Mel Stewart to 1978. In the 1980s, Stewart starred on "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" as section chief Billy Melrose during the show's four-year run from 1983 through 1987, and continued guest starring in both television and films. His last on screen appearance came in the 1993 film "Made in America", starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson. In addition to acting and directing, Stewart was an accomplished jazz saxophonist. A longtime resident of San Francisco, he also taught acting at San Francisco State University. His students included actor Danny Glover. He established the theater group Black Actors Now Through Unity (BANTU) and directed
Made in America (The Sopranos) from the previous episode and the show's best ratings for both parts of the sixth season. It was also the show's largest audience since the season five premiere. "Made in America" received mainly favorable to semi-favorable initial reviews from critics, while early fan reception was mixed to negative, described by one critic as "a mixture of admiration and anger". During the weeks following the episode's original broadcast, "Made in America" and its closing scene in particular became the subject of much discussion and analysis. Several new interpretations and explanations of the ending were presented in magazines and on blogs, which