Actor

I made the segue from music into acting in 1974 and I found another true love of my life. Whether acting in stage plays such as the pictures of me below in Lonnie Elder III's, "Ceremonies In Dark Old Men" (where I played Theo, the eldest son), Mark Medoff's, "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder" (where I played Teddy, a psychopathic Vietnam veteran) or on screen (as the lead in a martial arts movie), I took to acting like ants take to bread crumbs.

My resumé actually reflects only a small portion of the work I've actually done. Because I lived in the Bay Area (where acting jobs came few and far between) when I initially started acting, I (as did most of the other actors in that area) worked in uncredited (or extra) parts whenever those opportunities arose. It was common for actors in the Bay Area as it also was (and probably still is) in New York.
I have been very fortunate in the people who have come into my life. People like the late Emily McLaughlin from General Hospital who first introduced me to the associate producer of that show when I moved down to Southern California in 1977 which then led me to do some small parts on that show. Then there was Sally Struthers, a person whom I will always consider a friend, who came into my life when I needed an angel (and she is), and a host of others. I've been one of a group of militants intimidating Tyne Daly when she walked into our midst with Clint Eastwood in "The Enforcer". Harry Guardino and Bradford Dillman then ordered me, along with my cohorts, into a waiting paddy wagon in that same movie.

I was also on hand when Sissy Spacek unleashed havoc on some deserving and some not so deserving students in a high school prom in "Carrie". I also got Sissy, John Travolta, William Katt, and several other cast members to pose for some snapshots (something Clint also graciously consented to when we stood around talking between shots). As a burglar, I've fired rounds at crooked cop, Ray Sharkey in a movie directed by director-actor-screenwriter, Nigel Dick, who later went on to direct a very popular video by a now very popular, young lady named Britney Spears.

On television, among other small roles, I was one of the cops who searched for a crazed character, played by Adam Arkin, loose in our station house in a mid-season replacement series called "Hard Copy". I was playing a part in another scene on "General Hospital" the day that the now-famous, Ricky Martin made his debut on that show in 1994. Prior to that, I had last worked that particular show in the late seventies in day player, uncredited roles of a few lines.

Onstage, I've worked with or been directed by some of my favorite actors as well. I've had the honor and pleasure of working with Hal Williams (Sanford & Son, Private Benjamin, and 227 and many more), the late Roxie Roker, the late, Tony award-winner, Virginia Capers, director-actor, Carl Franklin, Bern Nadette Stanis, just to name a few. As a matter of fact, I've done a lot of substantial parts on stage. Unfortunately, Hollywood and the film industry were not as receptive to my, or most other black actors and actresses, talent at that point in its history. Thank God for for a guy named Pat Donahue who gave me the biggest role I've had to date. I've been driven up to a theatre in a Rolls-Royce limousine and strolled up a red carpet for a premiere and signed autographs during that heady period. I'm not dead yet but, if nothing else ever materializes for me, at least I can say I did it once. The poster below is from that movie. It is a collector�s item and is the work of Drew Struzan, an artist with many other memorable posters to his credit.

Best of all I think, my peers (as well as the audiences who saw me), seemed to like my work. Ask any artist, and they'll tell you, that's about as good as it gets. I quit music and began acting in 1974 and through the years have had the opportunity to meet and to work with many of the people whose work I'd enjoyed on the big and small screen (some since childhood). And, believe me, for a small-town kid from Louisiana, it has all been pretty mind-blowing and fantastic and I feel the best is yet to come.

I have just recently put myself back into the acting arena after reconnecting with an old friend, Jeff Langton, who said he credits me as being the person who got him into acting. I�m proud of that because I remember when he first talked of getting into the business and I remember the joy I felt in my heart when I first saw him on the screen realizing his dream. It was further proof to me that if you pursue your dreams with all of your energy and focus, nothing is impossible. Through him, I met another invaluable friend, Todd Henschell, an immensely talented and, in my humble opinion, quite brilliant person who is responsible for, among a multitude of other things, my headshots which have helped me get called into quite a few auditions since my re-entry into the world of acting.

Additionally, I have just started interning at a local cable access TV studio and have worked the cameras thus far, been a technical director, done audio and will soon get to do some television directing as well. This will eventually give me more control over anything I choose to possibly produce on my own in the future. Since I have been doing some screenwriting in addition to songwriting, I feel it wont be long before I will want to do some producing and directing in projects as well as performing. So far I have been having a blast playing a doctor twice (once in a commercial for University Medical Center Caregivers, then in a pilot for Discovery Channel), a severely, depressed lawyer for USC School of Social Work, a homeless man (once in a short film and the other in a pilot), and loads of other characters. Also, in 2007 (in a role never shot), I was cast as yet another doctor, Dr. Gerald Hill, a character described as "The Chief, African-American, late 40s/early 50s, a thinker, theorizer, likes to talk through diagnoses, listener, not rushed, corny humor, enjoys challenges." in a recurring role for a new TLC series entitled, "Diagnosis X". The series now appears to have been cancelled after one season without my even getting to participate.

I also happily found the time to return to the stage in a fantastic play called "In My Mother's House" with a truly, talented cast. It was ensemble work at its best. The cast felt as close as the family we were portraying and the characters were so well-written it would have been very difficult to not perform them well. It was an amazing experience! The kind every actor who really loves acting, not just what they think it can lead to, lives for. Most recently on stage, I revisited Shakespeare playing the Duke of Venice/Lodovico (the characters were combined) in Othello with the L.A. Shakespeare Company (photos directly below). I first played Lodovico (but not the Duke) in the late 70s in Los Angeles. To see samples of some of my recent (and not so recent) work (including excerpts from this play) click the following link for my video clips.

The latest addition to the video clips are the four "Flex Your Power" spots I appear in which are currently showing on You Tube and on the Flex Your Power website. They are part of the current admirable effort to combat, and to raise public awareness about, global warming, an issue which poses a serious threat to the future of humankind. I also completed a national spot for Secure Horizons which ran for awhile in which I play, appropriately enough, a veteran and a grandfather. It's among the clips I have posted. It is not running anymore but keep your eyes peeled for that one as it might (hint, hint) resurface (perhaps slightly or totally different from the original version). I have also decided to throw my hat into the voice-over ring and you can hear my voice-over demo by clicking this link to my audio demo.

I invaded still another aspect of the entertainment industry in the last year and the fantastic results of that invasion can be seen in the following photos.

In music videos, I have worked with such diverse talents as Mary, Mary, Anthony Hamilton, Ice Cube, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers just to name a few. I also completed one in 2007 at Paramount Studios with a young lady from Japan, Ms Namie Amuro, where I had a blast playing a 1970s style radio dj who was playing her cover of "Rock Steady". MTV Japan was on hand covering the video shoot and Ms Amuro and they did an interview and some still shots with me as well.

As the saying goes, "it aint over until..." Life may be short but it is also full of possibilities as long as we continue to believe and not close ourselves off to all its possibilities. Just remember the laws of attraction.