Kevin Hooks (born September 19, 1958) is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

, and a television and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

; he is notable for his roles in '' Aaron Loves Angela'' and '' Sounder'', but may be best known as Morris Thorpe from TV's '' The White Shadow''.

Early life and acting career

Kevin Hooks was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, the son of Yvonne, a state employee, and

Robert Hooks Robert Hooks (born Bobby Dean Hooks; April 18, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and activist. Along with Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald S. Krone, he founded The Negro Ensemble Company. The Negro Ensemble Company is credited with the laun ...

, a director and actor who starred in many films in the 1970s. Kevin's nickname among his friends is "King Royal". Hooks lived in

Southwest, Washington, D.C. Southwest (SW or S.W.) is the southwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located south of the National Mall and west of South Capitol Street. It is the smallest quadrant of the city, and contains a small n ...

in the late-1970s. He attended Potomac High School in Oxon Hill,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

. When he was still 10, Kevin starred in the acclaimed ''J.T.'', a 1969 episode of the ''CBS Children's Hour'' about a sensitive Harlem youth who befriends a sick cat. Written by Jane Wagner, it was a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

winner. Hooks appeared in the hit 1972 movie '' Sounder'' as the pre-teen elder son of Paul Winfield's and

Cicely Tyson Cicely Louise Tyson (December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career which spanned more than seven decades in film, television and theatre, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson recei ...

's characters, providing the point of view of the film. He held the story together as a boy thrust into being "man of the family" on a sharecropping farm during the Depression. The adults were nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress Oscars respectively for their performances. Hooks won a role in the last film directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., '' Aaron Loves Angela'' (1975). Set in contemporary Harlem at New York's grittiest and most depressing ebb, that film was regarded as a "

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president ...

" version of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'', using African American and Puerto Rican ethnicity in lieu of medieval families. While playing a withdrawn teenager, Hooks created electricity opposite the 15-year-old

Irene Cara Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress of Black, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent. Cara rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and f ...

. Jose Feliciano in a bit part and a little comic relief lighten the grimness, as the young lovers encounter nothing but intolerance, and the secret location where they meet becomes the site of a dangerous drug deal. The movie was popular locally and praised by fans, but widely considered a weakly plotted failure. Hooks went on to portray high school basketball player Morris Thorpe in the successful TV series about high-school basketball, ''The White Shadow'', which ran from 1978 to 1981. Morris Thorpe was reportedly voted one of America's 100 favorite characters in the history of television. In 1986, he starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom ''

He's the Mayor ''He's the Mayor'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from January 10 to March 21, 1986. It stars Kevin Hooks as a 25-year-old man who is elected mayor of his hometown. Cast and characters *Kevin Hooks as Mayor Carl Burke *Al Fann as Alvin ...

''.

Director roles

In 1991, Hooks directed the film '' Strictly Business'', and also appeared in one scene opposite Kim Coles. He directed

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. His prominent film roles include '' Major League'' (1989), ''New Jack City'' (1991), '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992), '' Passenger 57'' (1992), '' ...

in '' Passenger 57'',

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...

and Stephen Baldwin in ''

Fled ''Fled'' is a 1996 American buddy action comedy film directed by Kevin Hooks. It stars Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin as two prisoners chained together who flee during an escape attempt gone bad. Plot An interrogator prepares a man t ...

'', and also

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...

in '' Black Dog''. Hooks worked as a director and producer on the series ''

Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller); Burrows has been sentenced ...

''. He also directed two episodes from the first season of ''Lost'', " White Rabbit" and "

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

". In 2003, Hooks revisited ''Sounder''. He directed ABC's

Wonderful World of Disney The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

's TV remake of the film, with Paul Winfield, his co-star from the original, playing a different role. Hooks directed the following episodes of ''

'': *1.14 - " The Rat" *1.22 - "

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

" *2.01 - "

Manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...

" *2.09 - " Unearthed" *2.14 - "

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are ofte ...

" *2.22 - " Sona" *3.01 - " Orientacion" *3.06 - "

Photo Finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

" *3.12 - " Hell or High Water" *4.01 - "

Scylla In Greek mythology, Scylla), is obsolete. ( ; grc-gre, Σκύλλα, Skúlla, ) is a legendary monster who lives on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite her counterpart Charybdis. The two sides of the strait are within an arrow's ran ...

" *4.11 - " Quiet Riot" *4.16 - " The Sunshine State" *4.22 - " Killing Your Number" He directed the film '' Prison Break: The Final Break'' (2009) based on the series. Hooks is credited as the director of the 2017 Madiba, a three-part

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

television special about the life of the late

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

and the struggle of the ANC which with the leadership of Mandela, famously succeeded to overthrow the regime of

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 ...

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 ...

, starring

in the role of Mandela. In 2020, he directed an episode on ''

The Good Lord Bird ''The Good Lord Bird'' is a 2013 novel by James McBride about Henry Shackleford, an enslaved person, who unites with John Brown in Brown's abolitionist mission. The novel won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2013 and received generally po ...

''.

References

Bibliography

* Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995''. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 324.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hooks, Kevin 1958 births Male actors from Philadelphia African-American male actors African-American film directors African-American television directors American male film actors American male child actors Film directors from Pennsylvania American male television actors American television directors Television producers from Pennsylvania Living people Artists from Philadelphia African-American male child actors 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people