Ji-Tu Cumbuka (March 4, 1940 – July 4, 2017) was an American actor. He is best remembered as "Torque" in the hit TV series ''

A Man Called Sloane ''A Man Called Sloane'' is an American secret agent adventure television series that aired on NBC during the 1979–1980 television season. It was a Woodruff Production in association with QM Productions and became the final series produced by ...

'' together with Robert Conrad and Dan O'Herlihy. In 2011, Cumbuka published his autobiography ''A Giant to Remember: The Black Actor in Hollywood''. He has a son and a granddaughter.

Early life

Cumbuka was born in 1940 in

Helena, Alabama Helena () is a city in Jefferson and Shelby counties in the state of Alabama. Helena is considered a suburb of Birmingham and part of the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area. As of 2022 thUnited States Census Bureau estimates the population to ...

, to a Baptist minister. After Texas Southern, he moved to California to pursue his acting career, and went to Columbia College in New York City, earning a bachelor of arts in theatre and a master's degree in cinematography. He landed a role in the 1968 movie '' Uptight'' directed by

Jules Dassin Julius "Jules" Dassin (December 18, 1911 – March 31, 2008) was an American film and theatre director, producer, writer and actor. A subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, he subsequently moved to France, and later Greece, whe ...

Acting career

Cumbuka appeared in such television productions as the ''Roots'' miniseries, ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

'', '' Young Dan'l Boone'', ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of ...

'', ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court ma ...

'', ''

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 serie ...

'', ''

Murder She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series ...

'', ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film '' Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both this series and that film starring Chuck Norris as a member of the ...

'', ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

'', ''Amen'', ''227'', '' Sanford and Son'', '' Hunter'', and '' In the Heat of the Night''. He was a main cast member of the hit spy TV series ''

'' with Robert Conrad and Dan O'Herlihy. Cumbuka also appeared in numerous films. He appeared as former NBA guard

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson playe ...

in the biodrama pic ''

Maurie Maurie is a masculine given name, sometimes a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Maurice. People named Maurie include: * Maurie Beasy (1896–1979), Australian rules footballer * Maurie Collins (1876–1943), Australian rules footballer * Maurie C ...

'' (1973) about the life of

Maurice Stokes Maurice Stokes (June 17, 1933 – April 6, 1970) was an American professional basketball player. He played for the Cincinnati/Rochester Royals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1955 to 1958. Stokes was a three-time NBA All-Star, ...

. In ''

Harlem Nights ''Harlem Nights'' is a 1989 American crime comedy-drama film starring and directed by Eddie Murphy, who also wrote. The film co-stars Richard Pryor, Michael Lerner, Danny Aiello, Redd Foxx (in his last film appearance before his death in 1991) ...

'' (1989), he plays the toothless drunk gambler who gets shot over money. Other films in which he appeared include (but are not limited to) ''

Change of Habit ''Change of Habit'' is a 1969 American crime drama musical film directed by William A. Graham and starring Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore. Written by James Lee, S.S. Schweitzer, and Eric Bercovici, based on a story by John Joseph and Ric ...

'' with Elvis Presley (1969), ''

Blacula ''Blacula'' is a 1972 American blaxploitation horror film directed by William Crain. It stars William Marshall in the title role about an 18th-century African prince named Mamuwalde, who is turned into a vampire (and later locked in a coffin) b ...

'' (1972), '' Trader Horn'' (1973), ''

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 ...

'' (1974), '' Mandingo'' (1975), ''

Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde ''Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde'' is a 1976 blaxploitation horror film loosely inspired by the 1886 novella '' Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film stars Bernie Casey and Rosalind Cash, and was directed by Willi ...

'' (1976), '' Bound for Glory'' (1976), ''

The Jericho Mile ''The Jericho Mile'' is a 1979 Emmy Award-winning United States made for TV crime film, directed by Michael Mann. The film won five awards, including three Emmy Awards. The story is set at Folsom Prison, where the film was shot on location in the ...

'' (1979), ''

Doin' Time "Doin' Time" is a song by the American band Sublime for their self-titled third album. The lyrics tell of a cheating girlfriend, whose infidelities and poor treatment of her lover makes him feel like he is in prison. It was released as a sing ...

'' (1985), '' Brewster's Millions'' (1985), ''

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

'' (1985), ''

Out of Bounds In sports, out of bounds (or out-of-bounds) refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. Due to the chaotic nature of play, it is normal in many sports for players and/or the ball to go out of bounds frequently during a game. T ...

'' (1986), '' Moving'' (1988), and '' Caged in Paradiso'' (1990). Cumbuka wrote, produce, and acted in the gospel musical play ''Help Somebody'', co-starring with

Kene Holliday Kenneth Earl Holliday (born June 25, 1949) is an American actor of stage, film, and television. He is known for his role as Ben Matlock's original private investigator, Tyler Hudson, on '' Matlock'', and as Sgt. Curtis Baker on ''Carter Country ...

, Hall Williams, Ali Woodson, and

Glynn Turman Glynn Russell Turman (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969), high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson ...

. It debuted 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, ...

in the late 90s.

Death

Cumbuka died at the age of 77 on July 4, 2017, after a six-month battle with cancer.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cumbuka, Ji-Tu 1940 births 2017 deaths American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors African-American male actors Male actors from Montgomery, Alabama Columbia University School of the Arts alumni United States Army soldiers Writers from Alabama Columbia College (New York) alumni 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people