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) several lists of the best series finales of all time. Alan Sepinwall of "The Star-Ledger" wrote, in an essay analyzing the finale one year after its original broadcast, that he felt the episode was "brilliant." In 2009, Arlo J. Wiley of Blogcritics wrote: "by focusing on that last ambiguous parting shot from creator David Chase, we run the risk of forgetting just how beautifully structured and executed an hour of television 'Made in America' is" and ranked it as the eighth-best series finale ever. Also in 2009, Stacey Wilson of Film.com named "Made in America" one of the 10 best