'Soul Train' Host Don Cornelius Dies at 75

Soul Train's creator and longtime host, Don Cornelius, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Wednesday morning (February 1) at his Encino, CA home on Mulholland Drive. A milestone in television programming that introduced generations of viewers to new music and dance trends emerging from black America. He was 75 when he died.

Police responded to a report of a shooting at Mr. Cornelius’s house at about 4 a.m., and he was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police ruled out foul play in the death and said a search of the house did not turn up a suicide note. Detectives were conducting interviews to learn more about Mr. Cornelius’s mental state.

“Soul Train,” which aired for more than 35 years, was the longest first-run syndicated television series in broadcast history. In addition to its cultural importance, with regular appearances by such musical giants as Michael Jackson, James Brown and Aretha Franklin, the show represented a major advance in entertainment for African Americans.

Recognizing that the major TV networks had virtually no programs geared toward black audiences in 1970, Mr. Cornelius designed “Soul Train” as what he called “a black ‘American Bandstand.’ ”

Cornelius left a legacy of creating a popular television destination for black culture and music that unapologetically catered to its core audience and made it part of mainstream culture. As Lonnae O’Neal Parker and Chris Richards explained:

Before BET or MTV, before cable television or the Internet, TV’s “Soul Train” taught a generation how to dance and let black America see itself having fun. At the center stood Cornelius in all his preternatural cool.