Russ was involved with several aspects of Paramount's "Star Trek" franchise in the 1990s. He did a guest shot as a human terrorist in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and played a recurring role as T'Kar, a Klingon mercenary in several episodes of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". On the big screen, Russ was tactical officer on the bridge of the then-new version of the Enterprise in the opening scenes of "Star Trek: Generations" (1994). He finally hitched his destiny to the stars as a regular on "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995-2001), the flagship series of the fledgling United Paramount Network (UPN). Russ was perfectly cast as Tactical Officer Tuvok, the first Vulcan member of a "Trek" series command crew since the legendary Mr. Spock. The role allowed him to be serious full-time.
Brooks's stage career augmented his appearances on the small screen. His proud, imposing presence made him an excellent choice to play controversial actor-singer Paul Robeson in several biographical dramas, as well as a role Robeson himself was famous for, Othello. When he agreed to play Commander Benjamin Sisko on the third "Star Trek" series, "Deep Space Nine", Brooks knew that he would be subject to careful scrutiny from scores of Trekkers who, for varying reasons, had idolized William Shatner and Patrick Stewart as other, earlier Trek commanders. Brooks, though, deftly brought to bear his own brand of quiet authority to Sisko, in charge of a remote outer space outpost.
Avery Brooks as Commander Benjamin Sisko
Avery Brook as a Man Called Hawk
Interview With Avery Brooks
Starring Robert Townsend as Meteor Man
Townsend stars as a mild-mannered schoolteacher, who becomes a superhero after his neighborhood in Washington, D.C. is terrorized by street gangs
Robert Townsend
Birth Name: Robert Townsend Born: 02/06/1957 Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Frustrated at the dearth of significant screen roles for blacks, Townsend scraped together some $100,000 (putting most of it on his assortment of credit cards) to produce, direct, write and star in his witty lampoon of the travails of an aspiring minority actor, "Hollywood Shuffle" (1987). His subsequent credits include Eddie Murphy's concert movie, "Raw" (1987), several cable TV comedy shows and "The Five Heartbeats" (1991), a somewhat old-fashioned show biz comedy-drama about a rhythm and blues singing group set in the 1960s. In interviews, Townsend has decried the anger and negativism that he believes characterizes too much of contemporary black filmmaking. Raised in inner-city Chicago, he sought escape through the films of Frank Capra. This sunny sensibility in the face of adversity characterized "The Meteor Man" (1993), an urban fairy tale about a mild mannered school teacher who is transformed into a crime-fighting superhero. The film contained no profanity or explicit violence--and fizzled at the box office. Townsend returned to series TV in 1993 with the short-lived variety series "Townsend Television" (Fox). He scored slightly better with his next effort, the likeable yet unspectacular sitcom "The Parent 'Hood" (1995-99) on the fledgling The WB network. Townsend (who also co-executive produced) played a college professor coping with raising four children in Manhattan.
Robert Townsend in A Soldier Story
Hollywood Shuffle
Meteor Man
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Not everything went gold with Bill Cosby Leonard pt. 6 was one of them,
this is the worst film Bill Cosby has ever made, however
Bill Cosby is still an Icon of entertainment as he shown
time and time again, sometimes life is learning from your failures
than your successes.
CIA director Snyderburn (Joe Don Baker) talks former agent Leonard (Bill Cosby) into returning to the job in this failed Bond-style spy comedy. Leonard's mission is to stop the evil Medusa (Gloria Foster) from taking over the planet by controlling the behavior of the world's animals.
Bill Cosby bio & acting credits
Birth Name: Bill Cosby Born: 07/12/1937 Birth Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
William Cosby was born in Philadelphia, PA, on July 12, 1937. With his father overseas serving in the Navy during most of his childhood, Cosby was raised in public housing mostly by his domestic worker mother. His grandfather was one of his earliest influences, and the man's humorous, entertaining stories captivated Cosby as much as storytelling comedians like Jonathan Winters who he loyally listened to on the radio and then television. By elementary school, Cosby earned a reputation as the class entertainer, as well as an accomplished athlete. Schoolwork remained a distant interest once Cosby hit high school, where he became class president, a track star and, at the same time, held down a string of jobs to contribute to the family income. By tenth grade, he dropped out of school altogether; choosing instead to follow in his father's footsteps by joining the Navy. He served as a Navy medical corpsman, aiding in the physical rehabilitation of Korean War veterans. While serving, Cosby earned his high school diploma and also played basketball, football and toured nationally with the Navy track team. His five years of service and travels gave Cosby a newfound interest in education as a means to a better life, so upon his discharge in 1961, he landed a track scholarship to Temple University in Philadelphia.While pursuing a major in physical education with an eye towards teaching, Cosby maintained a busy schedule of schoolwork and college sports, but it was his part-time job as a bartender that set him on his ultimate career path. His witty rapport with his customers led to impromptu stand-up performances on a makeshift stage, and in no time, he was being paid to perform in San Francisco and New York's Greenwich Village, where his conversational, no-punchline style fit in with an emerging breed of new comics like Woody Allen. When the offers became too good to turn down, Cosby put his college career on hold and toured the country with his act, making it on to "The Tonight Show" (NBC, 1954- ) in 1962. In 1963, while the Civil Rights movement was tearing a nation apart, Cosby appeared again on "The Tonight Show," where his universal tales of childhood and the characters he grew up with played a quiet, important role in mending race relations by highlighting the common experiences audiences of all colors could relate to. His first album, Bill Cosby is a Very Funny Fellow, Right? (1963) earned the newcomer a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Performance, an honor he repeated with I Started Out as a Child (1964) and Why is there Air? (1965).In 1965, Cosby was cast opposite Robert Culp in "I Spy," a James Bond-styled drama that found the pair playing spies who live undercover as tennis bums. In addition to proving he was a likable and naturally talented actor, the comedian had the added distinction of being the first black performer to star in a regular dramatic series on American television. Much as Sidney Poitier had done in his non-stereotypical film roles, Cosby set a model for black actors by playing parts where his race did not factor into the storyline - he was simply one half of a team of sleuths. Overwhelmingly positive audience and critical response led to three consecutive Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead in a Dramatic Series. Still a stand-up comedy force, Cosby became a regular guest host on "The Tonight Show," while racking up Grammy Awards for more live recordings in 1968, 1969 and 1970. After "I Spy" came to and end in 1968, Cosby remained on the air as host of the Emmy-winning variety show, "The Bill Cosby Special" (NBC, 1968) and his own sitcom, "The Bill Cosby Show" (NBC, 1969-1971), where he starred as a high school physical education teacher. Cosby subsequently took a hiatus to resume his own education, earning first a Masters Degree and then a Doctorate in Education from the University of Massachusetts. He became a high-profile advocate of the importance of childhood education; furthering his cause by teaching reading skills in taped segments on "The Electric Company" (PBS, 1971-77) and creating his own half-hour animated show, "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" (CBS, 1972-79). Cosby, with total creative control, shaped the series into a showcase for the educational and child-rearing theories developed during his doctoral studies. The warm-hearted show brought to life characters from Cosby's stand-up routine - who were, themselves, characters from his own childhood -where they faced relatable situations like peer pressure and first loves, book-ended by live-action Cosby introducing the week's dilemma and commenting on its resolution. In a similar educational vein, Cosby's LP Bill Cosby Talks to Kids About Drugs earned a Grammy for Best Children's album in 1972.While generally known as a television success, Cosby followed up with three popular features during that time which served as a dignified alternative to the era's "blaxpliotation" offerings. The Sidney Poitier-directed "Uptown Saturday Night" (1974) was a straight-ahead comic caper about a working class guy's night out-gone-awry. The buddy con game "Let's Do It Again" (1975) also paired Cosby with Poitier with great results, however the third film in the trilogy - the heist "A Piece of the Action" (1977) - was panned. After a short-lived attempt at helming a variety show, "Cos" (ABC, 1976), Cosby struck out with the lackluster ambulance comedy "Mother, Jugs and Speed" (1976) and a slapstick teaming with Richard Pryor in Neil Simon's "California Suite" (1978). He maintained his presence in educational television, hosting "Picture Pages" preschool reading segments on "Captain Kangaroo" (CBS, 1955-1984), while his fun, irreverent manner with children made him a perfect pitchman for such family-oriented products as Jell-O, Kodak film and Coca-Cola.In 1984, Cosby returned to primetime television in a big way as creator and star of the phenomenally successful "The Cosby Show." The show was not only hailed for averting the near-death of the sitcom genre, but for its groundbreaking portrayal of an African- American family that was wholesome, educated, upper-middle class and instantly embraced by audiences of all colors and soci conomic backgrounds. The show's status as the top-rated television program of the 1980s suggested that American audiences had become "color-blind" enough to accept the show's star as a universal father figure. For five straight seasons, the lighthearted, observational domestic humor extracted from the life of obstetrician Cliff Huxtable, his lawyer wife, and their five children ranked number one in the ratings and raked in Emmys, Golden Globe Awards, and People's Choice Awards for favorite comedy series. Star Cosby earned Best Actor statues from the Golden Globes in 1985 and 1986 and producer Cosby enjoyed further success with the spin-off, "A Different World" (NBC, 1987-1993), a college-set sitcom that also enjoyed strong ratings.Throughout the run of the "Cosby" juggernaut, the comic actor became a bestselling author, first with the humor book Fatherhood (1986), which spent six months at the top of The New York Times bestseller list. The following year, Cosby warned audiences to stay away from his theatrical turkey "Leonard, Part 6" (1987) - a rare request from any actor - and settled back into his position as top TV star and author of the hugely popular follow-up book Love and Marriage (1989). He reunited with director Poitier and contributed story and producer credits for the big screen family outing "Ghost Dad" (1990), however he could not raise the level of the material above that of an extended sitcom. His reputation remained solid with the bestseller Childhood (1991), and following the end of his wildly successful sitcom run, he took supporting roles in moderately popular big screen comedies "The Meteor Man" (1993) and "Jack" (1996). When he returned to series TV with the CBS sitcom "Cosby" (1996-2000), he attempted to stretch, playing an out-of-work curmudgeon who drives his wife (again played by "The Cosby Show" co-star Phylicia Rashad) crazy. After the initial season, however, the character was softened and the addition of a pre-school plot allowed the comic actor to do what he did best -interact with children.In 1997, America mourned the tragic murder of Cosby's son Ennis - who was senselessly murdered in L.A. during a car-jacking - and learned in the process, just how close the portrait of TV's Theo Huxtable (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) was to that of Ennis. Like the affable but ever-struggling Theo, Ennis had his troubles with school, but once diagnosed as dyslexic, overcame the disability, graduating from Morehouse College and dedicating himself to helping others with similar learning disabilities. Fast on the heels of Cosby's devastating loss, he weathered an extortion attempt on the part of a young woman who claimed she was the product of a liaison between her mother and Cosby. There was no proof of his paternity - though he did acknowledge the affair- and the entertainer provided financial assistance to the young woman, including college tuition. In spite of his personal grief and the whiff of scandal, Cosby refused to cancel personal engagements, telling one audience, "I want you all to know you don't have to forget what happened. But we're supposed to laugh, have a good time. Be together."Cosby responded by throwing himself into work and sticking close to his life's calling for the benefit of children. He hosted "Kids Say the Darndest Things" (CBS, 1998-2000), based on a popular segment of "Art Linkletter's House Party" (CBS, 1952-1969), and launched the Emmy Award-winning preschool animated series "Little Bill" (Nickelodeon/CBS, 1999-2004), a charming series of moral stories featuring the voices of Phylicia Rashad, Ruby Dee and Cosby. He maintained a steady schedule of public appearances at community centers where he addressed problems in lower income African-American communities. Cosby finally brought the beloved "Fat Albert" to the big screen in 1994. Always in artistic control, he co-wrote the script and served as executive producer, landing J l Zwick to direct and teen comedian Keenan Thompson to star as the jovial fat one. Upon release, the feature made enough box office dollars to avoid being labeled a flop, but not enough to warrant a sequel. Cosby maintained a low profile over the next several years, choosing to focus on speaking engagements and the publication of more books, but his name surfaced in 2008 after the election of Barack Obama, the country's first black president. Commentators pointed to Cosby, among others, for his role in destroying negative cultural stereotypes and helping make it possible for Americans to accept the reality of educated professional, African-Americans - with some labeling it the "Cosby Effect."
Guinian
Star Trek Next Generation
Academy Award-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg starred as Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation in a recurring guest star role—the first of Star Trek's celebrity fans to win a spot on the show. She played the hyoer-sensed El-Aurian hostess of "Ten-Forward," the ship's bar/lounge, from Season 2 onward.
Whoopi Goldberg
Acting & Bio
When she was a little girl, Goldberg was a big Star Trek fan, because in the 1960s roles for African-Americans on television were scarce and often inconsequential — with Star Trek being an exception. On theU.S.S. Enterprise, the presence of Uhura on the Bridge crew connected with the young Goldberg, and her lifelong love of Star Trek had begun. "Well, when I was nine years old Star Trek came on," Goldberg says. "I looked at it and I went screaming through the house, 'Come here, mum, everybody, come quick, come quick, there's a black lady on television and she ain't no maid!' I knew right then and there I could be anything I wanted to be."
Background
Born in the Chelsea projects of Manhattan on Nov. 13, Goldberg was bitten by the acting bug at an early age, beginning as an eight-year-old in children's theatre, then appearing in bit parts in New York before moving to the West Coast. She lived in San Diego and San Francisco, practicing her acting talents onstage in plays such as Brecht's "Mother Courage" and also honing her comedic skills with improvisational work in a troupe called Spontaneous Combustion.
After moving to the Bay Area, Goldberg hooked up with Berkeley's The Blake Street Hawkeyes Theatre and eventually started working on her own solo work, starting with her show called "The Spook Show," which toured the country after a San Francisco run. Performing "The Spook Show" in New York, she was seen by director Mike Nichols who helped her mount her one-woman Broadway show in 1984, which was soon turned into an HBO special and a Grammy Award-winning recording.
Goldberg's status as a white-hot, talented performer only increased after Steven Spielberg cast her in his film adaptation of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple," which netted Goldberg a Best Actress Golden Globe, an NAACP Image Award and an Oscar nomination.
From that point on, Goldberg was a household name, appearing on television and more feature films such as "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Sister Act," and "Girl, Interrupted" (co-starring with Winona Ryder, the new "Amanda Grayson"). Whoopi's performance as Oda Mae Brown in "Ghost" in 1990 earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the Golden Globe Award, and the NAACP Image Award. She was also named the NAACP's "Entertainer of the Year" for 1990.
In 1986, her appearance on an episode of Moonlighting earned Goldberg an Emmy Award nomination as Best Guest Performer in a Dramatic Series. Her performance in the CBS Schoolbreak special, "My Past Is My Own," garnered Goldberg a Daytime Emmy Award nomination as Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special. Her appearance on A Different World earned her yet another Emmy nomination. Her television credits include Baghdad Cafe (in which she starred with Jean Stapleton), "Scared Straight: 10 Years Later," "Carol, Robin, Whoopi and Carl," "Funny, You Don't Look 200," Marlo Thomas' "Free To Be...A Family" and "Freedomfest—Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Special," which she co-hosted. Whoopi co-produced and appeared in "Hot Rod Brown," the first two "Tales from the Whoop" for Nickelodeon, for which she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award.
An Unlikely Stop
Being an A-list actor who could write her own ticket, she chose an unlikely stop on her itinerary in 1988 — an hour-long syndicated show called Star Trek: The Next Generation, joining the crew as Guinan, the mysterious El-Aurian bartender in Ten-Forward. She began playing the role in TNG's second season, and appeared through the sixth season and in "Star Trek Generations." Most recently she reprised the character in "Star Trek Nemesis," doing a cameo in the wedding scene as Riker and Troi took their vows.
Just Being Herself
While she initially made her career transforming herself into other characters, Goldberg's own quick wit and irrepressible personality have made her popular just being herself. She's also done her share of hosting, emceeing prestigious awards shows such as the Grammys in 1992 and the Academy Awards four times — in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2002. She also appeared for four years in the center square on The Hollywood Squares, which she also produced, and had her own sitcom called Whoopi on NBC in 2003-04.
With her success, Goldberg has also devoted a great deal of her time and energy to charity and humanitarian causes, joining up with Billy Crystal and Robin Williams to create the HBO "Comic Relief" benefits which have raised millions to help the homeless, along with work for many other causes.
Current Work
Though she's always a whirlwind of activity, Goldberg lately has pretty much settled in New York with two steady jobs. The first is her morning radio show Wake Up With Whoopi! where she talks politics and other daily topics. The drive-time program runs 5-9 a.m. on 103.5 FM in New York, and in several other markets including Las Vegas (93.1), Denver (95.7), and others around the country. Visit Whoopi.com to learn more.
And then in September 2007, Goldberg landed a choice gig: She became co-host of ABC's The View, joining Barbara Walters and other female celebrities in the daily talk show. Goldberg filled the role after the controversial Rosie O'Donnell left the show — not that Whoopi isn't controversial, but she is perhaps a bit more diplomatic in her debates than her predecessor. As an introduction in her first episode of The View, Goldberg prepared a video to provide a briefing on her background, and the audience applauded and cheered vigorously when she mentioned Guinan. "I love my Star Trek character," Goldberg said in that video, "because I think I'm the last character that Gene Roddenberry ever created." She also referred to Lt. Uhura and talked about how important she was to the perception of black people. "I want to be that person for the next generation." (Visit this ABC.com link for the latest videos from The View.)
In addition, Goldberg has been seen recently in Everybody Hates Chris, for which she earned an NAACP Image Award nomination in 2007, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and her voice was heard in the animated "Everyone's Hero" and "Doogal." Look for her soon in the movie "If I Had Known I Was a Genius." According to IMDB.com, she is the producer of an upcoming sci-fi short called "Stream," and also stars in it along with William Sadler ("Sloan"). She is reportedly attached to the 2009 animated fantasy "Alice Goes to Harlem," and is also producing a drama called "Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany," also targeted for 2009. In addition, as a producer she is creatively involved in Lifetime's Strong Medicine and Nickelodeon's new Just for Kicks, and is reportedly developing a new game show called Shop/Shop.
And if you visit Universal Studios Hollywood, be sure to take the famous tram ride through the Universal backlot, because Ms. Goldberg is the "virtual guide" of the Studio Tour in videotaped segments playing on screens in the trams.
Enemy Mine
Drac pilot Jeriba Shigan
Louis Gossett Jr.
Bio & Acting Credits
Birth Name: Louis Gossett Jr. Born: 05/27/1936 Birth Place: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Born on May 27, 1936 in Brooklyn, NY, Gossett was raised by his father, Louis Sr., a porter for the local gas company who eventually became head of the billing department, and his mother, Helen, a maid and nurse who was able to quit her job and earn her high school diploma once her son achieved early success. Having been a lettered athlete in baseball, basketball and track at Abraham Lincoln High School, Gossett suffered an injury that forced him to put aside his sports ambitions for a time. But a silver lining appeared when he filled his spare time by taking an acting class in school, making his stage debut in a production of "You Can't Take It With You" in his teens. At age 16, Gossett made Broadway history by appearing as a star in "Take a Giant Step" (1953), a role the untrained actor earned after beating out 400 hopefuls. Setting his sights on an acting career, he concentrated collegiate efforts at New York University on earning his bachelor's in theater, training with the likes of Frank Silvera, Nola Chilton and Lloyd Richards. While still attending NYU and playing basketball on the team, Gossett made his television debut on the anthology series, "The Philco Television Playhouse" (NBC, 1948-1955), followed by a return to Broadway in support of star Shirley Booth in a production of "The Desk Set" (1955). Meanwhile, his play on the basketball court for NYU garnered enough interest from the New York Knicks to be invited to rookie training camp after graduating in 1959. But finding the camp physically taxing on his body, which was already ravaged by injury, he decided instead to turn down the offer and take a role in Lorraine Hansberry's ground-breaking Broadway drama, "A Raisin in the Sun" (1959). Making his feature film debut, he reprised his role as George Murchison opposite Sidney Poitier in the 1961 film version of the play. While maintaining a steady presence as a nightclub singer at clubs like The Bitter End, Black Pussy Cat and Gaslight Club, Gossett continued his love affair with the New York stage, acting in such productions as the musical version of "Golden Boy" (1964), "My Sweet Charlie" (1966) and "Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights" (1968).Though the stage remained a favorite place to perform for the actor, Gossett also began appearing more frequently on television, logging episodes of "The Defenders" (CBS, 1961-65), "Daktari" (CBS, 1966-69) and "The Mod Squad" (ABC, 1968-1973). This exposure led to his first regular series role as 18th-century blacksmith Isak Poole in "The Young Rebels" (ABC, 1970-71), which ran for a scant 13 episodes before being canceled. Although he appeared in only one feature film during the 1960s, Gossett's big screen reputation grew quickly in the 1970s with critically acclaimed work in comedies like "The Landlord" (1970) and "Travels with My Aunt" (1972). Following co-starring turns in "The Laughing Policeman" (1973) and "The White Dawn" (1974), he delivered a strong performance opposite James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson in the film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning drama, "The River Niger" (1975). Gossett's popularity soared exponentially on the strength of his eloquent, Emmy-winning portrayal of Fiddler in the landmark miniseries "Roots" (ABC, 1977), which he followed with a riveting performance as a drug-dealing cutthroat stalking Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset in "The Deep" (1977).Gossett portrayed Dr MacArthur St Clair in the short-lived medical drama "The Lazarus Syndrome" (ABC, 1979), delivered an Emmy-nominated turn as a faithful butler in the miniseries "Backstairs at the White House" (NBC, 1979) and lent his athleticism to the part of baseball great Satchel Paige in the biopic "Don't Look Back" (ABC, 1981). Gossett reached the height of his acting profession with his turn as the tough-as-nails, by-the-book drill sergeant who rides a promising, but self-absorbed cadet (Richard Gere) in "An Officer and a Gentleman" (1982), a performance that won him a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. Becoming the first African-American man to win an Oscar since Sidney Poitier, Gossett was prepared for his career to truly take off. But instead, the offers of bigger and better roles failed to materialize. Despite having an Emmy and Oscar to his name, Gossett fell into a void of self-pity and despair while medicating himself with drugs and alcohol. Slowly, however, he managed to lift himself out of his depression through rehabilitation. Meanwhile, in 1985, Gossett became deeply moved by an ABC news story about child poverty, which prompted him to find Sharron, one of the children featured in the segment, and offer monetary support. He later became Sharron's legal guardian after adopting the young boy.Continuing to work through his battles with sobriety, Gossett earned an Emmy Award nomination for his portrayal of Anwar Sadat in the syndicated miniseries "Sadat" (1983). Back on the big screen, he excelled as a razor-sharp con-man in "Finders Keepers" (1984), won kudos as the lizard-like alien in the sci-fi adventure "Enemy Mine" (1985), and established the action adventure franchise "Iron Eagle" (1985), playing Air Force Colonel Charles "Chappy" Sinclair, a role he reprised for two feature sequels and a made-for-television movie. Saving his best performances for the small screen, he turned in a finely tuned portrayal of a strong-willed septuagenarian in "A Gathering of Old Men" (CBS, 1987), which earned him another Emmy nomination. In "The Father Clements Story" (NBC, 1987), he played a real-life Chicago priest who bucks the archdiocese by adopting a street kid (Malcolm-Jamal Warner). Following reprisals in "Iron Eagle II" (1988) and "Roots: The Gift" (ABC, 1988), he starred as the titular anthropology professor who uses his knowledge of past cultures to solve crimes in the rotating series, "Gideon Oliver" (ABC, 1989). Gossett rounded out the decade with a co-starring turn in the first stab at adapting the Marvel comic, "The Punisher" (1989), which wound up being a low-budget Australian production that received only a direct-to-video release in the United States.Still working steadily in the 1990s, Gossett turned up in a thankless supporting role opposite Dolph Lungren in the spy thriller, "Cover Up" (1990), though he redeemed himself with a Golden Globe-winning performance in "The Josephine Baker Story" (HBO, 1991), starring Lynn Whitfield as the black American expatriate entertaining Parisian audiences in the 1920s and 1930s. Following feature roles in "Toy Soldiers" (1991) and "Diggstown" (1992), in which he played a down-and-out boxer, Gossett reprised Chappy Sinclair for "Iron Eagle III" (1992), the last feature installment in the series. After the sci-fi adventure "Monolith" (1993) and playing a dignitary in "A Good Man in Africa" (1994), Gossett sought more creative control over his projects when he entered the producing game with the television movie, "Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice" (NBC, 1994). While continuing to turn up in bottom-shelf cop thrillers like "Flashfire" (1994), he starred in and produced more critically acclaimed dramatic fare like the apartheid-themed "Inside" (Showtime, 1996) and the inspirational true story, "Run For the Dream: The Gail Devers Story" (Showtime, 1996), starring Charlayne Woodard as the 1992 Olympic gold medalist.By the time the new millennium was approaching, Gossett found himself appearing in a series of less-than-stellar projects that were far beneath his natural talents. After flogging an already dead franchise with "Iron Eagle IV: On the Attack" (HBO, 1996), arguably the worst of the three sequels, the actor portrayed a stock broker who investigates the mysterious death of an American journalist (John Rice) in Nicaragua in the mediocre thriller, "Managua" (1997). He next starred in and executive produced the thriller "The Inspectors" (Showtime, 1998), which spawned a sequel two years later with "Inspectors 2: A Shred of Evidence" (Showtime, 2000). Gossett was both star and producer of "The Color of Love: Jacey's Story" (CBS, 2000), a frank and sensitive depiction of racial intolerance. While Gossett remained an active presence in television, his feature output had dwindled in the new century, as the actor logged on a few small roles in films like "All In" (2006) and "Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls" (2007). He mostly stayed with television movies like "For Love of Olivia" (CBS, 2001), "Jasper, Texas" (Showtime, 2003) and "Momentum" (Syfy, 2003), while appearing in series such as "The Dead Zone" (USA, 2001-08) and "Stargate SG-1" (Syfy, 1997-2007), the latter of which provided the actor a recurring role as Gerak, the former First Prime of Montu, during the show's ninth season. He delivered a supporting turn in the multi-award winning "Lackawanna Blues" (HBO, 2005), followed by a return to features with "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?" (2010).
Born Levardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. on Feb. 16, 1957 at the U.S. Army Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in West Germany, he was the son of Levardis Burton, a photographer with the Army Signal Corps, and Erma Jean, a social worker and educator. Raised with his two siblings in a deeply religious household in Sacramento, CA, Burton entered the Saint Pius X Seminary at the age of 13, with the intention of becoming a priest. However, he had a change of heart by the time he graduated from Christian Brothers High School, and went on to enroll in the Drama Program at the University of Southern California on a scholarship. As a sophomore at USC, Burton - who had previously only acted in high school stage productions and one short film - screen tested for his first professional role in an audacious television adaptation of author Alex Haley's sweeping ancestral history, Roots: The Saga of an American Family. At the age of 19, he was cast in the central role of Kunta Kinte, the maternal 4th great-grandfather of Alex Haley who was captured by slave traders and brought to America in the mid-18th Century. The groundbreaking miniseries would not only launch Burton's nascent acting career, but would have a lasting effect on television programming, and most importantly, on race relations in America for years to come.Spanning more than 100 years, and recounting the lives of four generations of enslaved African-Americans, "Roots" (ABC, 1977) traced author Haley's ancestry back to Gambia, West Africa and the Kinte clan of noble Mandika warriors. The miniseries would garner the highest ratings in television history at the time, and spark a nationwide interest in genealogy for people of all ethnicities. Upon the unprecedented success of "Roots" and Burton's pivotal role in it, the young actor became a nearly ubiquitous presence on television and film. That same banner year also saw him guest star on the variety special "The Paul Lynde Comedy Hour" (ABC, 1977), snag the title role of the made-for-TV urban melodrama "Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid" (CBS, 1977), and nab a small part in the controversial psychosexual drama "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" (1977), starring Diane Keaton. Other leading roles at the time capitalized on Burton's ability to convincingly portray troubled characters who persevere through adversity in TV movies like "One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story" (CBS, 1978) and "Dummy" (CBS, 1979). He also had a smaller role in the devastating docudrama about the largest-ever recorded mass suicide, "Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones" (CBS, 1980), which starred newcomer Powers Boothe in the title role of the demented cult leader.Although his star had risen with blinding speed, substantial roles - especially in feature films - soon became difficult to come by for Burton. A bitter illustration of his dilemma could be found in his supporting role alongside film icon Steve McQueen in the action adventure "The Hunter" (1980). In the film, Burton played Tommy Price, friend and sidekick to bounty hunter 'Papa' Thorson (McQueen), a role that was later revealed to have been originally written as a dog. Although the actor continued to land smaller roles on series and made-for-television movies throughout much of the '80s, his tenure on a children's educational show would be one of his most fondly remembered projects during this period. For more than two decades, Burton would serve as host and producer on "Reading Rainbow" (PBS, 1982-2005), the acclaimed series dedicated to instilling an interest in reading in young children. For his work on the long-running program, beloved by an entire generation of literature-loving fans, Burton would win several Emmy Awards.Finally, after years of existing in the network television doldrums, Burton regained widespread celebrity late in the decade as a member of an intergalactic ensemble on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (syndicated, 1987-1994). In a reboot of the "Trek" franchise, supervised by original creator Gene Rodenberry, Burton played U.S.S. Enterprise engineering whiz Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge. Although completely blind, La Forge was able to attain a semblance of sight via a high-tech visor, which ironically covered Burton's expressive eyes, one of his most reliable tools as an actor. At the time, Burton enjoyed even more name recognition than that of the series lead, Patrick Stewart, and early on was touted as "the new Spock." "The Next Generation" proved to be a huge success, and enjoyed a much longer run than its predecessor, spawned several spin-off shows, and once again placed Burton prominently on the pop culture landscape. In the year following the debut of "The Next Generation," he revisited the role that started it all, when he appeared as Kunta Kinte in the made-for-TV sequel "Roots: the Gift" (ABC, 1988), along with fellow alumni, Louis Gossett, Jr. As the next decade began, the happily busy Burton took on voice work as the character of Kwame in "Captain Planet and the Planeteers" (TBS, 1990-96), an ecology-themed animated adventure series.Broadening his creative horizons, Burton also directed several episodes late in the run of "Next Generation." He continued in the role of La Forge for the highly-anticipated big screen outing "Star Trek Generations" (1994), which brought Enterprise captains Kirk (William Shatner) and Picard (Stewart) face-to-face for a cinematic passing of the torch. After leaving his regular post on the bridge of the galaxy's most famous starship, Burton took a recurring role on the period family drama "Christy" (CBS, 1994-95), in addition to publishing the science-fiction novel Aftermath in 1996. As expected, he returned to the role of La Forge twice more in the features "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996) and "Star Trek: Insurrection" (1998). Seeking new challenges, Burton branched out of the sci-fi genre to direct the golf biopic "The Tiger Woods Story" (Showtime, 1998), followed by the futuristic family comedy "Smart House" (Disney Channel, 1999). In one of his rare non-"Trek" feature film projects, he had a brief cameo as Martin Luther King, Jr. opposite Will Smith in the Michael Mann biopic "Ali" (2001). Although the franchise was clearly in need of recharging its dilithium crystals, Burton signed on once more to play La Forge in the subpar effort, "Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002).Burton continued to occupy the director's chair, working on "Trek" material that included episodes of "Enterprise" (UPN, 2001-05), as well as more earthbound, albeit equally fantastical, fare like "Charmed" (The WB, 1989-2006). He also picked up additional voice work in animated superhero projects, which included the direct-to-DVD movie "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" (2009) as Black Lightening, and an episode of "The Super Hero Squad Show" (Cartoon Network, 2009- ) as Iron Man's armored partner, War Machine. Guest turns in 2011included on the popular sitcoms "Community" (NBC, 2009- ) and "Big Bang Theory" (CBS, 2007- ), where he appeared as himself on both shows.
Lt. Worf
Star Trek Next Generation
Michael Dorn
Bio on Michael Dorn
Acting Credits
Birth Name: Michael Dorn Born: 12/09/1952
Imposing (6'5"), solidly-built African-American actor, primarily on TV, who enjoyed a breakthrough role when he was cast as a Klingon member of the starship Enterprise crew, Lieutenant Worf, on the hit syndicated series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-94). Intensive makeup was applied to transform Dorn into Worf, complete with ridged forehead. Dorn's stern manner and simmering anger in the role played across his character's surface, while simultaneously implying that the Klingon's inherently warlike nature had been channeled into altruistic ambitions. Dorn also played another Klingon role, that of an unnamed defense attorney, in the feature "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991), which toplined the cast of the original "Trek" series. He reprised the role of Worf on the syndicated "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" from 1995 to 1999 and appeared in each of the big-screen adventures of the "Next Generation" crew, "Star Trek: Generations" (1994), "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996), "Star Trek: Insurrection" (1998) and "Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002). He also branched out into directing TV episodes of the franchise spin-offs "Deep Space Nine" and "Enterprise" while continuing to appear in films and TV series -- including "The Guardian" and "The Santa Claus 2" -- while also enjoying a lucrative sideline as a voice actor for animated cartoons, commericals and TV narration.
