Obba Babatundé (born Donald Cohen; December 1, 1951) is an American actor. A native of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time series.

Early life and education

Babatundé was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. As a child, he attended public schools. He was attracted early to theater and from a young age would sing, dance and act for his family. He attended Jamaica High School where he was a well-rounded student who, in addition to appearing in the Sing '68 school musical program, was a student aide and a member of both the track and cross country teams. After graduating from Jamaica High School in 1969, he started teaching at a private school for students of color. He also pursued acting jobs in New York, gaining some roles

Off-Off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...

. Learning that his ancestry included people from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, he adopted a name made of Yoruba words: ''Obba'', for "king", and ''Babatunde'', meaning "father has returned again."Chika Udeh, "Everything You Must Know about Hollywood Icon Obba Babatunde"
''Buzz Nigeria'', 2018

Acting career

Babatundé has said a breakthrough role was gaining a part in a 1976 touring company of ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'', starring

Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries ''Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Globe ...

and

Richard Roundtree Richard Roundtree (born July 9, 1942) is an American actor. Roundtree is noted as being "the first black action hero" for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film ''Shaft'', and its four sequels, released between 1972 and 2 ...

. Since then he has performed in many other stage productions. His first Broadway performance was in ''

Timbuktu! ''Timbuktu!'' is a musical, with lyrics by George Forrest and Robert Wright, set to music by Borodin, Forrest and Wright. The book is by Luther Davis. It is a resetting of Forrest and Wright's musical '' Kismet''. The musical is set in 1361 in ...

'' in 1978. He performed with Liza Minnelli in the documentary film “Liza In New Orleans” in 1980. He is known for starring as the original C.C. White in ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,G ...

'', for which he was nominated for a 1982 Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical. After performing on Broadway in this role, he also toured for two years with the company."Obba Babatunde"
Broadway Productions, Internet Broadway Database, 2001–2019 He gradually moved into film and television work, and has had numerous roles in both genres.

Film

His feature film appearances include ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' as Willie, ''The Celestine Prophecy'', '' Material Girls'', ''

After the Sunset ''After the Sunset'' is a 2004 American heist action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner and starring Pierce Brosnan as Max Burdett, a master thief caught in a pursuit with FBI agent Stan Lloyd, played by Woody Harrelson. It was shot in the Bah ...

'', ''The Manchurian Candidate'', ''

The Notebook ''The Notebook'' is a 2004 American romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, with a screenplay by Jeremy Leven and Jan Sardi, based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams ...

'', a SWAT captain in ''John Q'', an attorney in ''Philadelphia'' (1993), ''The Last Fall'', ''If I Tell You I Have To Kill You'', ''The Fallen Faithful'', ''Trapped'', ''Tension'', and '' Kinky''. He also played Dean Cain in the film ''

How High ''How High'' is a 2001 American stoner comedy film starring Method Man and Redman, written by Dustin Lee Abraham, and director Jesse Dylan's debut feature film. In the film, Redman and Method Man portray two cannabis users who are visited by ...

'', as well as the role of Willie Long in ''

'', Lamar in ''

That Thing You Do! ''That Thing You Do!'' is a 1996 American comedy film co-starring, written, and directed by Tom Hanks, in his feature writing and directorial debut. It tells the story of the rise and fall of a fictional 1960s one-hit wonder pop band, and st ...

,'' and Mayor Denny in '' Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups.''

Television

Babatundé has appeared in three prime-time series:

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

' ''Madam Secretary'', as Barton Royce in the Showtime's '' I'm Dying Up Here'' (2017), and as Dean Fairbanks in Netflix's ''Dear White People'' (2017–2018). Babatundé appeared in a recurring role on ''

Kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

'' and Amazon's ''Hand of God'', as Bishop Bruce Congdon. He also appeared in ''

Half & Half ''Half & Half'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeffrey Klarik that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006. The show focuses on the lives of two paternal half-sisters in their twenties who were estranged throughout t ...

'', as well as appearances on ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...

'', '' Boston Legal'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'', ''NCIS'', ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

'', '' Strong Medicine'', ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

'', ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced ...

'', '' Chicago Hope'', '' Any Day Now, Karen Sisco,

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

'', and '' Friends.'' In the 1998 miniseries, ''

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

'', he played

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

, the founder of Motown Records. Babatundé appeared as Daniel Harrelson Sr., the father of

Shemar Moore Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor. His notable roles include Malcolm Winters on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1994–2005), Derek Morgan on ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2016), and the lead role of Sergeant II Dani ...

's character in the 2017 series ''

S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

''.

Other ventures

Voice acting

Babatundé's voice acting roles in animated films and games include

Lando Calrissian Landonis Balthazar "Lando" Calrissian III is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) as an old friend of Han Solo and the administrator of the floating Cloud City on the gas p ...

in '' Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds'', '' Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader'', '' Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike'', and '' Disney Infinity 3.0'' as well as Conroy in '' Rocket Power.'' In the animated feature ''

The Wild Thornberrys Movie ''The Wild Thornberrys Movie'' is a 2002 American animated adventure film based on the television series of the same name. Directed by Cathy Malkasian and Jeff McGrath, the film follows Eliza Thornberry, on her quest to save a cheetah cub named ...

'', Babatundé voiced the character of Boko, and in the 2016 Air Bud Entertainment film ''Pup Star'', he played the soul-singing Basset Hound, Big Ears.

Producer and director

Babatundé was co-producer and director of ''Oscar's Black Odyssey'', co-producer of ''Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty'', and co-producer of ''TV in Black: The First 50 Years''. He is associate producer of the horror film ''Voodoo Dolls'' and executive producer of ''Journey''. Most recently, Babatundé directed and co-stars with Katt Williams in the

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

feature film ''American Bad Boy'', and he produced and directed the short film ''Clarissa's Gift''. Babatundé also directed a version of the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls''. He co-authored, directed, and produced ''In the Blink of an Eye''.

Singing

Some of his recorded works include singing the title track on the Onaje Allan Gumbs's album ''Sack Full of Dreams'', and "The Gal That Got Away" on ''Over The Rainbow'', the Harold Arlen soundtrack. In 1982 Babatunde starred as Zodzetrick in the Houston Grand Opera's second production of Scott Joplin's opera ''

Treemonisha ''Treemonisha'' (1911) is an opera by American ragtime composer Scott Joplin. It is sometimes referred to as a "ragtime opera", though Joplin did not refer to it as such and it encompasses a wide range of musical styles. The music of ''Treemonis ...

''. They had produced it first in 1976. After the opera was rediscovered, the world premiere was produced in 1972 by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Morehouse College chorus.

Awards and nominations

In 2016, Babatundé received the

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

Award for "Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series", as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Peachtree Village International Film Festival. In 2010, Babatundé won NAACP Theatre Awards' "Best Lead Male" for his portrayal of Sammy Davis, Jr. in the Old Globe production of the musical ''Sammy''. Babatundé was nominated for an Emmy in the HBO film '' Miss Evers' Boys'', an NAACP Image Award in the HBO film ''

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge ''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'' is a 1999 American biographical drama television film directed by Martha Coolidge from a screenplay by Shonda Rhimes and Scott Abbott, based on the biography ''Dorothy Dandridge'' by Earl Mills. Filmed over a spa ...

'', and an

Ovation Award The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...

and a Tony Award for his role as C.C. White in the original Broadway cast of ''

''. He won an NAACP Image Award as "Best Actor" for his role as Sarge in ''A Soldiers Play''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Babatunde, Obba 1951 births Living people African-American male actors American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Nigerian descent American people of Yoruba descent Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series winners Daytime Emmy Award winners Male actors from New York City People from Jamaica, Queens Yoruba male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people