Born October 2, 1929, in St. Louis, MO; died of complications from asthma, December 17 (some sources cite December 16), 1993, in Guilford, CT. Stage, film, and television actor. In a career that spanned more than three decades, Gunn established himself as an actor of considerable breadth and ability. He became attracted to theatre during his college years and worked towards a careeron the New York stage. Once established, Gunn distinguished himself in a variety of roles, including Othello, Titus Andronicus, and The First Breeze of Summer. In the mid-1960s, he debuted in feature films, subsequently starring in such productions as The Great White Hope, two Shaft movies, and Ragtime, for which he won an Image Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Beginning in 1974, Gunn appeared in a wide range of television programs, lending his talents to a production of Of Mice andMen, the series Little House on the Prairie, and the mini-series Roots, for which he received an Emmy nomination. In 1992, he appeared on the television series Homicide and in two plays by South African playwright Athol Fugard, Blood Knot and My Children, My Africa. Gunn also cofounded the Negro Ensemble Company and acted in many of the theatre group's productions. Among his numerous acting awards, Gunn received several Obie Awards for his work on the Off-Broadway stage.
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