Cleavant Derricks Jr. (born May 15, 1953) is an American actor and Tony Award winning singer-songwriter, who is best known for his role of Rembrandt Brown on ''

Sliders Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * ''The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

''.

Biography

Derricks was born in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the stat ...

to a pianist mother Cecile G. and

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

preacher/composer Cleavant Derricks Sr., famous for his popular gospel music hymn Just a Little Talk with Jesus. His twin brother is actor and musician Clinton Derricks-Carroll. Derricks began his career as a Nashville gospel songwriter. With his father, he wrote the gospel album ''Satisfaction Guaranteed''. He was the musical director and composer for the musical ''When Hell Freezes Over I'll Skate''. Derricks went to New York City to study acting with Vinnette Carroll at the Urban Arts Theatre. He received rave reviews for his performance in his Broadway shows, including ''But Never Jam Today''. He also won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for creating the role of James "Thunder" Early in '' Dreamgirls''. Off-Broadway he was in the William Finn musical ''

Romance in Hard Times ''Romance in Hard Times'' is a musical by William Finn. It ran briefly Off-Broadway in 1989 at the Public Theater. Productions An earlier version of the same show, '' America Kicks Up Its Heels'', received two staged readings from Playwrights Hor ...

'' in 1989. He also starred in the Broadway musical ''

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

'' as the Streetsinger. Soon afterwards, Derricks appeared in films such as '' Moscow on the Hudson'', Neil Simon's '' The Slugger's Wife'' and recently,

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

's ''Carnival of Souls''. He was a series regular on the short-lived television series '' Thea'' with Thea Vidale and

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

, and ''Good Sports'' with

Farrah Fawcett Farrah Leni Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played ...

and

Ryan O'Neal Ryan O'Neal (born April 20, 1941) is an American actor and former boxer. He trained as an amateur boxer before beginning his career in acting in 1960. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera '' Peyton Place ...

. His role as Rembrandt Brown on ''

'' with

Jerry O'Connell Jerry O'Connell (born February 17, 1974) is an American actor and television host. He is known for his roles as Quinn Mallory in the television series ''Sliders'', Andrew Clements in ''My Secret Identity'', Vern Tessio in the film '' Stand by M ...

Sabrina Lloyd Sabrina Anne Lloyd (born November 20, 1970) is an American retired film and television actress. She is known for portraying Wade Welles in the science fiction series ''Sliders'', Natalie Hurley in the ABC sitcom '' Sports Night'' and Kelly in '' ...

and John Rhys-Davies was the only ''Sliders'' character to appear throughout the entire series. In addition, Derricks has had numerous guest-starring roles in series such as ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Rosea ...

'', ''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom (and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show'') television series that aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) a ...

'', ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'', '' Spenser: For Hire'', ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcas ...

'', and many others. In 2019, Derricks took over the role of the Wizard of Oz in the 2nd U.S. tour of '' Wicked''.

Filmography

* ''

Miami Magma Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at t ...

'' (2011) as Ray Jackson * '' Rome & Jewel'' (2008) as Reverend Q * '' Cold Case'' (2007) * ''

The Wedding Bells ''The Wedding Bells'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on Fox from March 2 to April 6, 2007. The series was greenlighted after the network became interested in a series centered on wedding planners. The network approached ...

'' (2007) * ''Basilisk: The Serpent King'' (2006) as Col. Douglas * '' The Bernie Mac Show'' (2002) as Willie * ''

World Traveler ''World Traveler'' is a 2001 Canadian-American drama film written and directed by Bart Freundlich, and starring Billy Crudup and Julianne Moore. It was screened at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival. Premise The plot concerns a restle ...

'' (2001) as Carl * ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy ...

'' (2001) as Mr. Lees * '' 18 Wheels of Justice'' (2000) as Harold Baines * ''

'' (2000) as Cleavant Wilson * '' Touched by an Angel'' (1999) as Robert *

's '' Carnival of Souls'' (1998) as Sid * ''

'' (1995–2000) as Rembrandt 'Cryin' Man' Brown * '' Something Wilder'' (1994–1995) as Caleb * '' Thea'' (1993–1994) as Charles * '' Woops!'' (1992) as Frederick Ross * '' Drexell's Class'' (1991–1992) as George Foster * '' Good Sports'' (1991) as Jeff Mussberger * ''

Sibs ''Sibs'' is an American sitcom broadcast by ABC from September 17, 1991 until April 29, 1992. The series chronicled the relationship of three sisters, and the support the youngest two especially needed from their eldest married sister. ''Sibs'' ...

'' (1991) * '' L.A. Law'' (1991) as Mark Wright * ''

'' (1991) as Larry * ''

'' (1989) * " Sticks Henderson'' (1988) * ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...

'' (1987) as Leonard Haven * '' Spenser: For Hire'' (1987) as Mac Dickerson * '' Bluffing It'' (1987) as Cal * '' Mickey and Nora'' (1987) as Marvin * '' The Equalizer'' (1986) as Sonny Raines * '' Off Beat'' (1986) as Abe Washington * Neil Simon's '' The Slugger's Wife'' (1985) as Manny Alvarado * ''

'' (1985) as David Jones * '' Moscow on the Hudson'' (1984) as Lionel Witherspoon * '' The Ambush murders'' (1982) * ''

Fort Apache the Bronx ''Fort Apache, The Bronx'' is a 1981 American crime drama film directed by Daniel Petrie. The film is about a hard-drinking, lonely veteran cop, Murphy (Paul Newman), and his young partner Corelli (Ken Wahl), who work in a crime-ridden precinc ...

'' (1981) as Suspect No. 4 * '' When Hell Freezes Over, I'll Skate'' (1979) * '' Cindy'' (1978) as Michael Simpson

Discography

* '' Dreamgirls: Original Broadway Cast Album'' (1982) * ''Beginnings'' (1999) * ''Brooklyn'' (2004)

References

External links

Cleavant Derricks official website
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Derricks, Cleavant 1953 births Living people African-American male actors African-American musicians American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male television actors Drama Desk Award winners Identical twin male actors People from Knoxville, Tennessee Male actors from Tennessee Tony Award winners American twins 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American people