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

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

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

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hay ...

'' 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 and a story by both. It is the sequel to the 1985 film ''Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the ' ...

''. 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 superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'', ''

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 List of The Jeffersons episodes, 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longe ...

''. ''

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 a ...

'' and ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series ...

'', and more recently ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

'' 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, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the show ...

''. White, who was raised in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

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, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development ...

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 (A.C.T.) 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 Ameri ...

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 thre ...

, who was playwright in residence at the time. White originated the role of the military officer in Williams' play ''

This Is (An Entertainment) ''This Is (An Entertainment)'' is a play by Tennessee Williams. Similar in plot to that of '' Idiot's Delight'' by Robert E. Sherwood, it focuses on a hedonistic countess, the wife of a wealthy manufacturer of ammunition, who arrives at an elegant ...

''. In 1975, the group went to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

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 ...

cultural exchange Cultural diplomacy is a type of public diplomacy and soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding". The purpos ...

, performing at the

Bolshoi Theater The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

in Moscow, as well as in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

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. The second installment in a trilogy, the release was preceded by '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1967) and followed by '' The Organizati ...

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

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

'' (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. Strategy In the event of a ...

'' (1984) - Highway Patrolman *''

Black Moon Rising ''Black Moon Rising'' is a 1986 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 revolves around ...

'' (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, Adam, ...

'' (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 operative sent to assassinate an anti-communist rebel leader in Africa, only to side with the rebe ...

'' (1988) - Kallunda Kintash *''

Liberty & Bash ''Liberty & Bash'' is a 1989 Action film starring Miles O'Keeffe and Lou Ferrigno as Vietnam war buddies who team up to rid their community of drugs. Plot Miles O'Keeffe and Lou Ferrigno star as Vietnam war buddies Liberty and Bash, who team up ...

'' (1989) - Detective Anderson *''

'' (1989) - Lewis (Dad) *''Servants of Twilight'' (1991) - Pete Lockburn *''

Leprechaun 2 ''Leprechaun 2'' (also known as ''One Wedding and Lots of Funerals'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1994 American fantasy comedy horror film directed by Rodman Flender and written by Turi Meyer and Al Septien. The sequel to Mark Jones' ''Leprech ...

'' (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 African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people