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Andre De Shields Biography (1946-)

Born January 12, 1946, in Baltimore, MD; son of John Edward (a tailor) and Mary Elizabeth (a homemaker; maiden name, Gunther) De Shields.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Occupation

Actor, director, choreographer

Birth Details

January 12, 1946

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Stage Appearances
• Hud, Hair (musical), Shubert Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1969
• Xander the Unconquerable, Warp, Ambassador Theatre, New York City,1973
• Performer in the old movie, 2008 1/2, Truck and Warehouse Theatre,New York City, 1974
• Title role, The Wiz (musical), Majestic Theatre, New York City, beginning in 1975
• The Viper, Ain't Misbehavin' (musical), Manhattan Theatre Club, then Longacre Theatre, both New York City, 1978 then Her Majesty's Theatre, London, 1979 later Plymouth Theatre, New York City, 1979-1982 and Alaska Repertory Theatre, Anchorage, AK, 1983
• Billy "Jazzbo" Brown, Jazzbo Brown, City Lights Theatre, New YorkCity, 1980
• The king and the snake, The Little Prince, Harold Clurman Theatre,New York City, 1982
• Nebuchadnezzar, The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy, Louis Abrons Arts for Living Center, New Federal Theatre, New York City, 1986
• Member of ensemble, Stardust (revue), Theatre Off Park, New York City, 1986 then Biltmore Theatre, New York City, 1987
• The Viper, Ain't Misbehavin', Ambassador Theatre, 1988-1989
• The Players Club Centennial Salute, Sam S. Shubert Theatre, New York City, 1989
• Title role, The Wiz (revival), Broadway production, 1993
• Jester, Play On! (musical), Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, CA, 1996then Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City, 1997 later Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1998
• Vladimir, Waiting for Godot, Mainstage, Goodman Theatre, 1999
• Noah (Horse) T. Simmons, The Full Monty (musical), Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, CA, then Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York City, both 2000
• John and Paul: The Musical Story of a Friendship That Changed the World (benefit performance), New Victory Theatre, New York City, 2001
• Let Me Sing (musical; staged reading), Manhattan Theatre Club, 2001
• Also appeared in Avenue X, regional production; as Willy Loman, Death of a Salesman, Oasis Theatre Company, Buffalo, NY; L'historie du Soldat, Theatre at Carnegie Hall, New York City; Just So, New York City; as Sheridan Whiteside, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Madison Repertory Theatre, Madison, WI; The Me Nobody Knows, Chicago, IL; Rachel Lily Rosenbloom, New York City; and as Xander the Unconquerable, Warp, Organic Theatre Company, Chicago, IL. Appeared in Dancing on Moonlight and Gulliver's Trilogy, both off-Broadway productions; and in Casino Paradise and Songs of Innocence and Experience.
• Stage Appearances; Major Tours
• Title role, The Wiz, U.S. cities, 1976
• The Viper, Ain't Misbehavin', U.S. and European cities, 1979-1981
• Stage Work
• Associate Choreographer
• Bette Midler's Clams on the Half Shell, Minskoff Theatre, New YorkCity, 1975
• Director and Choreographer
• Blackberries, AMAS Repertory Theatre, New York City, 1984
• The Colored Museum, Victory Gardens Theatre, Chicago, IL, then Denver Center Theatre Company, Denver, CO, both 1988
• Director
• The Trojan Women, Theatre at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1988
• Director of Sait Tous (musical), Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX; also directed Jazzed, Carnegie Hall, New York City. Directorof productions at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club and Manhattan Theatre Club, both New York City.
• Nightclub Appearances
• Midnight (solo show), Reno Sweeney, New York City, 1978
• Haarlem Nocturne, New Latin Quarter, New York City, 1984
• Nightclub Work
• Director
• Haarlem Nocturne, New Latin Quarter, New York City, 1984
• Film Appearances
• Title role, The Wiz, Universal, 1978
• Sandor, Prison, Empire, 1988
• Teddy Dolson, Extreme Measures, Warner Bros., 1996
• Television Appearances
• Series
• Marshall Lincoln III, Another World (also known as Another World: Bay City), NBC, 1995-1996
• Reverend Dansby, As the World Turns, CBS, 1998
• Movies
• Haji, King of the Genies, I Dream of Jeannie--15 Years Later, NBC,1985
• Specials
• The Viper, Ain't Misbehavin', NBC, 1982
• Appeared as Tweedledum, Alice in Wonderland, PBS; and in Ellington: The Music Lives On, PBS.
• Episodic
• Dr. Elvin Simmonds, "Custody," Law & Order, NBC, 1996
• Larry, "Older and Out," Cosby, CBS, 1997
• RECORDINGS
• Albums
• The Wiz--The Super Soul Musical: Original Cast Album, 1975
• Ain't Misbehavin' (original Broadway cast recording), 1978
• Play On! A New Musical (original Broadway cast recording), 1997
• The Full Monty: The Broadway Musical (cast recording), 2000
• Other Recordings
• Narrator, A Fiddler's Tale, 1998
• WRITINGS
• Nightclub Productions
• (With Murray Horwitz) Haarlem Nocturne, New Latin Quarter, New York City, 1984

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals

• Advocate, February 27, 2001, pp. 44-45
• American Theatre, February, 2001, p. 88