Actor. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he was a versatile performer who appeared in over 40 movies and many television shows. He was encouraged to pursue an acting career by blues singer Billie Holiday and earned a degree in drama from Lincoln University Missouri. He began taking roles on Broadway and appeared on stage in plays "A Raisin in the Sun","Blues for Mr. Charlie", "The Slave", "Hallelujah Baby!", "Take a Giant Step" and "The Black". For feature films, he made his debut in "Cop Hater" (1958). His other film credits include "Madigan" (1968), "Cool Breeze" (1972), "Soylent Green" (1973), "Deadly Force" (1983) and "Prison" (1988). For television, he was a regular on "Naked City", "Then Came Bronson", "Hill Street Blues", "Trapper John, M.D.", "Frasier", among the many. He co-founded the Kilpatrick-Cambridge Theatre Arts School in Hollywood, California in 1971 and holds the distinction of being the first black member of the Lincoln Center Repertory Company. He die at age 73 in Los Angeles, California.
Actor. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he was a versatile performer who appeared in over 40 movies and many television shows. He was encouraged to pursue an acting career by blues singer Billie Holiday and earned a degree in drama from Lincoln University Missouri. He began taking roles on Broadway and appeared on stage in plays "A Raisin in the Sun","Blues for Mr. Charlie", "The Slave", "Hallelujah Baby!", "Take a Giant Step" and "The Black". For feature films, he made his debut in "Cop Hater" (1958). His other film credits include "Madigan" (1968), "Cool Breeze" (1972), "Soylent Green" (1973), "Deadly Force" (1983) and "Prison" (1988). For television, he was a regular on "Naked City", "Then Came Bronson", "Hill Street Blues", "Trapper John, M.D.", "Frasier", among the many. He co-founded the Kilpatrick-Cambridge Theatre Arts School in Hollywood, California in 1971 and holds the distinction of being the first black member of the Lincoln Center Repertory Company. He die at age 73 in Los Angeles, California.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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