Thalmus Rasulala (born Jack Crowder; November 15, 1939October 9, 1991) was an American actor with a long career in theater, television, and films. Noted for starring roles in

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...

films, he was also an original cast member of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'' from its premiere in 1968 until he left the show in 1970.

Life and career

Born Jack Crowder in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, and a graduate of the

University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university headquartered in Redlands, California. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Califo ...

, he appeared in many films and made guest appearances on television shows. He also attended some classes at Shaw University, a

historically black university Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

in Raleigh, North Carolina in the late 1970s. Notable

film roles include Sidney Lord Jones in '' Cool Breeze'' (1972), Dr. Gordon Thomas in ''

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) and Robert Daniels in ''

Willie Dynamite ''Willie Dynamite'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation film directed by Gilbert Moses and starring Roscoe Orman, Diana Sands, Thalmus Rasulala, Joyce Walker, and was released by Universal Pictures. The eponymous Willie Dynamite is a pimp in New Yo ...

'' (1974); he also was the assistant director of ''

The Slams ''The Slams'' is a 1973 American action film directed by Jonathan Kaplan and starring Jim Brown. Plot Curtis Hook ( Jim Brown) is caught by the police after a heist. In jail, Curtis has to deal with people who want to know where he stashed the ...

'' (1973). On television, he was known as Skeeter Matthews on '' Sanford and Son'', Ned in ''The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'', Lt. Jack Neal on ''

'', Bill Thomas (Raj and Dee's father) on ''

What's Happening!! ''What's Happening!!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, until April 28, 1979, premiering as a summer series. Due to other shows being cancelled across the network, and good ratings and reviews from ...

'', and Omoro Kinte (

Kunta Kinte Kunta Kinte ( – ; ) is a character in the 1976 novel '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family'' by American author Alex Haley. Kunta Kinte was based on one of Haley's ancestors, a Gambian man who was born around 1750, enslaved, and taken to ...

's father) in ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

''. He also appeared on the first-season episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' hosted by

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

as a priest in the "Exorcist II" sketch. On the Broadway stage, under his original name Jack Crowder, Rasulala appeared as Cornelius Hackl in the hit musical '' Hello, Dolly!''. He was a leading member of the all-black cast that starred Pearl Bailey 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 ...

. The Bailey company opened on Broadway on November 12, 1967, and was recorded by RCA Victor for a best-selling cast album in which Rasulala is featured in several songs. He also appeared on ''Perry Mason'', '' Mannix'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'', ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'', ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...

'', '' Good Times'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', and ''

The Sophisticated Gents ''The Sophisticated Gents'' is a TV miniseries that aired on three consecutive nights from September 29 to October 1, 1981, on NBC. Its ensemble cast featured a number of African-American stage and film actors, many of whom were customarily seen ...

''. His other film roles include ''

Cornbread, Earl and Me ''Cornbread, Earl and Me'' is a 1975 American coming-of-age drama film that stars Tierre Turner, Laurence Fishburne (in his film debut), and NBA player Jamaal Wilkes. It was directed and co-produced by Joseph Manduke. The film is loosely based ...

'' (1975), ''

Mr. Ricco ''Mr. Ricco'' is a 1975 crime drama film directed by Paul Bogart and starring Dean Martin in his last leading film role, along with Eugene Roche, Denise Nicholas and Cindy Williams. Plot A murder charge is dropped against San Francisco black mi ...

'' (1975), '' Bucktown'' (1975), '' The Last Hard Men'' (1976), '' For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story'' (1983), ''

The Boss' Wife ''The Boss' Wife'' is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Ziggy Steinberg and starring Daniel Stern, Arielle Dombasle and Christopher Plummer. It is about a young stockbroker who becomes enticed by the wife of his boss. Plot The wife ( Ari ...

'' (1986), and ''

New Jack City ''New Jack City'' is a 1991 American action crime film based upon an original story and written by Thomas Lee Wright and Barry Michael Cooper, and directed by Mario Van Peebles in his feature film directorial debut. Released in the United St ...

'' (1991). Rasulala died of leukemia on October 9, 1991, in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. His last film role was as General Afir in ''

Mom and Dad Save the World ''Mom and Dad Save the World'' is a 1992 American science fiction film, science fiction comedy film directed by Greg Beeman. Jon Lovitz plays Emperor Tod Spengo, who is the cruel, silly, and over-dramatic emperor of the planet named Spengo. Teri ...

''. He died shortly after completing his scenes, and the film, released a year after his death, is dedicated to his memory. Rasulala's death was two days before actor

Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movement. ...

, who died of a heart attack and with whom he guest-starred on ''

Sanford & Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the United ...

.'' In the episode, he solicited funds for heart attack prevention and awareness. However, ''

Judgement Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...

'', also known as ''Hitz'', can also be considered Rasulala's last film in his career as it was also released posthumously but made during his lifetime.

Partial filmography

*'' The Out-of-Towners'' (1970) - Police Officer *'' Cool Breeze'' (1972) - Sidney Lord Jones *''

'' (1972) - Dr. Gordon Thomas *''

'' (1974) - Robert Daniels *''

'' (1975) - Frankie Steele *''

'' (1975) - Charlie *'' Bucktown'' (1975) - Roy *''

Friday Foster ''Friday Foster'' is an American newspaper comic strip, created and written by Jim Lawrence and illustrated by Jorge Longarón. It ran from January 18, 1970, to February 17, 1974 and was notable for featuring one of the first African-American w ...

'' (1975) - Blake Tarr *'' Adiós Amigo'' (1976) - Noah *'' The Last Hard Men'' (1976) - Weed *''

'' (1977) - Omoro Kinte, father of Kunta Kinte *'' Fun with Dick and Jane'' (1977) - Food Stamp Man (social worker) *''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'' (1978) - Deputy Chief Harry Simon *'' Born American'' (1986) - The Admiral *''

'' (1986) - Barney *''

Bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protecti ...

'' (1988) - Billy Dunbar *'' Above the Law'' (1988) - Deputy Superintendent Crowder *'' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1989), episode " Contagion" - Captain Donald Varley *'' The Package'' (1989) - Secret Service Commander *''

Lambada Lambada () is a dance from State of Pará, Brazil. The dance became internationally popular in the 1980s, especially in the Philippines, Latin America and Caribbean countries. It has adopted aspects of dances such as forró, salsa, merengue, ...

'' (1990) - Wesley Wilson *''

'' (1991) - Police Commissioner Fred Price *''Life on the Edge'' (1992) - Truman Brown *''

'' (1992) - General Afir *''

'' (1992) - Judge Jackson (completed in 1988)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rasulala, Thalmus 1939 births 1991 deaths American male film actors Male actors from Mississippi University of Redlands alumni African-American male actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century African-American people