African-American rock star Prince came into this world as Prince Roger Nelson; he was named for the Prince Roger Trio, a musical aggregation for which his father played. In light of his carefully cultivated public image -- the arrogant aloofness, the covey of bodyguards, the overemphasized androgyny -- it is sometimes easy to forget that Prince is uncommonly talented; in addition to his singing and composing skills, he is proficient at two dozen musical instruments. Prince's 1978 recording debut came and went without fanfare, but his third album, {^Dirty Mind}, topped the charts. Even more popular was his sixth album, the double-Grammy winner {^Purple Rain}, which of course was derived from his 1984 debut film -- which won an Oscar for Original Song Score. Though he insisted that Purple Rain was purely a work of fiction, the story line involves a young black pop singer from Minneapolis whose father is a traditionalist musician, so draw your own conclusions. Prince not only starred in his next picture, Under the Cherry Moon (1985), but also directed. Lensed in black-and-white, the film is a stylish hark-back to the film noir of the late '40s, far better directed than its detractors would have you believe; however, Prince the director would have been better off firing Prince the actor. Prince's last film work was Graffiti Bridge (1990), a sequel to Purple Rain. Later, Prince would change his name to an unpronouncable sign (a combination of the male-female symbol), although he was usually referred to as "the Artist Formerly Known as Prince". In 1999, he changed his name back to Prince. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide