Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius

Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012)

He was a television show host and producer who was best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance and music show Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971 until 1993. Cornelius joined Chicago television station WCIU-TV in 1967 and hosted a news program called A Black's View of the News. In 1970, he launched Soul Train on WCIU-TV as a daily local show. The program entered national syndication and moved to Los Angeles the following year. Eddie Kendricks, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Bobby Hutton and Honey Cone were featured on the national debut episode. Originally a journalist and inspired by the civil rights movement, Cornelius recognized that in the late 1960s there was no television venue in the United States for soul music. He introduced many African-American musicians to a larger audience as a result of their appearances on Soul Train, a program that was both influential among African Americans and popular with a wider audience. As writer, producer, and host of Soul Train, Cornelius was instrumental in offering wider exposure to black musicians such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson, as well as creating opportunities for talented dancers, setting a precedent for popular television dance programs. He also had a small number of film roles, most notably as record producer Moe Fuzz in 1988's Tapeheads. Cornelius last appeared on the episode of the TV series Unsung featuring Full Force, which was aired two days before his death. He was married twice, and had two children.

In the early morning hours of February 1, 2012, police officers responded to a report of a shooting and found Cornelius on the floor of his home at Mulholland Drive, with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead by the Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner. According to former Soul Train host Shemar Moore, Cornelius may have been suffering from the early onset of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, and his health had been in decline. Cornelius was 75.