Little Richard (film) in London in 1962. The cast includes Leon as Little Richard Penniman, Jenifer Lewis as Richard's mother Leva Mae, or as she's listed in the movie credits, Muh Penniman, Carl Lumbly as Richard's stern father, Charles "Bud" Penniman, Tamala Jones as Richard's girlfriend Lucille (actually Audrey Robinson), Garrett Morris as Richard's preacher Carl Rainey and Mel Jackson as legendary producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell. For his role as Penniman, Leon earned nominations for Best Actor in the Black Reel Awards and the NAACP Image Awards. Little Richard (film) Little Richard is a 2000 biographical NBC television film written by Bill Kerby
Samuel Penniman Bates Samuel Penniman Bates Samuel Penniman Bates (1827–1902) was an American educator, author, and historian. He is known for his reference works on the American Civil War, including his multi-volume "History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861–1865" which remains a frequently-used, preliminary research resource due to its narrative descriptions of unit activities and rosters of the regiments raised in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Born on January 29, 1827 in Mendon, Massachusetts, Samuel Penniman Bates (1827–1902) was a son of Laban and Mary (Thayer) Bates. He and his siblings, Elias (born 1833), Mary (born 1835), Henry (born 1841), and Lewis (born 1848) were reared