and life gets progressively better for the freed slaves.

Georg Stanford Brown was absolutely incredible as Tom Harvey. Even now as I write this, it brings a tear to my eye.

That was the epitome of Georg Stanford Brown’s acting career, although he did keep acting. He would soon turn his sights in a slightly different direction though.

Acting
Brown reprised his role as Tom Harvey in “Roots: The Next Generation”; and had several guest appearances in TV shows such as “Paris”; “Police Squad!”; the TV movies “The Kid With the Broken Halo” and “The Jesse Owens Story”; the miniseries “North and South, Book I”; “Matlock”; and some other TV movies.

He also appeared in the movie “Stir Crazy”.

In the succeeding years he was in TV shows such as “Jake and the Fatman”; “Martin”; “Malcolm and Eddie”; “Team Knight Rider”; “Linc’s”, for 25 episodes; “Family Law”; “The District”; “Strong Medicine”; “The Lyon’s Den”; “Nip/Tuck”; “Judging Amy”; and more.

His final role was in 2012, voicing two episodes of the animated web series “Electric City”.

Directing
When Georg Stanford Brown was still doing “The Rookies”, he also started directing TV shows. He did four episoes of “The Rookies”; three episodes of “Starsky and Hutch”; eight episodes of “Charlie’s Angels”; and single episodes of “The Fitzpatricks”, “Family”, “Lucan”, “Fantasy Island”, and “Roots: The Next Generation”.

In the 1980s, he directed two episodes of “Paris”; single episodes of “Tenspeed and Brownshoe”, which starred Ben Vereen; “Lou Grant”, and “Palmerstown, U.S.A.”; the TV movie “Grambling’s White Tiger”; an episode of “The Greatest American Hero”; seven episodes of “Hill Street Blues”; five episodes of “Cagney and Lacey”, which starred his then wife Tyne Daly; single episodes of “Police Squad!”, “Fame”, “Trauma Center”, “The Mississippi”, “Hardcastle and McCormick”, “The Fall Guy”, and “Call to Glory”; two episodes of “Magnum P.I.”; two episodes of “Miami Vice”; four episodes of “Dynasty”; single episodes of “Finder of Lost Loves”, “Hotel”, “The Paper Chase”, and “Tough Cookies”; and some TV movies.

In the succeeding years he directed a lot of TV movies.

He won an Emmy in 1986 for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the “Parting Shots” episode of “Cagney and Lacey”. He was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series in 1981 for the “Up in Arms” episode of “Hill Street Blues”; and an Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series in 1985 for the “El Capitan” episode of “Hill Street Blues”.

Parting thoughts
“Roots” was a groundbreaking show for so many reasons. Granted, I did not see the first few parts where LeVar Burton shone as Kunta Kinte. However, it is hard for me to imagine anyone doing a better job than Georg Stanford Brown did as Tom Harvey.

It is still one of the best performances I have ever seen.

He transferred that talent to his role behind the camera as a director. He worked on a lot of quality television shows, and was rewarded for his efforts with an Emmy and two more nominations.

It just shows how multi-talented Georg Stanford Brown is.