Originally filed Friday, September 7, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Tyler Perry followed through. The Atlanta-based media mogul and "Cosby Show" actor Geoffrey Owens have agreed to a deal where Owens will appear on ten episodes of Perry's hit OWN show "The Have and the Have Nots."
A role has not been announced yet. The soapy drama is shot at Tyler Perry Studios at Fort McPherson in southwest Atlanta.
Owens became a cause celebre a few days ago when the Daily Mail and Fox News posted a photo of Owens bagging groceries at a New Jersey Trader Joe’s. Supporters accused those media outlets of “job shaming” Owens, who was using the job as the glue between acting gigs. Owens himself felt awful about it until the social media support came in and Perry posted a Tweet asking Owens to work with him.
Ironically, Owens - a Yale-educated Shakespeare-trained actor and teacher - isn’t much of a TV watcher and admits to not seeing much of Perry’s work. He has since quit Trader Joe’s only because curiosity seekers were creating a distraction.
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