(Gibson) Don Cornelius, the creator of long-running TV show Soul Train, has died of a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound. Gibson reports: Cornelius, who created and hosted the show for more than two decades, was found dead on February 1 in Sherman Oaks, California. He was 75.
Cornelius launched Soul Train in 1970 and hosted the show until 1993. As the face of the so-called "hippest trip in America," the smooth-talking Cornelius hosted many soul, funk and hip-hop legends. Cornelius stepped down when he reportedly found hardcore hip-hop acts increasingly not to his liking.
But as recent as 2009, Cornelius spoke about a Soul Train movie he was looking to develop. "We've been in discussions with several people about getting a movie off the ground. It wouldn't be the Soul Train dance show, it would be more of a biographical look at the project," he told the L.A. Times. "It's going to be about some of the things that really happened on the show." more on this story
