Charles Brown (January 15, 1946 – January 8, 2004) was an American actor and a member of
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
troupe the
Negro Ensemble Company
The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) is a New York City-based theater company and workshop established in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer-actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald S. Krone, with funding from the Ford Foundation ...
. He was best known for his performances in
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
and
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
plays by
Samm-Art Williams
Samm-Art Williams (born Samuel Arthur Williams; January 20, 1946) is an American playwright and screenwriter, and a stage and film/ TV actor and television producer. Much of his work concerns the African-American experience.
He was nominated ...
and
August Wilson
August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
.
Biography
Charles Brown was born in
Talladega, Alabama
Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...
, and raised in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
the son of Mack Brown Sr. His siblings included brothers Mack Jr. and Ramon and sister Shirley.
After serving in the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, Brown studied
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
at
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
, in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
He performed with that city's D.C. Black Repertory Company, and elsewhere.
Brown became a regular member of the
Negro Ensemble Company
The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) is a New York City-based theater company and workshop established in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer-actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald S. Krone, with funding from the Ford Foundation ...
, where his roles included Southern farmer Cephus Miles in
Samm-Art Williams
Samm-Art Williams (born Samuel Arthur Williams; January 20, 1946) is an American playwright and screenwriter, and a stage and film/ TV actor and television producer. Much of his work concerns the African-American experience.
He was nominated ...
' ''Home'' (1979) and military investigator Captain Richard Davenport in 1944
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
in
Charles Fuller's ''
A Soldier's Story'' (1981). ''Home'' moved to Broadway in 1980, earning Brown a
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
nomination for Best Actor in a Play. In 2001 he received his second, for Best Featured Actor in a Play, for his role as the gambler and
con man
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...
Elmore in
August Wilson
August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...
's ''
King Hedley II
''King Hedley II'' is a play by American playwright August Wilson, the ninth in his ten-part series, ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. The play ran on Broadway in 2001 and was revived Off-Broadway in 2007.
Productions
''King Hedley II'' premiered at the ...
''. That part won him a 2001
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...
.
Other stage work includes roles in
Neil Simon
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...
's ''Rumors'' (1988);
John Guare
John Guare ( ;; born February 5, 1938) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is best known as the author of ''The House of Blue Leaves'' and ''Six Degrees of Separation''.
Early life
He was raised in Jackson Heights, Queens.Druckman, ...
's ''A Few Stout Individuals'' (2002);
Jessica Blank
Jessica Blank (born in New Haven, Connecticut), is an American actress, writer, and director who works in film, television, and theater. She is also a consultant and public speaker on story and social change.
Early life and education
Blank grew u ...
and Erik Jensen's ''
The Exonerated
''The Exonerated'' is a made-for-cable television film that dramatizes the stories of six people, some of whom, were wrongfully convicted of murder and other offenses, placed on death row, and later exonerated and freed after serving varying ye ...
'';
Don Evans
Donald Thomas Evans (April 27, 1938 – October 16, 2003) was an American playwright, theater director, actor and educator.
Early life and education
Evans was born April 27, 1938, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Mary Evans. Afte ...
' ''Showdown''; Leslie Lee's ''First Breeze of Summer'' (1975);
Richard Wesley
Richard Wesley (born July 11, 1945) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is an associate professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing.
Early life
Wesley w ...
's ''The Mighty Gents'' (1978); Steve Carter's ''Nevis Mountain Dew''; and Wilson's ''
Fences
A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary.
Fence or fences may also refer to:
Entertainment Music
* Fences (band), an Amer ...
'' (1987), in which he portrayed the older son of a character played by
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
.
Television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
credits included the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
-shot series ''
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, it ...
'', ''
The Cosby Show
''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...
'', ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
'', ''
Law & Order: SVU'', and ''
The Equalizer''.
In the 1983 TV series ''
Kennedy'', he portrayed the civil rights leader
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
Brown was married to Renee Lescook.
He died of
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, where he lived.
Partial filmography
*''
Headin' for Broadway
''Headin' for Broadway'' is a 1980 American drama film directed by Joseph Brooks and written by Joseph Brooks, Larry Gross, and Hilary Henkin. The film stars Rex Smith, Terri Treas, Vivian Reed, Paul Carafotes, Gary Gendell and Benjamin Rayso ...
'' (1980) - Pimp
*''
Without a Trace
''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...
'' (1983) - Sachs
*''
Trading Places
''Trading Places'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis, with a screenplay by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. Starring Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, and Jamie Lee Curtis, the ...
'' (1983) - Officer Reynolds
*''
Legal Eagles
''Legal Eagles'' is a 1986 American legal romantic comedy mystery crime thriller film directed by Ivan Reitman, written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr. from a story by Reitman and the screenwriters, and starring Robert Redford, Debra Winger, and ...
'' (1986) - Real Cavanaugh
*''
Drop Squad
''Drop Squad'' (sometimes spelled as ''DROP Squad'' or ''D.R.O.P. Squad'') is a 1994 American drama film directed by David C. Johnson and executive produced by Spike Lee via his production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. The plot depicts a t ...
'' (1994) - Uncle Otha
References
External links
*
*
Charles Brownat
Internet Off-Broadway Database
The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway.
The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundation ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Charles
1946 births
2004 deaths
African-American male actors
American male film actors
American male stage actors
Drama Desk Award winners
21st-century American male actors
Male actors from Alabama
Male actors from Cleveland
Howard University alumni
United States Navy sailors
20th-century American male actors
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in Ohio
People from Talladega, Alabama
21st-century African-American people
African-American United States Navy personnel
African Americans in the Vietnam War
20th-century African-American people