Gary Dourdan To Portray Thin Lizzy Frontman

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's Gary Dourdan (Warrick Brown) is expected to head to Dublin at the end of this year to film the lead role in "My Boy," a new film about the life of Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott.

The film will be based on a book written by Lynott's mother, Philomena Lynott, who spoke to Rolling Stone ahead of the unveiling of a statue of her son in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland. "[Producer] Noel Pearson invited me to lunch once, and Gary Dourdan walked in," Philomena said. "We had a great time -- we spent a whole day together. I took him to visit Philip's resting place, and I took him back to the house. We had some lovely pictures taken, and he's now my friend. When the movie does get made, I think he'll be perfect."

Phil Lynott was the main songwriter, bassist and singer of Thin Lizzy, the Irish hard rock formation that's best known for their single "The Boys Are Back In Town." Lynott formed the band in the late sixties after the example of Jimi Hendrix showed him it was possible for a black man to lead a successful rock band. During the 1970s and 1980s Thin Lizzy was quite popular among the hard rock crowd, but never really managed to achieve great mainstream success. Phil Lynott went solo in 1980, right before Thin Lizzy broke up, and scored hits with songs such as "Sarah" and "Yellow Pearl." In 1986, he died as the result heroin overdose. To this day, he is still one of only a few black men to have achieved success in hard rock.

Gary Dourdan's involvement with My Boy is not a recent development, as the CSI star has been talking about the project since at least as early as 2002. However, this time the film finally seems to be coalescing into something real, as it has a director attached to it (Robert Quinn), actress Holly Hunter is set to play Phil Lynott's mother, and shooting is currently expected to begin at the end of this year. It is not known how Dourdan would combine this film with his work on CSI.

For now, Lynott is already being honored with the bronze statue, which will be unveiled this Friday in Dublin, followed a day later by a tribute concert by several surviving Thin Lizzy members. And Lynott's mother is intent to keep working to keep her son's memory alive. "I'm tired of picking up magazines and reading, 'Phil Lynott: rock star who died of the drugs,'" Philomena told Rolling Stone. ""I'd like him to be remembered as a wonderful son, a kind and gentle soul, a great musician, poet, songwriter, lyricist. That's 'mother' talking, but I know he was great. That's why the fans are still there, and that's why they wanted him honored."

For more from Philomena Lynott, head over to the original story in Rolling Stone.

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