In the golden era of 90s television, Arthur Reggie III became a household name as Alfred Parker on the hit Nickelodeon series My Brother and Me. As the lead of the network’s first all-Black cast, Reggie represented a cultural shift that resonated with millions of viewers across the country. However, behind the bright lights of the Orlando soundstage, a more complex story of industry politics and creative control was unfolding. Decades later, the man now known by his stage name Arthur “Showbizness” Reggie III sits down to reflect on a career that transitioned from teen stardom to the gritty realities of the Los Angeles streets.
His journey is one of resilience, moving from the polished world of sitcoms to the same Crenshaw neighborhoods that birthed legends like Nipsey Hussle. In this exclusive conversation, he pulls back the curtain on why the show really ended and how his life experiences have prepared him for a major comeback. Arthur “Showbizness” Reggie III checked in with the Scoop B Radio Podcast to provide an unfiltered look at his past, present, and future.
This transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity and space. Make sure to check out the Full Interview with Showbiz here.
From NBA cameos to surviving the streets, this is the story of a child star who grew up to find his own voice.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Looking back at your time as Alfred on My Brother and Me, what are some of your favorite memories from the set?
Showbiz: Bloopers! A lot of the stuff you guys didn’t see. Recently in the past few years, I think they released some of the wrap tapes with some of the blooper reels on it. That was my absolute favorite part; just the outtakes and the stuff that y’all didn’t see. When I messed up, we slipped and fell… all that type of shit, that’s what I remember the most! Yeah!
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: One of the most iconic moments of the show was “Goo Punch.” What was the energy like on set for that?
Showbiz: Okay, I wasn’t on set for Goo Punch. That was his [Jimmy Lee Newman/ Milton ‘Goo’ Berry’s] scene. I mean, I heard the shit in the background but, I’m in my dressing room and he made magic, you know what I’m sayin’? But it kind of used to annoy me because it wasn’t me, you know what I’m sayin’? [laughing]… I’m like, ‘Bro, it wasn’t that hot…’ but it WAS. Very much iconic. They did that shit, I just wasn’t in that scene, brah. But that wasn’t my dream. Alfie’s dream was the hoop shit, remember?
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: You guys had a great dynamic. Did you have to adjust to each other’s styles or backgrounds?
Showbiz: I had to learn about vernacular back then because we was from L.A. They flew me and Goo in from Los Angeles and then they went elsewhere to find other talent and Ralph my little brother, and we’re still cool to this day and he happens to be the head detective of homicide in Atlanta for Atlanta PD. But his accent threw us off like, Damn! Where you from? Like, why do you talk like that? You’re from Georgia? Now everybody in Atlanta don’t sound like that but he was more Southern down home based and just looking at his parents, his mom and dad, that’s how they talk.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Do you still keep in touch with the rest of the cast?
Showbiz: Sporadically I’d say. I still talk to my dad on the show, Jim Coleman/ Roger Parker and we talk through social media. There was a couple times he wanted me to show up to some places and I couldn’t make it, but we’re still tapped in and still exchange messages with his daughters and one of his daughters was Big Lou in the bully episode. Yes! And a lot of people also don’t know that James from Gullah Gullah Island; James rest in peace, he died but that was Jim Coleman’s son as well. James on Gullah Gullah Island, that was his son. Yes. So I talk to him, I talk Ralph a little bit but we’re two different people, you know what I’m sayin’? I’m more of the street background and he’s a police officer. And some shit came up with him making a public statement about Lil’ Baby about some shit going on in Atlanta; people was sending shit to my DM’s talking about we knew that he was a snitch and all this weird shit like, Bro. This is his REAL life, you know what I’m sayin’? This is his career path. Like this is a good man and I stand with him in solidarity and whatever his task at hand is. Although, I’m from the streets and I bowed out gracefully, I don’t have nothing to say about that. I hope the shit works itself out, you know what I mean? Yeah.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: What about Aisling Sistruck?
Showbiz: We never spoke to her. I haven’t talked to her in probably since then. For a long time they said that she was nowhere to be found but you know, the fans will start digging and finding shit, so she’s somewhere out there.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Do you keep in contact with Jimmy Lee Newman Jr. aka Milton ‘Goo’ Berry?
Showbiz: We were tight during the time of the show and then shortly thereafter, we really didn’t have that much contact. He has a son and I believe he’s Jimmy Lee III. Yeah.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: What about Amanda Seales? She’s obviously become a massive star and activist.
Showbiz: Sis is doing her thing ain’t she? Who knew that she was going to be this activist like this? She’s so awesome, you know what I mean? I saw her Shannon Sharpe interview and she just continues to be relevant and in the public eye and speaking on behalf of woke black folks, you know what I’m sayin’? So I commend her in all that she does, you know what I mean? She is just such a brilliant mind and she shows it in so many different ways; just her intellect and comedic timing. I’m proud of her. We all are.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Do you still keep in touch with her?
Showbiz: We talked a few years back and I reach out to her sometimes when I feel like, Aye! Come get me for some of this shit! And she’s got her own podcast and she asked me to do something one time and I was kinda like, ‘I don’t know sis…’ and I think she got mad and she ain’t call me back about shit [laughs]… but it’s all good.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: My Brother and Me was a hit. Why did it only last one season?
Showbiz: So mind you, I was a kid but what I learned after the fact what I was told was that there was creative differences with the producers of the show and the network execs and it really had something to do with the direction of the show where we wanted to go as a show as the first all-Black cast on Nickelodeon and them trying to limit us in what we said and did and them trying to control the narrative instead of letting us do it. So, it wasn’t that the show wasn’t a success; we were up there in ratings. I remember — I wanna say Def Comedy Jam and The Larry Sanders Show were the only two cable shows that did bigger ratings than us. So it wasn’t because of ratings. We had THAT, you know what I mean? It was because of them. And I saw an interview with the president then of Nickelodeon saying that was the worst decision that he ever made not bringing My Brother & Me back; and I’m like, ‘You fuckin’ asshole! You messed my life up!’ But God don’t make no mistakes.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: You had some great NBA cameos, like Kendall Gill. What was that experience like?
Showbiz: I still gotta whole lot of love for Kendall Gill! I believe he still has the NBA record for most steals in an NBA game. If you mention Kendall Gill now, these YN’s will be like, Who the fuck is that? But naw, Kendall Gill was one of them guys especially with his time when he was in Seattle. I remember that. He had some player edition Jordans that I was just like, Damn! How he got his OWN number on some Jordans? I didn’t understand that. That was so hard. So I have fond memories of that meeting and just how excited I was going to work every day knowing that Kendall Gill was going to be there.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Is there any truth to the rumor that Shaquille O’Neal was supposed to be there instead of Kendall Gill?
Showbiz: I believe there is. I don’t know if he was “supposed” to be, but that’s who they were going after. Mind you, we shot the show in Orlando, Florida so the easy pick would be the superstar that’s in Orlando but I don’t know… we were still a peanut network back then so I think he wanted a lil’ more change than we wanted to offer so we couldn’t secure Shaq and we had to go with either Kendall Gill and then later on in the episode Dennis Scott — that might’ve been a Shaq plug because you know 3-D and Shaq was like this. So Shaq probably threw him on it and gave him to the little homie like, You do it. [laughing]
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: You’re an actor, musician and writer. How do you balance those creatives?
Showbiz: So I would say acting definitely influenced me to go forward and do music. If you noticed, people like Orlando Brown, you know what I’m sayin’? He’s a little…. na’ mean, but he’s talented. Super talented. And you HAVE to be multifaceted as a young actor coming up when you write on your resume they want to see all these different skillsets. I remember my resume saying Kung-Fu, rap songs and stuff like that… you have to actually be that so when you get called on these auditions they’re going to ask you to sing the song, you know what I’m sayin’? What can you do, or whatever else. So you start to cultivate other talents than just being in front of the camera. So yeah, one did have some influence on the other.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: If you returned to acting today, what kind of roles would appeal to you?
Showbiz: So because I’m grown now and I’ve lived so much life, I feel like back then it was only so much I could do from the life that I had lived, you know what I’m sayin’? I didn’t have all the experiences that I have now. I look at shows like Snowfall and Power and I would’ve bodied that shit because I actually lived the life and I can understand now, you know what I’m sayin’? I want to work with some new filmmakers and get into a situation like Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan had with Fruitvale Station and then it just blossomed into what they are now. If I can find an up and coming filmmaker — and I got one actually… they did a remake; not a remake but they did a crime spinoff of My Brother and Me. Some cats out of Atlanta and they invited me and the creator of the show Calvin Brown Jr. to the screening and that shit was awesome! I can send you the link to it but it’s called My Brother and Me: The Short Film and they took it to some other places, I just wasn’t involved; they casted a guy who I respected as an actor. He kind of looked like me and he bodied that shit! Dee Dee was a cop in there doing his thing… like I gotta send you the link though! What’s my guy’s name… B Huntley Films on Instagram.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: What advice would you give to young actors today?
Showbizness: Although we have more representation now in today’s time because at that time when I was working, we didn’t have that much representation but it’s still a small pool. You could start out and maybe for the first few years and not get booked. Stay active because it’s a small pool. So as you start to progress and as you get older and tighten up on your acting skills, you’ll start to get those roles. There’s cats that I see now that have broken through but they couldn’t get a job back then, but they stayed down, you know what I’m sayin’? They stayed diligent at their craft and now they’re some of the top guys. So stay at it, you know what I’m sayin’? My boy Nip; that’s my homeboy rest in peace… my boy Nip was quoted saying, “I went through every emotion, I just didn’t quit…” Even with rap, I went through a lot and I’m very talented at that but, I quit. You gotta not quit in order to see your day. Your come up. Feel me?
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: How did you and Nipsey Hussle connect?
Showbiz: We from the same ‘hood. The Crenshaw District in South Los Angeles and the Rollin’ 60’s. I was rappin’, he was rappin’ at the same time, we were about the same age. I’m actually 2 years older than him — I was born in ‘83 and he’s born in ‘85; we’re both Leos and we was both outside making waves. So when you’re in this small community, those that are making waves they’re going to run into each other. So I was in and out of the same studios; he was coming in my studio and we got some of the same friend groups or some of the same homies as you call it. So you know, he was figuring music out at the same time I was trying to figure music out. He just…. didn’t stop. He was obsessed. And his work ethic was comparable to Kobe Bryant, you know what I’m sayin’? In music. When people ask the questions in basketball, like if you compare who’s the top guy; like who would you compare Jordan to in rap? Tupac. To me? Tupac. Because he’s the greatest of all time. And that’s debatable, but that’s who I would compare Jordan to in rap music. It would be Tupac. So, they said Jay-Z is LeBron and I was like, ‘Ok.’ I think I saw that on All the Smoke or Gil’s Arena, right? But what they left out was if Tupac is Mike, and Jay-Z is LeBron… then Nipsey is Kobe! All day. All day! But everybody in different regions don’t hold Nip up there like I do but, because I saw what he did in real time he’s one of my GOATS for sure.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: What made him stand out?
Showbiz: His relentlessness. His level of focus. And where we from there’s all types of distractions, you know what I mean? There’s a level of disparity, you know what I mean? Unemployment and that type of shit so we all had to hustle and get it how we live and within that hustle, you’re going to lose people along the way, you know what I’m sayin’? Loved ones, friends… things of that nature. That’s a BIG distraction. Not to mention there’s a war in the streets, you know what I mean? There’s literally shootouts daily and maintaining focus amongst all of that is astronomical and he just always kept his focus. I started to back up myself personally after I got shot in 2013 — this was my second time getting shot. I got spooked and I didn’t want to rap anymore. It didn’t matter what Nip was going through, he was going to keep putting out that content. He was going to keep dropping that hot shit! And you get weary as a human being; that’s why you have to be a machine. You have to be robotic and that he was. He just would not stop. He was PROGRAMMED to keep going and that’s the difference between him and the rest.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: How do you view the entertainment industry today?
Showbiz: Well, I’m not still in the industry so as far as adapting, I really don’t care because I’m not in it. But I do think it’s easier to be famous in today’s time with all of these tools that everyone has, you know? You could be sitting in your house, you don’t have to have a backdrop or set. Nothing. What’s the dude name… Famous Los? He blew up from his bathroom, you know what I’m sayin’? Straight up! Like, we didn’t have that bro! You had to really like to be in the mix and have an agent and have a manager and spend thousands of dollars, you know what I’m sayin’? You don’t have to do that now. Like, the power has been given to the people in the form of technology so I encourage everybody to take full advantage of this shit, you know what I’m sayin’? If you don’t use it you’re gonna lose it, so I don’t know what the next era holds but, this is it right now. So just take advantage of that shit!
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Do you have interest in returning?
Showbiz: I do but, I don’t know. I fancy myself as a vet. I am but, I haven’t been in the game for quite some time but I don’t think I want to go through the audition process unless it’s who’s-who’s, you know what I mean? I really don’t want to stand in line and shit. I feel like I’m solidified although, it was 20-upteenth years ago, you know what I’m sayin’? I feel like that you know how I’m coming, you know what I can do. I’m still the same person and I’m better now. So, if the right opportunity presents itself, I’m all in. But I’m not starting back from Square One, you know what I’m sayin’? So maybe like a young filmmaker or something and I get a nice script and I like the direction where the script is going, give me a role that I can body it and I’m in! Other than that, I can just lend my opinion.
The journey of Arthur “Showbizness” Reggie III serves as a powerful reminder that life continues long after the cameras stop rolling. While the industry may have tried to limit his narrative during his youth, he has reclaimed his story with a maturity that only comes from true lived experience. From the halls of Nickelodeon to the streets of South Los Angeles, he has seen the highs of fame and the lows of survival. His reflections on Nipsey Hussle’s work ethic show a man who deeply respects the grind, even as he recognizes his own limits. Whether or not he makes a full return to the silver screen, his impact on Black television history is already permanent. He stands as a veteran who is unwilling to compromise his dignity for a second chance at the spotlight. Today, he is more interested in authentic storytelling and supporting the next generation of filmmakers who see his value. As he looks forward, he carries the lessons of the past with a sense of peace and a sharp intellectual edge. Arthur “Showbizness” Reggie III spoke with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the Scoop B Radio Podcast, leaving fans with a newfound appreciation for the man behind Alfred Parker.
