Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story
Encyclopedia
Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story is a 2005 TV film which tells the true story of a former parole officer named Marilyn Gambrell
, who helped a group of students at M.B. Smiley High School in Houston
, Texas
, United States
. The students had either been raped, sexually harassed and/or beaten by their own parents. Marilyn helped the students learn to fight back for one another and for themselves. For this, she created the No More Victims
program.
The film aired on Lifetime. It starred Jami Gertz
, Ernie Hudson
, Eugene Clark
and Sicily Sewell
.
Marilyn Gambrell
Marilyn Gambrell is a parole officer turned teacher who started the program No More Victims at the M.B. Smiley High School in Houston, Texas. The program was developed to assist children with incarcerated parents, hoping to prevent them from following in their parent's footsteps...
, who helped a group of students at M.B. Smiley High School in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The students had either been raped, sexually harassed and/or beaten by their own parents. Marilyn helped the students learn to fight back for one another and for themselves. For this, she created the No More Victims
No More Victims
No More Victims, founded in 2002, is a program that helps students and adults alike who have been raped, sexually assaulted, harassed, or beaten. The program had started with former parole officer, Marilyn Gambrell, who became a teacher to help several students who had been sexually harassed,...
program.
The film aired on Lifetime. It starred Jami Gertz
Jami Gertz
Jami Beth Gertz is an American actress. Gertz is known for her early roles in the films Sixteen Candles, Crossroads, The Lost Boys, Less Than Zero, the 1980s TV series Square Pegs with Sarah Jessica Parker, and 1996's Twister, as well as for her role as Judy Miller in the CBS sitcom Still Standing...
, Ernie Hudson
Ernie Hudson
Ernest Lee "Ernie" Hudson is an American actor known for his roles as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film series, Sergeant Albrecht in The Crow, and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz.-Early life:...
, Eugene Clark
Eugene Clark (actor)
-Football career:Before he began acting, he played college football. He was an all-conference offensive guard at UCLA and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ninth round of the 1975 NFL Draft...
and Sicily Sewell
Sicily Sewell
Sicily Sewell is an American actress. She is sometimes credited in film or television as simply with a mononym Sicily....
.