Lean on Me is a 1989 biographical-drama film written by Michael Schiffer, directed by John G. Avildsen and starring Morgan Freeman. Lean on Me is based on the true story of Joe Clark, an inner city high school principal in Paterson, New Jersey, whose school is at risk of being overtaken by the New Jersey state government unless students improve their test score. Image File history File links Lean_on_Me_(DVD_cover). ... John Gilbert Avildsen (born December 21, 1935 in Oak Park, Illinois) is an American film director. ... Freeman in Batman Begins, 2005 Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an Academy Award-winning American actor and film director. ... Beverly Todd (born July 11, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is an African-American actress, producer and writer. ... Alan North (born December 23, 1920) is an American actor best known for his roles in Lean on Me (1989), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and the 1982 television series Police Squad!. Categories: 1920 births | American actors | American actor stubs ... Robert Guillaume, circa 1979 Robert Guillaume (born November 30, 1927) is an American stage and television actor. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Warner Bros. ... March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia for $20 million. ... Sir Thomas Malory wrote the most famous fictional biography of the Middle Ages with Le Morte dArthur about the life of King Arthur. ... A drama film is a film that depends mostly on in-depth character development, interaction, and highly emotional themes. ... John Gilbert Avildsen (born December 21, 1935 in Oak Park, Illinois) is an American film director. ... Freeman in Batman Begins, 2005 Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an Academy Award-winning American actor and film director. ... Joe Louis Clark (born 1938 in Newark, New Jersey) is the former high school principal of one of New Jerseys toughest inner city schools. ... The term inner-city is often applied to the poorer parts at the centre of a major city. ... High school - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The skyline of Paterson, New Jersey, showing the canyon of the Passaic River in the foreground. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ...

Tagline: A true story about a real hero.

Plot summary

Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, is plagued with numerous problems, especially those dealing with drugs and gang violence. Furthermore, the students are receiving low scores on the basic skills test. Eastside High School (or EHS) is a four-year public high school in Paterson, New Jersey, United States, that serves the eastern section of Paterson. ... The skyline of Paterson, New Jersey, showing the canyon of the Passaic River in the foreground. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ...

After the principal (during the opening credits sequence) is brutally beaten by students, the mayor (Alan North) consults the school superintendent (Robert Guillaume), who suggests the school hire Joe Clark (Freeman) as the new principal. The mayor is reluctant at first, knowing about trouble Clark has caused in the past. But Clark is hired and things immediately get tense after Clark dismisses from the school hundreds of students identified as drug dealers or abusers. A meeting between the parents of those students and the academic board only fans the flames. Alan North (born December 23, 1920) is an American actor best known for his roles in Lean on Me (1989), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and the 1982 television series Police Squad!. Categories: 1920 births | American actors | American actor stubs ... Robert Guillaume, circa 1979 Robert Guillaume (born November 30, 1927) is an American stage and television actor. ...

The next day, Clark runs into one of the expelled youths, Thomas Sams (Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins), asking to be let back into the school. In a dramatic rooftop scene, Clark gives him a sharp lecture but grants him a chance to turn things around. Another dismissed student manages to get inside the school and attack another student before Clark comes to break up the fight. Knowing he is breaking the fire code, Clark orders all doors chained and locked during school hours to keep drug dealers out. Also, the students show no improvement in taking a practice version of the basic skills test. Jermaine Huggy Hopkins (b. ...

Clark does not put up with teachers who disagree with him, especially those who do so in front of the students. One of his rash firings is reversed by the superintendent. Meanwhile, one parent (Lynne Thigpen) aligns herself with the mayor in an effort to oust Clark. The fire chief eventually catches Clark not just with the school's doors chained, but conspiring to have the chains removed during surprise inspections. Lynne Thigpen (December 22, 1948 – March 12, 2003) was an American actress. ...

Clark's arrest comes after a key scene involving Kaneesha (Karen Malina White), who remembers Clark from grade school. Clark is offering counsel about Kaneesha's unwanted pregnancy just before he is arrested. Actress Karen Malina White (born in 1965 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) performs as the voice of Dijonay Jones on the animated Disney Channel series The Proud Family. ...

That night, while Clark is lying on his jail cell bed as the mayor moves to remove Clark, the entire student body converges on city hall demanding Clark be released from jail and retained as principal.

Eventually, Clark is freed from custody, and to good news: the students have passed the basic skills exam. With that, Clark shuns the mayor and leads the students in the singing of the school song (several scenes throughout the movie touch on Clark insisting that each student be taught to perform the school song on demand).

Cast

Freeman in Batman Begins, 2005 Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an Academy Award-winning American actor and film director. ... Joe Louis Clark (born 1938 in Newark, New Jersey) is the former high school principal of one of New Jerseys toughest inner city schools. ... Beverly Todd (born July 11, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is an African-American actress, producer and writer. ... Alan North (born December 23, 1920) is an American actor best known for his roles in Lean on Me (1989), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and the 1982 television series Police Squad!. Categories: 1920 births | American actors | American actor stubs ... Robert Guillaume, circa 1979 Robert Guillaume (born November 30, 1927) is an American stage and television actor. ... Ethan Phillips at FedCon XI in Bonn, Germany 2003 Ethan Phillips as Neelix on Star Trek: Voyager. ... Lynne Thigpen (December 22, 1948 – March 12, 2003) was an American actress. ... Michael Beach (born October 30, 1962) is an African-American actor of Cape Verdean descent. ... Jermaine Huggy Hopkins (b. ... Actress Karen Malina White (born in 1965 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) performs as the voice of Dijonay Jones on the animated Disney Channel series The Proud Family. ... Ivonne Coll (born June 18, 1947 in the city of Fajardo, Puerto Rico) is a former Puerto Rican beauty queen turned actress. ... Regina Taylor is an actress and playwright born in Dallas, Texas on August 22, 1960 and raised in Oklahoma. ...

Awards & nominations

1991 NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Award is an award presented annually by the NAACP to honor the top African-Americans in film, television, music and literature. ...

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture — Morgan Freeman (won)
• Outstanding Motion Picture (won)

1990 Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award is an award which is presented yearly by the Young Artist Foundation. ...

• Young Artist Award Best Motion Picture - Drama (nominated)
• Best Young Actor Supporting Role in a Motion Picture — Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins (nominated)
• Best Young Actress Supporting Role in a Motion Picture — Karen Malina White (nominated)
• Jackie Coogan Award — Norman Twain, producer (nominated)

Actress Karen Malina White (born in 1965 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) performs as the voice of Dijonay Jones on the animated Disney Channel series The Proud Family. ...

Trivia

• Real-life students and teachers from "Eastside High School" appeared as extras in this film.
• Freeman spent time with Clark to capture his mannerisms and sayings.
• There was never any threat of a state takeover of Eastside High, though the state designated the Paterson School district as an Abbott district in 1991, one year after Clark left, taking over its operations.
• Clark resigned as principal of Eastside High School the year after this film was released to become an author and motivational speaker. In August 1995, he was hired to run a juvenile detention center in Newark, New Jersey.
• The cast of the film includes the reunion of former Benson co-stars Robert Guillaume and Ethan Phillips.
• In the auditorium scene where Freeman's character expels the students on stage, a young Michael Imperioli (of The Sopranos) can be seen behind him.
• Michael Best, Stephen Capers Jr., Dwayne Jones, and Kenneth Kelly (who portray the students that Clark forces to learn the school song on threat of expulsion) formed the R&B group Riff after their involvement in this film.
• Parts of the film, including the elementary school scenes, were filmed in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

Nickname: The Brick City Map of Newark in Essex County Coordinates: ) °′40. ... Benson was an American television series which aired from September 13, 1979 to April 19, 1986 on ABC. The character of butler Benson DuBois, played by Robert Guillaume, had originally appeared on the soap opera parody Soap. ... Michael Imperioli James Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966 in Mount Vernon, New York) is an Italian-American actor who currently plays the role of Christopher Moltisanti on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos. ... The Sopranos is an American television drama broadcast on HBO about a fictional Italian-American Mafia family in Northern New Jersey not far from South Orange. ... Map highlighting Franklin Lakes location within Bergen County. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Lean on Me (film)

• Lean on Me at the Internet Movie Database
• Lean on Me at Rotten Tomatoes