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Avery Brooks Biography (1948-)

Full name, Avery Franklin Brooks; born October 2, 1948, in Evansville, IN; son of Samuel (a singer, tool and die worker, and union official) and Eva Lydia(a music instructor and chorale conductor; maiden name, Crawford) Brooks; grandson of Samuel Travis Crawford (a singer); married Vicki Lenora Bowen (an assistant dean), 1976; children: Ayana, Cabral, Asante. Addresses: Manager: Vanguard Talent Management, 650 North Bronson Ave., Suite B-140, Los Angeles, CA 90004.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Occupation

Actor, teacher, director, choreographer

Birth Details

October 2, 1948

Evansville, Indiana, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Television Appearances
• Series
• Hawk, Spenser: For Hire, ABC, 1985-89
• Hawk, A Man Called Hawk, ABC, 1989
• Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (also known as DS9, Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: DS9), syndicated, 1993-99
• Host, Ancient Evidence, BBC, beginning 2003
• Miniseries
• Cletus Moyer, Roots: The Gift, ABC, 1988
• Narrator, Heart of Africa (documentary; also known as NationalGeographic's "Heart of Africa"), PBS, 1996
• Voices, Jazz (documentary), PBS, 2001
• Movies
• Dude on bus, Finnegan Begin Again, HBO, 1985
• Uncle Tom, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Showtime, 1987
• Eyes on the Prize: Marian Anderson (documentary; also known as Marian Anderson), PBS, 1991
• Hawk, Spenser: Ceremony, Lifetime, 1993
• Reverend James Lawson, The Ernest Green Story, The Disney Channel,1993
• Hawk, Spenser: A Judas Goat, Lifetime, 1994
• Hawk, Spenser: Pale Kings & Princes, Lifetime, 1994
• Hawk, Spenser: A Savage Place, Lifetime, 1995
• Specials
• Solomon Northrup, "Solomon Northrup's `Odyssey'" (also known as "Half-Slave, Half-Free" and "Half-Slave, Half-Free: Solomon Northrup's `Odyssey'"), American Playhouse, PBS, 1984
• Gordon Parks: Moments without Proper Names (also known as Moments without Proper Names), PBS, 1988
• Host, "Prisoners on the Street," Trackdown (also known as Trackdown: Prisoners on the Street), ABC, c. 1988
• Host, Trackdown, ABC, two additional specials, c. 1988
• Host, A Passion for Faith (documentary), ABC, c. 1990
• Host and narrator, The Musical Legacy of Roland Hayes (documentary), PBS, 1990
• The Science of Star Trek (documentary), PBS, 1995
• Himself, Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond, UPN, 1996
• Host, The Ark of the Spirit with Avery Brooks, TBS, 1996
• Voice, Africans in America--America's Journey through Slavery (documentary), PBS, 1998
• Voice of W. E. B. DuBois, The Two Nations of Black America (documentary), PBS, 1998
• Narrator, Apartheid's Last Stand (documentary), The Discovery Channel, 1999
• Narrator, Our Savage Sun (documentary), The Discovery Channel, 1999
• Narrator, South Georgia Island: Paradise of Ice (documentary), PBS, 1999
• Narrator, Space Colonies: Living Among the Stars (documentary), The Discovery Channel, 1999
• Narrator of American version, Walking with Dinosaurs (also known as Dinosaurier--Im Reich der Giganten), BBC and The Discovery Channel,1999
• (In archive footage) Ultimate Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments,UPN, 1999
• Narrator, The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs (documentary), TheDiscovery Channel, 2000
• Narrator of American version, Big Al Uncovered (documentary; alsoknown as The Science of Big Al), BBC, 2000
• (In archive footage) Solomon Northrup, Half Past Autumn: The Life andWorks of Gordon Parks (documentary), HBO, 2000
• Pop Goes the Fourth, Arts and Entertainment, 2000
• Narrator of American version, The Ballad of Big Al (also known asAllosaurus: A "Walking with Dinosaurs" Special), The Discovery Channeland BBC, 2001
• Narrator, Land of the Mammoth (animated documentary), The Discovery Channel, 2001
• Voice, Echoes from the White House (documentary), PBS, 2001
• Voice of narrator, Jesus: The Complete Story (documentary), The Discovery Channel, 2001
• Awards Presentations
• Himself, 26th Annual NAACP Image Awards, NBC, 1994
• The 1999 Essence Awards, Fox, 1999
• Episodic
• Voice of Nokkar, "Sentinel," Gargoyles (animated), syndicated, 1996
• Pilots
• Commander Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine--Emissary, syndicated, 1993
• Television Work
• Series
• Producer, A Man Called Hawk, ABC, 1989
• Additional voices, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child(animated), HBO, c. 1995-98
• Television Director
• Episodic
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (also known as DS9, Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: DS9), episodes from 1994-99
• Film Appearances
• Paris, The Big Hit, TriStar, 1998
• Sweeney, American History X, New Line Cinema, 1998
• Voice of narrator, Africa's Elephant Kingdom (documentary), IMAX Corporation, 1998
• Voice of narrator, The Greatest Places (documentary), 1998
• Narrator, Quest for Life (short documentary), Metavision, 2000
• Detective Leon Jackson, 15 Minutes (also known as 15 Minuten Ruhm), New Line Cinema, 2001
• Stage Appearances
• Sean David, A Photograph: A Study of Cruelty (also known as A Photograph), New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, New York City,1978
• Paul Robeson, Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?, Promenade Theatre, New York City, 1978-79, Century Theatre, New York City, 1979
• Second player, Spell #7, New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, 1979
• Title role, Paul Robeson (solo show; also known as Paul Robeson: A Play with Music), various venues, including Westwood Playhouse, Los Angeles, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, and Longacre Theatre, New York City, various performances from 1982-95
• Malcolm X, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (opera), 1985
• Title role, Othello, Folger Shakespeare Festival, Washington, DC,1985
• Title role, Paul Robeson (solo show; Paul Robeson: A Play withMusic), John Golden Theatre, New York City, 1988
• Fences, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, MO, 1990
• The Talented Tenth, Crossroads Theatre Company, New Brunswick, NJ,1992
• Lopahin, The Cherry Orchard, McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, NJ, 2000
• Oedipus, The Oedipus Plays, Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, DC, 2001
• New Federal Theatre 30th Anniversary Gala, Majestic Theatre, New York City, 2001
• Title role, King Lear, Yale Repertory Theatre, University Theatre,New Haven, CT, 2004
• Appeared as Theseus and Oberson, A Midsummer Night's Dream, ArenaStage, Washington, DC; appeared in Catch the Spirit of Black Theater.
• Major Tours
• The Exonerated, The Culture Project, U.S. cities, 2002-2004
• Stage Work
• Choreographer, The Mighty Gents, New York Shakespeare Festival, Mobile Theatre, New York City, 1979
• Director, Manfred (staged reading), Music with Words Festival, NewEngland Conservatory, 1986
• RECORDINGS
• Videos
• Narrator, Ebony/Jet Guide to Black Excellence (three videos), HomeVision Entertainment, c. 1991
• Video Games
• Captain Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine--Harbinger, 1996
• Captain Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, 1999
• Captain Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine--Dominion Wars,2001

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

• Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 9, Gale, 1995

Periodicals

• Chronicle of Higher Education, June 8, 1994
• Cinefantastique, November, 1997, pp. 27-29
• Entertainment Weekly, January 8, 1993
• Essence, April, 1989, pp. 74-77
• Jet, February 1, 1993, p. 64
• New York Post, August 10, 1988
• Parade, December 20, 1998, pp. 8-9
• Starlog, October, 1994
• TV Guide, February 13, 1993; May 27, 1995; August 24, 1996, p. 19