Haywood Knowles Nelson Jr. (born March 25, 1960) is an American actor. He is best known for having portrayed Dwayne Nelson in the television series ''

What's Happening!! ''What's Happening!!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, until April 28, 1979, premiering as a summer series. Due to other shows being cancelled across the network, and good ratings and reviews from ...

'', which aired from 1976 to 1979, as well as in its spin-off series ''

What's Happening Now!! ''What's Happening Now!!'' is an American sitcom sequel to the original ABC 1976–79 sitcom '' What's Happening!!'' focusing on its main characters as adults. It aired in first-run broadcast syndication from September 7, 1985 until March 26, 19 ...

'', from 1985 to 1988.

Biography

Haywood Nelson has been a member of the entertainment community for over forty years. Born in New York, he began his career at the age of six with numerous principle on-camera and voice-over national commercials, including Lavoris, Campbell's Soup, Libby's, Polaroid, Hot Wheels, Rock'em Sock'em Robots, Johnny Lightening, Aurora AFX, Kodak, Duncan Hines, Milk, Burger King, and Dean Witter. Nelson appeared as a co-star in several feature films, including '' If You Give a Dance, You Gotta Pay the Band'', '' Mixed Company'' , '' This Property Is Condemned'', and a featuring role in ''

Evilspeak ''Evilspeak'' is a 1981 American horror film directed by Eric Weston and co-written by Weston and Joseph Garofalo. The film stars Clint Howard as an outcast cadet named Stanley Coopersmith, who frequently gets tormented by his mates and advisers ...

''. Haywood also spent a two-year run on Broadway in ''

Thieves Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

''. Nelson guest starred on ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, ...

'' in the episode "The Godson" as Bobby Moore. At the age of 14, he went on to guest star in the television series '' Sanford and Son'' as the grandson of Whitman Mayo's '' Grady'' then acting in the series of the same name, '' Grady'' in 1975. The next year, in 1976, at the age of 16, Haywood soon landed the role of "Dwayne" in the television series "Cooley High," which became the ABC hit series "What's Happening!" for TOY Productions. As a "teenage heartthrob" on a popular television series, Nelson was one of the first Black

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia East Asia possess ...

s. After threes seasons Nelson went on to a short run on the television series '' The White Shadow'' for MTM Enterprises. Haywood had his studies in Architectural Design and Electronics Engineering interrupted when the cast of ''

'' was re-united for three seasons of syndication in the series continuation ''

'' for Columbia Pictures Television where he also observed as Technical Director. Later Haywood appeared in an urban dramatic Broadway production at New York's Lincoln Center Alice Tully Hall, appeared As Himself in the Paramount film '' Dickie Roberts'' and a role on ''

The Parkers ''The Parkers'' is an American television sitcom aired on UPN from August 30, 1999, to May 10, 2004. A spin-off of UPN's ''Moesha'', ''The Parkers'' features the mother-daughter team of Nikki (played by Mo'Nique) and Kim Parker (played by Counte ...

''. He is a devout

Scientologist Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The most recent published census data in ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
Haywood Nelson
on the cover of '' Right On!'' magazine, February 1977.
''Ebony'', Vol. Vol. 33, No. 8 (June 1978), p. 82.Interview with Haywood "Dwayne" Nelson
1998-11-01,

In Black America Produced at KUT, ''In Black America'' is a long-running, nationally syndicated program dedicated to all facets of the African American experience. John L Hanson Jr. profiles a diverse selection of current and historically significant figures wh ...

; KUT Radio,

American Archive of Public Broadcasting The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The AAPB is a national effort to digital ...

( WGBH and the Library of Congress) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Haywood 1960 births Living people Male actors from New York City American male child actors American male television actors American male film actors American male stage actors American Scientologists African-American male child actors 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people