Blackfilm.com correspondent Ellen J. Wanjiru chats with best-selling author Walter Mosley about the Apple TV+ limited series “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” adapted from his acclaimed 2010 novel of the same name. Premiering Friday, March 11, 2022.
“The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” stars Samuel L. Jackson as Ptolemy Grey, an ailing man forgotten by his family, his friends, and by even himself. Suddenly left without his trusted caretaker and on the brink of sinking even deeper into a lonely dementia, Ptolemy is assigned to the care of orphaned teenager, Robyn. When they learn about a treatment that can temporarily restore Ptolemy’s dementia-addled memories, it begins a journey toward shocking truths about the past, present and future.
Also starring Dominique Fishback as ‘Robyn,’ Cynthia Kaye McWilliams as ‘Sensia,’ Damon Gupton as ‘Coydog,’ Marsha Stephanie Blake as ‘Niecie,’ Walton Goggins as ‘Dr. Rubin,’ Omar Benson Miller as ‘Reggie.’
Executive producer Diane Houslin, who has been Mosley’s producing partner for the last ten years, remembers being surprised when she received a call from Samuel L. Jackson inquiring about adapting Mosley’s masterful book for the screen. “He’s a fan of Walter’s work, and he asked us what we were doing with it,” recalls Houslin. “We said whatever you want to do with it! Honestly, that is how it started. It was just his love and passion for the book.”
“The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” was originally conceived as a feature film, however it naturally evolved into a longer format as Mosley began adapting the story. “You can’t translate one art into another and have it stay the same,” shares Mosley. “But I think the feeling of this man who has been given a very slender window of time to make up for all the things he hadn’t done in his life remains.”
Walter Mosley is the author of more than 60 critically acclaimed books of fiction, including his most recent, “Blood Grove,” as well as nonfiction, memoir and plays. His work has been translated into 25 languages. From the first novel he published, “Devil in a Blue Dress,” with its protagonist Easy Rawlins, Mosley’s work has explored the lives of Black men and women in America – past, present and future – in a rich exploration of genre, including his latest short story collection, “The Awkward Black Man.”
Mosley has had several of his books adapted for film and television, including “Devil in a Blue Dress,” “Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned” and “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.” His short fiction and nonfiction essays have been published in a wide range of outlets, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Nation. He is also a writer and an executive producer on the John Singleton show, “Snowfall.”
He is the winner of numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, The Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award, a Grammy Award, several NAACP Image Awards, and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2020 he was named the recipient of the Robert Kirsch Award for Lifetime Achievement from The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and was awarded the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award from the National Book Foundation.
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