Charles Cissel (born October 3, 1948) is an American singer, dancer, director, choreographer and producer. He was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. He received his

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

, and was one of the first African Americans to graduate from the university's fine arts school. He was the CEO of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame from 2000–2009 and is now the Artistic Director of the

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization that honors jazz, blues and gospel music, gospel musicians in the state of Oklahoma. Housed in the former Union Depot (Tulsa, Oklahoma), Tulsa Union Depot, wh ...

, which is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In his early 20s Chuck performed on Broadway in '' Hello Dolly'' with

Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...

and

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

, ''

Purlie ''Purlie'' is a musical with a book by Ossie Davis, Philip Rose, and Peter Udell, lyrics by Udell and music by Gary Geld. It is based on Davis's 1961 play ''Purlie Victorious'', which was later made into the 1963 film ''Gone Are the Days!'' and w ...

'', ''

Lost in the Stars ''Lost in the Stars'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948) by Alan Paton. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1949; it was the composer's last work ...

'', ''

Via Galactica ''Via Galactica'' is a rock musical with a book by Christopher Gore and Judith Ross, lyrics by Gore, and music by Galt MacDermot. It marked the Broadway debut of actor Mark Baker. Originally entitled ''Up!'', it offers a futuristic story of soc ...

'', '' Don't Bother Me I Can't Cope'' and as an original member of the

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

, back when Broadway was starting to open up its doors to African American performers. While in A Chorus Line, Chuck recorded his first record, ''Swept Away'', produced by Michael Bennett, producer, director, and choreographer of A Chorus Line. Chuck then went on to record solo albums with

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

which were called ''Just for You'', featuring the hard-hitting international dance hit, ''Cisselin' Hot'' and ''If I Had The Chance''. Chuck Cissel is also the brother of former Oklahoma State Senator

Maxine Horner Maxine Edwyna Cissel Horner (January 17, 1933 – February 7, 2021) was one of the first African American women to serve in the Oklahoma State Senate, serving from 1986 to 2004, along with Vicki Miles-LaGrange. Horner held the position of Democr ...

who along with Oklahoma State Senator Penny Williams is a co-founder of the

. He met Austin Dylan in 2019 in a small town in Alabama.

External links

Living people Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma alumni American male musical theatre actors 1948 births Male actors from Tulsa, Oklahoma {{US-theat-actor-stub