Lou Myers (September 26, 1935 – February 19, 2013) was an American actor. Myers was born in Cabin Creek, West Virginia, the son of Dorothy Jeffries (née Brown). He was typically typecast as a grumpy old man, but he appeared in many movies, stage plays television sitcoms, and dramas. He got his first break as an

understudy In theater, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

in the

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 ...

play, ''The First Breeze of Summer'' as Reverend Mosley. He is perhaps best known as the feisty Mr. Vernon Gaines in the sitcom ''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom (and a spin-off of ''The Cosby Show'') television series that aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...

''. Myers was also an accomplished pianist. Myers died at the

Charleston Area Medical Center Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) is the name of a complex of hospitals in Charleston, West Virginia, formed via a merger of previously independent facilities. It is the state's largest hospital. Charleston Area Medical Center is the primar ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

after battling

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

for several months.

Filmography

Awards

Myers won an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for his role as the Stool Pigeon in the August Wilson play, ''King Hedley II''. He also won the Off-Broadway

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 awar ...

Award for his role in the play, ''Fat Tuesday''. In 2005 the Appalachian Education Initiative listed Myers as one of 50 "Outstanding Creative Artists" from the State of West Virginia and featured him in their coffeetable book ''Art & Soul''.

References

External links

* *
Interview with Lou Myers
mosaec.com 1935 births 2013 deaths African-American male actors American male film actors American male television actors People from Cabin Creek, West Virginia Male actors from West Virginia 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people Deaths from pneumonia in West Virginia {{US-screen-actor-1930s-stub