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
Whoopi Goldberg statements taken by some to condone football player Michael Vick's dogfighting. In 2009, she opined that Roman Polanski's rape of a thirteen-year-old in 1977 was not "rape-rape", later clarified that she had intended to distinguish between "statutory rape" ("unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor") and "forcible rape". Goldberg was a staunch defender of Bill Cosby from the outset of his rape allegations, asserting he should be considered innocent until proven guilty, and questioning why Cosby had never been arrested or tried for them. After learning that the statute of limitations on these allegations had expired and thus could not be