The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (The National Coalition) has tapped award-winning actress, singer and songwriter, Demetria McKinney (Tyler Perry's House of Payne), to perform at the 15th annual Spirit of Democracy Awards Gala on Thursday May 17, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill. Hosted this year by actress Vivica A. Fox (Set It Off, Independence Day), the group will honor emerging leaders Jonathan McDaniel, actor, recording artist and technology advocate, and Joshua DuBois

Cassi Davis and Terri Vaughn, Deanna Nowell and Tirrell Whittley also headline ATLANTA, Feb.

TBS says it is expanding its partnership with Tyler Perry and Debmar-Mercury by ordering 20 more episodes of the U.S.

SANTA MONICA, Calif, and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Debmar-Mercury, the television syndication and distribution arm of Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the leading next generation studio, announced yesterday that TBS has ordered an additional 20 episodes of the powerhouse comedy "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." The order will bring the number of episodes in the series to 172, a remarkable total for any sitcom.

By APRIL PHILLIPS By April Phillips Correspondent Portsmouth native Anthony "Tony" Brown always knew he'd be in show business, but he never dreamed that stopping by his mother's house one day to mow her lawn would lead to a role on Tyler Perry's hit TBS series "House of Payne." The 1993 Norfolk State graduate, who majored in mass communication and film production, managed famed R&B music producer Teddy Riley's Virginia Beach studios and traveled the world with various music groups.