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Celebrity Crime Files

Celebrity Crime Files

Celebrity_crime_files_241x208
  • Premiered: 
    October 15, 2012
    (Click date to see TV listings for that day)

  • Network: TV One
  • Category: Series
  • Genre: Docudrama
  • Type: Live Action
  • Concept: 
  • Subject Matter: Crime
  • Tags: celebrity

Buy This Show on DVD or Watch Online

No DVDs Available
(That We Know Of)
Legal Full Episodes
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(That We Know Of)

Plot Synopsis

Utilizing archival material, interviews and narration, CELEBRITY CRIME FILES examines the most controversial cases in recent history that involved a celebrity. Not only does the series seek the real story by unveiling the truth and unearthing the facts, but it also presents competing theories that test the status quo. Each 60-minute episode focuses on the case of one celebrity, including: NFL player Rae Carruth, who shot Cherica Adams, one of his girlfriends, trying to make the murder look like a random act of violence -- all because she was pregnant and he was suffering from financial distress after losing a child support battle and a string of bad investments; up-and-coming hip-hop star LaLa Brown, the lead singer on the Lyfe Jennings song "S.E.X," who was murdered along with her boyfriend in a Milwaukee recording studio -- and the case is still unsolved; international superstar Marvin Gaye, whose father shot him after he moved in with his parents to isolate himself from the pressures of stardom -- but groupies and drug dealers still visited, increasing tension in their father-son relationship; Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay, who was shot and killed in a Queens music studio by an unknown assailant -- and the crime remains unsolved even though many of his friends were in the studio that night; pro basketball player Bison Dele (aka Brian Williams), who left the NBA for a nomadic life at sea with his girlfriend, which ended with him, his girlfriend and the boat captain missing after his brother, Miles Dabord, came aboard; promising actor and rapper Merlin Santana, who was fatally shot six times while sitting in a parked car in Los Angeles; pulp crime novelist Donald Goines, considered the father of contemporary street literature, who was shot and killed in 1974; and Peter Tosh, reggae solo artist and core member of The Wailers with Bob Marley, who was killed by three ex-cons who invaded his home, tried to extort money, and brutally tortured him. CELEBRITY CRIME FILES returned for its second season on Monday, August 5, 2013 at 9pm ET/PT. The Season 2 opener featured Bumpy Johnson, Harlem's own Godfather, whose power, money and charisma made him a bona-fide celebrity. Season 3 premiered on Monday, September 8, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT on TV One, with Ice-T joining the show as narrator for the new season. The season opener chronicled the life of Chris Lighty -- a giant in the entertainment world helming the careers of superstars like 50 Cent, P. Diddy, Mariah Carey and many more -- whose death was ruled a suicide by police, but friends and family say he was the victim of foul play. Subsequent Season 3 episodes documented the lives of: Stephanie St. Clair, New York City's beloved badass boss and first female kingpin in the 1920s; black men and women elected to lead, but consumed by greed, including Jesse Jackson Jr., Ray Nagin and William Jefferson; NFL players, like Sam Hurd and Darryl Henley, who were put behind bars for their involvement in illegal drugs; victims of hate crimes, such as the recent deaths of James Byrd and Michael Donald in Texas and Alabama, which shocked the nation; championship boxers, like Trevor Berbick, Riddick Bowe and Henry Tillman, who spent time in prison; people who died fighting for civil right and social justice, like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Medgar Evers; Shakir 'Shake' Stewart, who rose to become Executive Vice President of rap powerhouse label Def Jam Records and who later committed suicide, shocking his peers; Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, founders of the Black Panther Party; and Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, who, as a powerful member of The Crips, spread massive bloodshed and terror throughout South Central Los Angeles and was put to death via lethal injection in 2005.
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On Monday, November 10, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT, TV One debuted the Season 3 finale of CELEBRITY CRIME FILES. The season ender documents the life of Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, a name that goes hand in hand with the origin and rise of the infamous Crips street gang. By the late '70s he became the most powerful member of The Crips, helping to shed massive blood shed and terror throughout South Central Los Angeles and beyond. A ruthless and intimidating body builder Williams could take on any enemy but his escalating addiction to drugs proved to be a beast that he could never conquer. Then in 1979 he was convicted of four counts of murder and sentenced to death. While on death row he had a revelation and began to turnaround his lifestyle. He rejected his former gang life and initiated a campaign to stop the violence and unite the gangs to work together as one. He also wrote several children's books encouraging children to stay away from gang life. He was nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize, and also wrote his biography titled "Redemption" that was eventually turned into a TV movie starring Jamie Foxx. Even though he maintained that he did not commit the crimes he was convicted of and several attempts were made to have his conviction overturned, on December 29, 2005 he was put to death via lethal injection.

Cast

  • Ice-T - Narrator (Season 3)

Other Titles

  • Previously known as Unresolved: Celebrity Cases

Production & Distribution

  • Produced by K2 Pictures (Seasons 1 & 2)
  • Produced by A. Smith & Co. (Season 3)