Exclusive: Film legend Bill Duke comes home to Poughkeepsie to receive unique honor
As decorated as Bill Duke is, now at age 82, having a street renamed after him is a first for him.
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An award-winning Hollywood actor and director — who has come to be known as 'the Godfather of African American Cinema' — received a hero's welcome home Friday to the Hudson Valley.
As decorated as he is, now at age 82, having a street renamed after him is a first for him.
The Fallkill Avenue neighborhood in the Town of Poughkeepsie where Duke grew up inspired him to produce films that empower people like his former teenaged self, and shaped his work ethic.
"I can be a pain in the butt because I want it done the way it should be done," he said during an interview in his childhood home, now owned by his cousin, "Not kind of the way it should be done. Details are important."
His parents drilled that mindset into him.
If Duke missed a patch of grass during his twice-a-month lawn mowing, his father would make him re-mow the entire acre.
"They were trying to prepare you (me) for the reality that you (I) would face," he said, "Particularly as a Black man in this nation."
Town leaders held a ceremony right outside the home to designate Fallkill Avenue as "Bill Duke Way," celebrating his accomplishments in the film industry.
Duke broke through in 1976, playing Abdullah, an uptight Black rights activist who faced off against Richard Pryor's character, "Daddy Rich."
He then had supporting roles in major films "Commando" and "Predator," opposite his friend, Arnold Swartzenegger.
Duke eventually went on to direct impactful movies and series, including episodes of "Miami Vice" and "Hill Street Blues."
He now also mentors up-and-coming film professionals. His main advice to them is to never think that they have the art of filmmaking figured out.
"It's important — dropping the ego and just learning, always learning," Duke said. "I do that to this day. I've accomplished a lot, but I'm always going to learn."
Duke is planning some new projects he hopes makes Poughkeepsie proud, including one about boxing legend and civil rights icon Joe Louis.
