Allen Cliffton White (born May 17, 1942) is an American

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

. He has appeared in various movies, such as ''

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American disaster film, disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker in their List of directorial debuts, directoria ...

'' and '' Airplane II: The Sequel'', and ''

Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale; both wrote the story. It is a sequel to the 1985 film ''Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the Back ...

''. Over the course of his Hollywood acting career, White has frequently portrayed police detectives in television and film.

Career

On screen, White is perhaps best known for his role in hit comedy ''Airplane!'' as the jive-talking man whose words have to be translated (he reprised the jive-talking for a courtroom scene in the sequel). He also acted in ''

'' and has a long television resume, including roles in popular shows ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

'', ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985. Lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes, ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history ...

''. ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

'' and ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...

'', and more recently '' CSI: Miami'' and ''

The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, with a total of 207 half-hour episodes spanning nine seasons. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who al ...

''. White, who was raised in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

from an early age, decided to embark on an acting career after he had been employed as a janitor in

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park is an urban park between the Richmond District, San Francisco, Richmond and Sunset District, San Francisco, Sunset districts on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the Lis ...

for eight years. White has won a number of awards for his theatre work. He later became a member of the

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The American ...

company for three years, performing in more than seventeen plays, from Shakespeare to playwright

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

, who was playwright in residence at the time. White originated the role of the military officer in Williams' play '' This Is (An Entertainment)''. In 1975, the group went to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

for a

bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

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, performing at the

Bolshoi Theater The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revoluti ...

in Moscow, as well as in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Partial filmography

*''

They Call Me Mister Tibbs! ''They Call Me Mister Tibbs!'' is a 1970 American DeLuxe Color crime drama film directed by Gordon Douglas (director), Gordon Douglas. The second installment in a trilogy, the release was preceded by ''In the Heat of the Night (film), In the H ...

'' (1970) - Spectator Outside Church (uncredited) *''

The Hollywood Knights ''The Hollywood Knights'' is a 1980 American teen comedy film written and directed by Floyd Mutrux. It depicts the crass and mischievous antics and practical jokes of the remaining members of a 1950s-era car club turned social fraternity in an ...

'' (1980) - Louis *''

'' (1980) - Second Jive Dude *''

'' (1982) - Burnett *''Gangster Wars'' (1981) - Big Joe Isson *'' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982) - Witness *''

'' (1984) - Eddie Scoggins *''

Massive Retaliation Massive retaliation, also known as a massive response or massive deterrence, is a military doctrine and nuclear strategy in which a state commits itself to retaliate in much greater force in the event of an attack. It is associated with the U. ...

'' (1984) - Highway Patrolman *''

Black Moon Rising ''Black Moon Rising'' is a 1986 American science fiction action thriller film directed by Harley Cokliss, written by John Carpenter, and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Hamilton, Robert Vaughn, Keenan Wynn, and Richard Jaeckel. The plot revol ...

'' (1986) - Maintenance Man *'' Big Trouble'' (1986) - Mr. Williams *''Omega Syndrome'' (1986) - Sergeant Carlyle *''

Critical Condition Medical state is a term used to describe a hospital patient's health status, or condition. The term is most commonly used in information given to the news media, and is rarely used as a clinical description by physicians. Two aspects of the pati ...

'' (1987) - Reggie *''

Russkies ''Russkies'' is a 1987 American comedy-drama film starring Whip Hubley and Leaf Phoenix, directed by Rick Rosenthal with cinematography by Reed Smoot. Plot A few nights before Independence Day, three 12-year old military brats (Danny, Ad ...

'' (1987) - Captain Foley *''

Red Scorpion ''Red Scorpion'' is a 1988 American action film starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Joseph Zito. Lundgren appears as a Soviet special forces ("Spetsnaz") operative sent to assassinate an anti-communist rebel leader in Africa, only to side ...

'' (1988) - Kallunda Kintash *'' Liberty & Bash'' (1989) - Detective Anderson *''

'' (1989) - Lewis (Dad) *''Servants of Twilight'' (1991) - Pete Lockburn *'' Leprechaun 2'' (1994) - Desk Sergeant *''Bombmeister'' (1995) *''Perfect Opposites'' (2004) - Dr. Barrett *''A Night at the Silent Movie Theater'' (2012) - Al - Dad

References

External links

*
Shockya interview with actor Al White, June 6, 2009, accessed 2011/1/20.
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Al 1942 births Living people American male film actors Male actors from San Francisco Male actors from Houston American male stage actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century African-American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors Theatre World Award winners