Actor. He was best known for his Tony Award-winning performance in the play "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" in 2009. He was also known for his roles on both the television series " Kojak" and "How to Get Away With Murder". He graduated from Bellevue (Washington) High School in 1958 and briefly attended Everett Junior College before moving to Los Angeles in 1959. After a stint in the U.S. Navy, where he played the oboe and tenor saxophone with the third Naval District Band in Brooklyn, he studied acting with director Lloyd Richards and, while still in the service, was hired to play a soldier off-Broadway in "A Walk in Darkness". He made his Broadway debut in 1969 opposite Hal Holbrook and Al Pacino in "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?". He went on to perform in various other theatrical productions throughout his career and in 2009, earned a Best Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of 'Bynum Walker' in the play "Joe Turner's Come and Gone". He made his television debut in the 1973 movie "The Marcus-Nelson Murders". Besides "Kojak" and "How to Get Away With Murder", his other career television credits would include "Ironside," "The F.B.I.," "Starsky and Hutch," "Baretta," "The Jeffersons," "The Equalizer," "ER," and "Rubicon". He also appeared in such films as "Believe in Me" (1971), "Willie Dynamite" (1974), "Newman's Law" (1974), "Meteor" (1979), "It's My Turn" (1980), "The Lonely Guy"(1984), "Who's the Man?" (1993), "Brother to Brother" (2004), and "Wedding Daze" (2006). He passed away of complications from a heart condition.
Actor. He was best known for his Tony Award-winning performance in the play "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" in 2009. He was also known for his roles on both the television series " Kojak" and "How to Get Away With Murder". He graduated from Bellevue (Washington) High School in 1958 and briefly attended Everett Junior College before moving to Los Angeles in 1959. After a stint in the U.S. Navy, where he played the oboe and tenor saxophone with the third Naval District Band in Brooklyn, he studied acting with director Lloyd Richards and, while still in the service, was hired to play a soldier off-Broadway in "A Walk in Darkness". He made his Broadway debut in 1969 opposite Hal Holbrook and Al Pacino in "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?". He went on to perform in various other theatrical productions throughout his career and in 2009, earned a Best Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of 'Bynum Walker' in the play "Joe Turner's Come and Gone". He made his television debut in the 1973 movie "The Marcus-Nelson Murders". Besides "Kojak" and "How to Get Away With Murder", his other career television credits would include "Ironside," "The F.B.I.," "Starsky and Hutch," "Baretta," "The Jeffersons," "The Equalizer," "ER," and "Rubicon". He also appeared in such films as "Believe in Me" (1971), "Willie Dynamite" (1974), "Newman's Law" (1974), "Meteor" (1979), "It's My Turn" (1980), "The Lonely Guy"(1984), "Who's the Man?" (1993), "Brother to Brother" (2004), and "Wedding Daze" (2006). He passed away of complications from a heart condition.
Bio by: Mr. Badger Hawkeye
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