GREENSBORO: In the trailer to the new Netflix documentary “The Black Godfather,” powerful figures in entertainment, sports and politics tell just how Clarence Avant, who once walked the halls of Dudley High School, earned the name.

“You only find one of those people,” actress Cicely Tyson said of his ability to get things done.

Even former President Barack Obama weighs in.

“There’s the power that needs the spotlight, but there’s also the power behind the scenes,” Obama said of Avant’s role as an influencer.

Those who have sought his counsel span the decades. In one shot, Muhammid Ali fakes a fist to Avant’s face and faux wide-eyed terror. Marvel’s “Black Panther” lead actor Chadwick Boseman was among the A-list Hollywood celebrities attending the premiere.

The documentary paints Avant, who turned 88 this year, as a man of wisdom, connections and with a good sense of direction about life, which others have come to appreciate.

“He became that mentor for us all,” said rapper-turned-entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is perennially on the list of Forbes magazine’s top celebrity earners. “He became that ‘godfather.’”

Clarence Avant, shown here in 2014, picked up the Trailblazer Award from the International Civil Rights Center & Museum in 2014 during the nonprofit’s annual gala that year commemorating the sit-in movement that took off at the segregated downtown Woolworth lunch counter.