Gossett at bat for Negro Baseball documentary

By Gail Schiller

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Former "Roots" star Louis Gossett Jr. has signed on as executive producer and narrator of a documentary about the Negro Baseball Leagues.

"The Untold Truth" focuses on the history of black baseball from 1865-1947, when Jackie Robinson became the first black baseball player in the major leagues.

The film's director, Gregg Champion, said the film will not only focus on the story of the Negro Baseball Leagues but also "how jazz and baseball came together, how women influenced baseball at that time and how the economics of baseball played into black Americans succeeding in all walks of life."

The filmmakers, who have an exclusive rights contract with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., plan to release the film during this year's World Series. A distribution deal has not been secured yet.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter