# Miss Evers' Boys

Miss Evers' Boys is an American made-for-television drama starring Alfre Woodard and Laurence Fishburne that first aired on February 22, 1997, and is based on the true story of the four-decade-long Tuskegee Syphilis Study. It was directed by Joseph Sargent and adapted by Walter Bernstein from the 1992 stage play of the same name, written by David Feldshuh. It received twelve nominations for the 1997 Primetime Emmy Awards, ultimately winning five, including Outstanding Television Movie and the President's Award (awarded for programming that best explores social or educational issues).

## Plot

The film tells the story of a medical study with covert goals organized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, conducted on poor African American men in the years 1932–1972 at Tuskegee University, designed to study the effects of untreated syphilis. The story is told from the perspective of the small town nurse Eunice Evers (Alfre Woodard) who is well aware of the lack of treatment, but feels her role is to console the involved men, many of whom are her close friends.
In 1932 she is sent to help Dr. Brodus (Joe Morton) and Dr. Douglas (Craig Sheffer) to help them "treat" rural black men in the town of Tuskegee, Alabama. She is sent around town to tell the people that the government is funding their treatment for free, but unbeknownst to them the government will soon run a study that requires them to go without any form of real treatment. She then comes across three men in an abandoned schoolhouse: Willie Johnson (Obba Babatundé), Bryan Hodman, and "Big" Ben Washington, who agree for treatment.
The study selected 412 men infected with the disease and promised them free medical treatment for what was called "bad blood". The movie shows Miss Evers suggesting the term as a strategy to withhold information about syphilis from the men. The men received fake long-term treatment, which involved giving them mercury and placebos even after penicillin was discovered as a cure. When Caleb Humphries (one of the test subjects who left the experiment) joins the Army during World War II and is treated and cured by penicillin, he returns to tell how he was cured and tries to get help for his friend. But none of the hospitals would help because the test subjects were placed on a list that stated they should not receive medical treatment because they were participants in the experiment. The survivors of the study did receive treatment and financial compensation after the US Senate investigated in the 1970s, and eventually a formal apology from President Bill Clinton.

## Cast

* Alfre Woodard as Nurse Eunice Evers (based on Eunice Rivers Laurie, RN)
* Laurence Fishburne as Caleb Humphries
* Craig Sheffer as Dr. Douglas
* Joe Morton as Dr. Sam Brodus
* Obba Babatundé as Willie Johnson
* Ossie Davis as Mr. Evers
* E.G. Marshall as The Senate Chairman

## Awards and nominations

Accolades :
| Event Organizer (Date) | Award | Recipient | Outcome |
| 19th CableACE Awards The Internet & Television Association (November 14, 1997) | Movie | Robert Benedetti and Laurence Fishburne (executive producers)Derek Kavanagh and Kip Konwiser (producers)Kern Konwiser and Peter Stelzer (co-producers) | Won |
| 19th CableACE Awards The Internet & Television Association (November 14, 1997) | Actress in a Movie or Miniseries | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Won |
| 19th CableACE Awards The Internet & Television Association (November 14, 1997) | Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries | Obba Babatundé (as Willie Johnson) | Nominated |
| 19th CableACE Awards The Internet & Television Association (November 14, 1997) | Costume Design | Susan Mickey | Nominated |
| 34th Cinema Audio Society Awards Cinema Audio Society | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television – Movie of the Week, Mini-Series or Specials | Shirley Libby (production mixer)Robert W. Glass, Jr.,Scott Ganary and Jim Fitzpatrick (re-recording mixers) | Nominated |
| 50th Directors Guild of America Awards Directors Guild of America (March 7, 1998) | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series | Joseph Sargent | Nominated |
| 37th Eddie Awards American Cinema Editors (March 14, 1998) | Best Edited Two-Hour Movie for Non-Commercial Television | Michael Brown | Nominated |
| 55th Golden Globe Awards Hollywood Foreign Press Association (January 18, 1998) | Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Won |
| 55th Golden Globe Awards Hollywood Foreign Press Association (January 18, 1998) | Best Television Motion Picture | Miss Evers' Boys | Nominated |
| 9th Golden Laurel Awards Producers Guild of America (March 3, 1998) | David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television | Robert BenedettiLaurence FishburneDerek KavanaghKip KonwiserKern KonwiserPeter Stelzer | Won |
| 2nd Golden Satellite Awards International Press Academy (February 22, 1998) | Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Co-Winner |
| 2nd Golden Satellite Awards International Press Academy (February 22, 1998) | Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Miss Evers' Boys | Nominated |
| 2nd Golden Satellite Awards International Press Academy (February 22, 1998) | Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television | Ossie Davis (as Mr. Evers) | Nominated |
| 24th Humanitas Prizes Human Family Educational & Cultural Institute (July 10, 1998) | 90 Minute or Longer PBS/Cable Television | Walter Bernstein (writer) | Won |
| 19th International Monitor Awards Association of Imaging Technology and Sound | Film Originated Television Specials – Color Correction | Allan Rogers | Won |
| 29th Image Awards NAACP (February 14, 1998) | Outstanding Made for Television Movie | Miss Evers' Boys | Won |
| 1st Online Film & Television Association Awards Online Film & Television Association | Best Actress in a Television Motion Picture or Miniseries | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Nominated |
| 49th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 7, 1997) | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Special | Michael Brown | Won |
| 49th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 7, 1997) | Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Special | Donald M. Morgan, A.S.C. | Won |
| 49th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 7, 1997) | Outstanding Choreography | Dianne McIntyre | Nominated |
| 49th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 7, 1997) | Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries or a Special | Shay Bentley-Griffin, C.S.A.Jaki Brown-KarmanRobyn M. Mitchell | Nominated |
| 49th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 7, 1997) | Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Special | Matthew W. MungleWynona Y. Price | Nominated |
| 49th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 7, 1997) | Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Special | Walter Bernstein | Nominated |
| 49th Primetime Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 14, 1997) | Outstanding Made for Television Movie | Robert Benedetti and Laurence Fishburne (executive producers)Derek Kavanagh and Kip Konwiser (producers)Kern Konwiser and Peter Stelzer (co-producers) | Won |
| 49th Primetime Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 14, 1997) | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Won |
| 49th Primetime Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 14, 1997) | The President's Award | HBO NetworkAnasazi Productions | Won |
| 49th Primetime Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 14, 1997) | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special | Laurence Fishburne (as Caleb Humphries) | Nominated |
| 49th Primetime Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 14, 1997) | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special | Obba Babatundé (as Willie Johnson) | Nominated |
| 49th Primetime Emmy Awards Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (September 14, 1997) | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special | Ossie Davis (as Mr. Evers) | Nominated |
| 41st San Francisco International Film Festival San Francisco Film Society (May 7, 1998) | Silver Spire Award | Joseph Sargent | Won |
| 4th Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild (March 8, 1998) | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries | Alfre Woodard (as Nurse Eunice Evers) | Won |