Who Is Clarence Avant? What to Know About the Star of Netflix’s ‘The Black Godfather’

If you’ve never heard of Clarence Avant, you’re not alone. As seen in the new Netflix documentary, The Black Godfather (not to be confused with the 1974 blaxploitation film of the same name starring Rod Perry) Avant may not be famous with the general public, but he was, as his son Alex Avant puts it in the film, “the celebrity’s celebrity.”

Directed by Reginald Hudlin, the Netflix doc, which premiered today, features interviews with, among others, Avant’s family, former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Quincy Jones, Snoop Dogg, P. Diddy, Lionel Ritchie, Suzanne de Passe, David Geffen, Jerry Moss, Cecily Tyson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Jamie Foxx. You’ll certainly learn about Avant by watching the film, but you might want a little background on the former music executive and agent in order to derive the maximum enjoyment from your viewing experience. Who is Clarence Avant? Put another way: Who is the Black Godfather? Here’s a basic overview.

WHO IS CLARENCE AVANT? WHO IS THE BLACK GODFATHER?

Clarence Avant, aka the “Godfather of Black Music,” is and was a lot of things: In the ’50s he was a night club manager who became an apprentice to Joe Glaser, music manager of Louis Armstrong. Soon, Avant became a music manager himself, working with musicians like Jimmy Smith and the Mission Impossible theme composer Lalo Schifrin. He went on to found two record labels: Venture Records, which soon closed, and the much more successful Sussex Records, which existed from 1969 through 1975, and signed artists such as Bill Withers, The Soul Searchers, and Rodriguez (of Searching for Sugarman fame, the 2013 Oscar winner for Best Documentary). Avant also owned his own radio station,  Avant Garde Broadcasting, which eventually went bankrupt in 1975.

WHY IS CLARENCE AVANT IMPORTANT? WHO DID CLARENCE AVANT INFLUENCE?

The thesis of The Black Godfather is that Avant, a black man who operated in an almost completely white world of high-powered executives, was instrumental in knowing and connecting the right people, largely to the benefit of black celebrities. He discovered Bill Withers. He helped get NFL player Jim Brown in movies, like The Dirty Dozen and 100 Rifles, the latter of which featured a controversial interracial love scene. President Bill Clinton says in the film Avant urged him to stand up to Republicans. Even baseball legend Hank Aaron says he wouldn’t be who he was today without Avant, thanks to Avant urging Coca Cola to endorse Aaron after he broke Babe Ruth’s record.

WHERE IS CLARENCE AVANT NOW?

According to a 2016 Variety profile, these days Avant, now 88,  works mostly on managing his holdings with his publishing enterprise, Interior Music Corporation and Avant Garde Music Publishing. And, as seen in The Black Godfather, he’s clearly maintained his relationships with the entertainment industry, who continue to love and respect him. The film appropriately closes with Avant receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in 2016, and after watching the movie, you can’t help but feel it’s long overdue.

Stream The Black Godfather on Netflix