Michael Schultz
WNOV 860 AM/106.5 FM recently co-sponsored the Milwaukee Film Festival, which celebrated the groundbreaking career of legendary director and Milwaukee native, Michael Schultz. In a historic tribute, Schultz was presented with an award that will now bear his name: the Michael Schultz Award, to be presented annually to a distinguished Black filmmaker.
Schultz, 86, was honored at an in-person ceremony at the Oriental Theatre on September 13, where the first Michael Schultz Award will be formally presented. As part of the celebration, three of Schultz’s most iconic films — Cooley High, Car Wash, and The Last Dragon — were screened at the Oriental Theatre during the festival weekend.
A graduate of Riverside High School, Schultz studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Marquette University, where he was active in the Marquette Players. He later attended Princeton University, where he directed his first play before launching a successful career on and off Broadway.
WNOV Vice President of Sales Doug Kelly, Legendary Director Michael Schultz, Dr. LaKeisha Myers, WNOV Representative Stacey Jones and Michelle Bryant Host of WNOV talk show “Say Something Real.” Photo credit Simms Strong Studios.
Schultz’s Hollywood journey began with the 1975 coming-of-age classic Cooley High, which became a cultural landmark in Black cinema. The following year, he directed Car Wash for Universal Pictures — another box-office success that made history as the first film by a Black director to compete at the Cannes Film Festival.
His other films include collaborations with Richard Pryor, such as Greased Lightning and Which Way Is Up? And Bustin’ Loose (uncredited). He directed Denzel Washington in his film debut, Carbon Copy. His works also include cult classics, The Last Dragon, Disorderlies, and Krush Groove, which introduced LL Cool J and Blair Underwood to film audiences.
Through Crystalite Productions, Inc., the company he co-founded with his wife, Gloria, Schultz produced and directed Earth, Wind & Fire in Concert, and the feature, Woman Thou Art Loosed.
Schultz also made a significant mark in television, directing acclaimed telefilms such as Benny’s Place, For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story, and Timestalkers. His TV work includes credits on major network series such as Black-ish, Arrow, All American, New Girl, Hart of Dixie, Cold Case, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Chicago Hope, Everwood, Starsky and Hutch, and many more.
With a career spanning over five decades, Michael Schultz’s legacy continues to inspire a new generation of filmmakers — and with the creation of the Michael Schultz Award, that legacy is now permanently rooted in his hometown of Milwaukee.