Carl Winston Lumbly (born August 14, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Dick Hallorann in '' Doctor Sleep'',

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

detective Marcus Petrie on the CBS police drama ''

Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...

'',

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

agent Marcus Dixon on the ABC espionage drama series ''

Alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the J ...

'', and as the voice of J'onn J'onnz / Martian Manhunter in the animated series ''

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...

'' and ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics univers ...

'', as well as the direct-to-DVD animated film '' Justice League: Doom'' and the video game '' Injustice: Gods Among Us''. Lumbly is also known for his roles on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW See ...

as J'onn J'onnz's father, M'yrnn, on ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'' from 2017 until 2019, and on the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

's ''

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ''The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' is an American television miniseries created by Malcolm Spellman for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Sam Wilson / Falcon and Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier. ...

'' as Isaiah Bradley in 2021.

Early life and background

Lumbly was born to Jamaican immigrants in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...

. He graduated from South High School there and

Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...

in nearby

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. Lumbly's first career was as a journalist in Minnesota. While on assignment for a story about a workshop theatre, he was cast as an actor. He stayed with the

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

al company for two years and later moved to San Francisco where he discovered a newspaper ad seeking “two black actors for South African political plays.” He went to the audition and landed one of the parts (along with then-unknown

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the '' Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films inclu ...

). Lumbly toured with Glover in productions of Athol Fugard's ''

Sizwe Bansi is Dead ''Sizwe Banzi Is Dead'' (originally produced and published as: ''Sizwe Bansi is Dead'') is a play by Athol Fugard, written collaboratively with two South African actors, John Kani and Winston Ntshona, both of whom appeared in the original produ ...

'' and '' The Island''.

Career

His first major role was Detective Marcus Petrie on the television series ''

'' (1982–1988), where his character was paired with Detective Victor Isbecki (

Martin Kove Martin Kove () (born ) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Kreese, the main antagonist of ''The Karate Kid'' (1984). He reprised the role in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986), '' The Karate Kid Part III'' (1989), and th ...

). In 1985, he appeared as

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describ ...

in ''The Gospel At Colonus'', an African-American musical iteration of the

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...

legend on PBS' ''Great Performances'' series. In 1987, he garnered positive reviews for his portrayal of

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...

co-founder

Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", ...

in the HBO television film ''Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8''. From 1989 to 1990, he portrayed ongoing character Earl Williams (named for the prisoner in Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's story '' The Front Page''), a teacher falsely accused of the rape/murder of a female student, in the hit TV series '' L.A. Law''. In 1990, he co-starred in Charles Burnett's critically acclaimed film ''

To Sleep with Anger ''To Sleep with Anger'' is a 1990 American black comedy film written and directed by Charles Burnett. In 2017, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, h ...

''. From 1994 to 1995, Lumbly starred as the main character in the short-lived

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

series ''

M.A.N.T.I.S. ''M.A.N.T.I.S.'' is an American superhero television series that aired for one season on the Fox Network between August 26, 1994, and March 3, 1995. The original two-hour TV movie pilot was produced by Sam Raimi and developed by Sam Hamm. The ...

''. One of his most visible roles was as Marcus Dixon in the American television series ''

'' (2001–2006). Other prominent roles include providing the voice for

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and designed by artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" ...

in ''

'' and ''

'', as well as the character's father, M'yrnn J'onzz, in the series ''

''. In '' Superman: The Animated Series'', Lumbly voiced the mayor of

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

in the episode "Speed Demons" in 1997, and an alien military general in the episode "Absolute Power" in 1999. He voiced the villain

Stalker Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

on ''

Batman Beyond ''Batman Beyond'' (known as ''Batman of the Future'' outside the United States) is an American superhero animated television series developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation in collaborati ...

''. In 2000, Lumbly portrayed activist and Congressman

Ron Dellums Ronald Vernie Dellums (November 24, 1935 – July 30, 2018) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011. He had previously served thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Californ ...

in the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

original film '' The Color of Friendship''. Although the film was focused on Dellums' daughter's friendship with a white

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

n girl, the film also discussed Dellums' role in ending

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

in South Africa. Also in 2000, Lumbly guest starred in the season one ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'' episode "

Six Meetings Before Lunch The first season of the American political drama television series ''The West Wing'' aired in the United States on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 17, 2000 and consisted of 22 episodes. Cast Main cast * Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn, Deputy Wh ...

" as Jeff Breckenridge, a nominee for U.S. Assistant Attorney General who supports

reparations for slavery Reparations for slavery is the application of the concept of reparations to victims of slavery and/or their descendants. There are concepts for reparations in legal philosophy and reparations in transitional justice. Reparations can take numer ...

. Lumbly appeared as Daniel "Bulldog" Novacek in the 2004 television series ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of ...

''. He also plays a role in the '' Kane's Wrath'' expansion pack for the video game '' Command and Conquer 3''. More recently, he played police captain Joe Rucker on TNT's '' Southland''. In 2021, Lumbly guest starred in several episodes of the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

series ''

'' as Isaiah Bradley, which is set in the

. He was also cast as the father of Beth Pearson, Abraham Clarke, in the series, ''

This is Us ''This Is Us'' is an American family drama television series that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents, and their three children, in several different time frames. It s ...

''.

Personal life

Lumbly has been married twice and has one son. He was married to actress Vonetta McGee from 1987 until her death in 2010. Together they had one son, born in 1988. Lumbly married author Deborah Santana in 2015 and the couple divorced in 2019.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Awards and nominations

* 1980: Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Lead Performance - '' Eden''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lumbly, Carl 1951 births American actors of Jamaican descent American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors Male actors from Minneapolis Macalester College alumni Living people American male video game actors South High School (Minnesota) alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors