Charles Weldon (June 1, 1940 – December 7, 2018) was an actor, director, educator, singer, and songwriter. He was the artistic director 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 ...

for thirteen years. He was the co-founder of the Alumni of this company, and directed many of their productions. During his career he worked with Denzel Washington,

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 ...

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 ...

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King ...

, Muhammad Ali, and Oscar Brown Jr.

Early years

Weldon's mother was Beatrice Jennings; his father was Roosevelt Weldon. The family moved from Wetumka, Oklahoma, to Bakersfield, California, when he was seven years old. As a young boy, he worked in the cotton fields of Bakersfield until the age of seventeen, when he joined a local doo-wop group. He graduated from

Bakersfield High School Bakersfield High School (BHS) is a public four-year high school located in Bakersfield, California, United States. Opened in 1893, Bakersfield High School serves grades ninth through twelfth within the Kern High School District. Notable alumni ...

in 1959. He was the brother of actress Ann Weldon, singer Maxine Weldon, and Mae Frances Weldon. As the lead singer of The Paradons, he co-wrote the hit record "Diamonds and Pearls" in 1960. The group appeared on the

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

's '' American Bandstand'' television show and also toured with James Brown and

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

. After the group disbanded, Weldon joined the soul group Blues for Sale.

Career

Weldon began his acting career in 1969, with a role in the Oscar Brown Jr.'s musical ''Big-Time'' ''Buck White'' starring as Muhammad Ali. He joined the Negro Ensemble Company in 1970 and later became its artistic director in 2005. In 1973, he was a part of the Broadway cast of ''The River Niger'', with

and

. ''The River Niger'' was written by

Joseph A. Walker (playwright) Joseph Alexander Walker (February 24, 1935 – January 25, 2003) was an American playwright and screenwriter, theater director, actor and professor. He is best known for writing ''The River Niger'', a three-act play that was originally produced ...

and won 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 ce ...

for best play. Weldon appeared in the original San Francisco production of '' Hair'' and directed and acted in many regional theaters. For the Denver Theater Center, he appeared in twelve productions. His last project was the short film ''Paris Blues in Harlem'', which he co-produced and starred in with Nadhege Ptah and Michele Baldwin, who cast him in the project. Weldon starred in the role of the Jamaican Grim Reaper ''(the body-snatcher)'' in Sophia Romma's ''(playwright and Literary Manager of the Negro Ensemble Company from 2012)'' allegorical satire, ''The Blacklist'' at the 13th Street Repertory Company in 2016.

Onscreen

* '' Stir Crazy'' * ''

Serpico ''Serpico'' is a 1973 American neo-noir biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino in the title role. The screenplay was adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from the book of the same name written by ...

'' * ''

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

'' * ''The Wishing Tree''

Negro Ensemble Company Productions

*In 2016 - ''A Day of Absence'' by

Douglas Turner Ward Douglas Turner Ward (May 5, 1930February 20, 2021) was an American playwright, actor, director, and theatrical producer. He was noted for being a founder and artistic director of the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC). He was nominated for the Tony ...

*In 1982 - The Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize winner play ''A Soldier's Play''. *In 1975 - ''The Brownsville Raid'' *In 1973 - ''The Great Mac Daddy'' by

Paul Carter Harrison Paul Carter Harrison (March 1, 1936 – December 27, 2021) was an American playwright and professor. Harrison was known for works such as his Obie Award winning play ''The Great MacDaddy'' and scholarly writings on theater and performance. Betwee ...

*In 1973 - ''

The River Niger ''The River Niger'' is a play by Joseph A. Walker, first performed by New York City's Negro Ensemble Company off-Broadway in 1972. The production made its Broadway debut with a transfer to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on 27 March 1973 for a run ...

'' the Tony-winning Broadway production by Joseph A. Walker. *In 1970 - ''Ododo'' by Joseph Walker

Negro Ensemble Company as Director

* ''Colored People Time'', by Leslie Lee * ''The Waiting Room'' 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 ...

* ''Savanna Black and Blue'' by Raymond Jones * ''

Ceremonies in Dark Old Men A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

'' by Lonnie Elder III * ''Hercules Didn't Wade in the Water'' by Michael A. Jones * Negro Ensemble Theater Companies 50th Anniversary revival of '' A Soldier's Play'' by Charles Fuller * ''The Mire'' and ''With Aaron's Arms Around Me'', by Sophia Romma https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Sophia-Romma/at the Cherry Lane Theatre (2010) * ''Cabaret Emigre'', by Sophia Romma at the Lion Theatre (Theatre Row, 2012)

The Negro Ensemble Company Awards

* 1982 -a Pulitzer Prize for ''A Soldier's Play'' * Two Tony Awards * Eleven Obies

Castillo Theater

*2011: Directed ''The Picture Box'' *2013: Directed ''Stealing Home'' about Jackie Robinson

As an Actor

Filmography *1967: '' Who's Minding the Mint?'' - Guide (uncredited) *1972: ''

Trick Baby ''Trick Baby'' is a 1972 Blaxploitation film directed by Larry Yust and starring Kiel Martin and Mel Stewart. This crime-drama is based and named after a novel by Iceberg Slim written in 1967. The film was produced by Marshal Backlar and James L ...

'' - Tough *1975: '' Police Story'' (TV Series) - Stack / Harry Evans / James Reed *1975: '' Rooster Cogburn'' - Bailiff (uncredited) *1975: ''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ...

'' (TV Series) - J.W. Flowers *1976: ''

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, ...

'' (TV Series) - 'Shotgun Willie' Baine *1976: ''Dynasty'' (TV Movie) - Sam Adams *1976: ''

'' - Skeeter *1976: ''Kiss Me, Kill Me'' (TV Movie) - Leonard Hicks *1976: '' Sanford and Son'' (TV Series) - Miss Wallace / Alex Hacker *1978: '' A Woman Called Moses'' (TV Series) - Shadrack Davis *1979: ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investiga ...

'' (TV Series) - Watkins *1979: '' Roots: The Next Generations'' (TV Mini-Series) - Doxey Walker *1980: '' Stir Crazy'' *1981-1982: ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'' (TV Series) - Connelly / Lt. Clayton Shaw *1982: ''

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Overview It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever an ...

'' (TV Series) - Beau Willie *1982: '' Fast-Walking'' - Officer Jackson *1983: ''Another Woman's Child'' (TV Movie) - Roland *1984: ''

Gimme a Break! ''Gimme a Break!'' is an American television sitcom created by Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen, that aired on NBC for six seasons from October 29, 1981, to May 12, 1987. The series starred Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief ( ...

'' (TV Series) - Good Ol' Charlie Johnson *1985: ''The Atlanta Child Murders'' (TV Mini-Series) - John Bell *1985: '' St. Elsewhere'' (TV Series) - Andrew Turner *1986: ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'' (TV Series) - Cop #1 *1987: ''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who oper ...

'' (TV Series) - Doug Belton *1988: ''Case Closed'' (TV Movie) *1989: '' The Women of Brewster Place'' (TV Series) - Tenant #5 *1990-1999: '' Law & Order'' (TV Series) *1992: ''

'' - Follower at Temple #7 *1994: ''

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 ...

'' - Uncle Omar *1994: ''

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torre ...

'' (TV Series) - James Hampton / Croupier *1999: '' The Wishing Tree'' - Al 'Alfred' Brooks *2000: ''Clockin' Green'' (Video) - Al 'Alfred' Brooks *2001: ''Hoop Soldiers'' (Video) *2005: '' Law & Order: Trial by Jury'' (TV Series) - Juror #2 *2018: '' Diane'' - Tom *2018: ''Paris Blues in Harlem'' (Short) - Pop Pop (final film role)

Awards

* Henry Award for Excellence in Regional Theater for Best Supporting Actor in ''

Gem of the Ocean ''Gem of the Ocean'' (2003) is a play by American playwright August Wilson. Although the ninth play produced, chronologically it is the first installment of his decade-by-decade, ten-play chronicle, ''The Pittsburgh Cycle'', dramatizing the Afri ...

'' by August Wilson *

AUDELCO AUDELCO, the Audience Development Committee, Inc., was established in 1973 by Vivian Robinson to honor excellence in African American theatre in New York City. AUDELCO presents the Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards (also known as Viv awa ...

Award for Best Supporting Actor in ''

Seven Guitars ''Seven Guitars'' is a 1995 play by American playwright August Wilson. It focuses on seven African-American characters in the year 1948. The play begins and ends after the funeral of one of the main characters, showing events leading to the funer ...

'' by August Wilson

References

External links

Diamonds and Pearls

"Diamonds and Pearls" - Charles Weldon of The Paradons

Charles Weldon Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weldon, Charles 1940 births Male actors from California American male film actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors 2018 deaths African-American theater directors American theatre directors 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people