HOLLYWOOD—HELLO AMERICA! When C.R. Roberts and I attended USC, I simply knew him for his outstanding performance as a football player. I didn’t discover, until much later, that his main interest was in film production. Of course, this was the 1950s when persons of color were not considered for any kind of production position in the industry. So, like many of us, he had to concentrate on his alternative, and that was athletics.

Ultimately, his name is still listed, at least, ten times in the Record Book of USC Football Tradition, dating back to 1888. He was drafted in the 14^th round by the NY Giants, before he graduated. However, players could not play for a professional team until after their class had graduated in 1957. Finally, he was drafted by the New York Giants, and traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but C.R. preferred to play for the San Francisco 49ers, the Goliaths of the Golden Gate. Today, he is still filled with energy, ready to take on new challenges, and most importantly, to realize his dream in making motion pictures. Discussing his auspicious journey to the present was something very special for me. It was as if it was just yesterday when we were both surviving in the USC dorm.

MSJ: WHILE WE WERE AT USC. I DIDN’T REALIZE WHAT YOU WERE CONFRONTING AS A BLACK FOOTBALL PLAYER, HOW DID YOU HANDLE THE PRESSURE WHEN PLAYING THE GAME, ESPECIALLY IN TEXAS?

CR: “Michael, I thought I handled the situation very well. Sure there were times when I seriously considered leaving USC, but not many. When you are young and think you are invincible, you feel that you can do anything. That was me at that place in time. I played well most of the time and when I didn’t was when I was in protest. The Texas game was pressure-less for me. I went to play well because of all the circumstances surrounding the game. The Texas trip was one of the best trips I experienced in college football. I could only think of a couple of negative incidents of note on the whole trip. When we arrived at the hotel in Texas the hotel desk told coach Jess Hill that it was against the law to register our two black players into the hotel. So the coach told the rest of the players pick up their bags and we left the hotel. I didn’t learn why we left until the quarterback told me 20 years later.

“On the return flight I had no idea of the significance of the game. All I know is that the leather shaving kit (the first one I ever owned given to me by a good alumni friend) came up missing and a lot of people (Alums) on the plane kept waking me up and trying to talk to me during the long flight home while I was trying to rest. The interruptions were so bad that I promised myself that I would never play another game like that again. It was a frustrating flight back.”

MSJ: AS A YOUNG KID GROWING UP IN CALIFORNIA, HOW DID YOU PERCEIVE THE WORLD – WHO WERE SOME OF YOUR IDOLS?

CR: “I was lucky. I had one of those mothers who took personal interest in her son’s conduct. I went to church, sang in the choir, and sold newspapers at an early age. I went to the mourner’s bench at least two times before I got a religion in the AME church. I transferred into the First United Methodist Church when I had my own family to live the cultural diversity that I preached. My hero’s were Generals McArthur, Eisenhower and J.F. Kennedy. I thought the greatest men were Jesus, Dr. King, Mandella, and Gandhi.”

MSJ: AS AN AFRO AMERICAN, HOW WERE YOU TREATED BY THE OTHER PLAYERS ON THE USC. TEAM?

CR: “Generally I was treated well at USC. In the all star game just before I got to SC some guys defecated in my dresser drawer and charged all their dinner bills to me. I don’t remember socializing with any of the white players on the football team while I was at SC. I remember an incident at SC in my Frosh year where we went to the hamburger stand after practice and one of the white guys yelled out ‘there’s a nigger with a white girl, let’s get em’. Otherwise I had a great stay at SC. I still cherish friends from my college days.”

MSJ: WHAT WAS THE GREATEST MOMENT FOR YOU WHILE AT USC?

CR: “I can’t recall a particular one at this time because I had some great moments at USC.”

MSJ: WHILE PLAYING WITH THE SAN FRANCISCO FORTY-NINERS, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU HAD TO OVERCOME?

CR: “I simply had to overcome the usual challenges of a typical rookie in the NFL. Things were real tough breaking into the starting lineup. If you remember, I took the position of some of the greatest players in the game like Joe the Jet Perry, John Henry Johnson, Hugh McElhaney etc.”

MSJ: HOW WERE YOU AFFECTED BY THE MURDERS OF JOHN KENNEDY, ROBERT AND MARTIN LUTHER KING? DID YOU PERCEIVE A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF SOCIAL CHANGE?

CR: “Could you please clarify the question? I am not sure of your meaning.”

MSJ: YOU SEEM TO HAVE A STRONG CONNECTION WITH YOUNG PEOPLE – IS IT POSSIBLY BECAUSE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE JOURNEY IS ALL ABOUT AND WHAT THEY HAVE TO FACE TO SURVIVE?

CR: “Yes, I think I understand the journey of life very well and understand what it is about because when I traveled the journey I learned by the mistakes I made while traveling along a road to a measurable level of success.”

MSJ: YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN THE FILM INDUSTRY AND YET YOU RECEIVED AN MBA, WAS IT BECAUSE YOU BELIEVED IT IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS REALITIES OF FILM DEVELOPMENT?

CR: “No, I received my BA in business and my MBA in the field of education mainly because of the system I inherited at SC which may be a little more complicated than learning the business basics of film development.”

MSJ: YOUR LIFE STORY IS QUITE OVERWHELMING, FILLED WITH TONS OF ACTION, EXCITEMENT, DURING A TIME IN OUR HISTORY THAT PRESENTED DYNAMIC SOCIAL CHANGES – IS IT TIME FOR A MOTION PICTURE BASED ON YOUR PERSONAL JOURNEY TO BE PRODUCED?

CR: “I truly believe it is time for a movie to be produced and I would like to produce it.”

MSJ: IF SO, WHAT ASPECT OF IT WOULD YOU FOCUS ON MOST?

CR: “I would focus on the basics of what made my journey to success more complete. In other words I would focus mainly on the family unit and how this country has been positively influenced by its multicultural population.”

MSJ: WHEN YOU’RE ALONE AND HAPPEN TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR, WHO DO YOU SEE?.

CR: “I am very proud to see a measurable level of success and happiness. What is success without happiness?”