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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Biography (1947-)

Original name, Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr.; born April 16, 1947, in New York, NY; name legally changed in 1971; son of Ferdinand Lewis (a police officerand jazz musician) and Cora (a department store price checker) Alcindor; married Janice (name changed to Habiba) Brown, 1971 (divorced, 1973); children:Habiba, Sultana, Kareem; (with Cheryl Pistono) Amir; (with another woman) Adam. Addresses: Agent: Amsel, Eisenstadt & Frazier, 5757 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 510, Los Angeles, CA 90046.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Occupation

Actor, producer

Birth Details

April 16, 1947

New York, New York, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Film Appearances
• Himself, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, United Artists, 1979
• Hakim, Game of Death (also known as Bruce Lee's Game of Death, Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death, and Si wang you ju), Columbia, 1979
• Roger Murdock, copilot, Airplane! (also known as Flying High), Paramount, 1980
• Himself, Fletch, Universal, 1984
• Himself, Troop Beverly Hills, Columbia, 1989
• Himself, Curse of the Dragon (also known as Bruce Lee: Curse ofthe Dragon), Warner Bros., 1993
• Celebrity at party, D2: The Mighty Ducks (also known as The Mighty Ducks 2), Buena Vista, 1994
• Himself, Forget Paris, Columbia, 1995
• The archangel, Slam Dunk Ernest, Buena Vista Pictures, 1995
• Himself, BASEketball, Universal, 1998
• Television Appearances
• Movies
• Shooting Stars, 1983
• New tenant in Sal's apartment, Jake Spanner, Private Eye (also known as Jake Spanner, Back on the Case, The Old Dick, and Hoodwinked), USA Network, 1989
• Himself, Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault (also known as Rebound), HBO, 1996
• Miniseries
• Himself, Eyes on the Prize II, 1990
• Monster shouter, Stephen King's "The Stand" (also known as TheStand), ABC, 1994
• Episodic
• Jeff, "A Day Filled with Shadows," Mannix, CBS, 1971
• Man stuck in car, "Foreign Trade," Emergency, NBC, 1974
• The Giant, "Giant," Man from Atlantis, NBC, 1977
• Mr. Wilkes, "Substitute Teacher," Diff'rent Strokes, NBC, 1982
• The Djinn, "Djinn, No Chaser," Tales from the Darkside, syndicated, 1984
• Pryor's Place, CBS, 1984
• "The Hero Who Couldn't Read," ABC Afterschool Special, ABC, 1985
• Mr. Wilkes, "A Tale of Two Teachers," Diff'rent Strokes, ABC, 1985
• Pryor's Place, CBS, 1985
• "James Hill," An American Portrait, CBS, 1986
• Himself, "Ask Max," Disney Sunday Movie, ABC, 1986
• Himself, "Blood Money," Stingray, NBC, 1987
• "Special Games," Bustin' Loose, syndicated, 1987
• Oriental Rugs (also known as Art Underfoot), PBS, 1990
• "Malcolm Takes a Shot," CBS Schoolbreak Specials, CBS, 1990
• Wesley Williams, "Hi Mom," 21 Jump Street, Fox, 1990
• Judge, Uncle Buck, 1991
• Amen, 1991
• Blind man, "Shadows from the Past," Matrix, USA, 1993
• "A Salute to the Newport Jazz Festival," In Performance at the White House, PBS, 1993
• "Bruce Lee," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 1994
• Voice of himself, "A Day at the Races and a Night at the Opera," The Critic (animated), ABC, 1994
• Himself, "Will's Misery," The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, NBC, 1994
• Himself, "Air Jesse," Full House, ABC, 1995
• Voice of himself, "I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show," The Critic (animated), ABC, 1995
• Doctor, "Why Can't We Be Friends," Martin, Fox, 1996
• Himself, "Frank, the Writer," Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 1996
• Himself, "Back in the Day," Living Single, Fox, 1997
• Himself, "The Occidental Purists," Boston Common, NBC, 1997
• Himself, "To Volunteer Is Human," The Gregory Hines Show, CBS, 1998
• Also appeared as himself in the television show Good Sports.
• Specials
• Rock 'n' Wrestling Saturday Spectacular, CBS, 1985
• Black Champions (also known as Who Will Wear the Crown?, New Times: The Integration of American Sports, and Looking for Tomorrow: Black Athletes and the Sporting Life), PBS, 1986
• A Star-Spangled Celebration, ABC, 1987
• The Second Annual Star-Spangled Celebration, ABC, 1988
• Superstars and Their Moms, ABC, 1988
• (And executive producer) All-Star Tribute to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,NBC, 1989
• Cohost, History of the NBA, HBO, 1990
• The Sports Comedy Network, CBS, 1990
• Face to Face with Connie Chung, ABC, 1991
• New Kids on the Block at Walt Disney World (also known as New Kids on the Block at Disney-MGM Studios: Wildest Dreams), ABC, 1991
• Honoree, The Great Ones: The National Sports Awards, NBC, 1993
• Presenter, Jim Thorpe Pro Sports Awards Presented by Footlocker, ABC, 1993
• The Rich and Famous 1993 World's Best, syndicated, 1993
• American Coaches: Men of Vision and Victory, HBO, 1994
• Himself, Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz (also known as BlueNote), Bravo, 1996
• Television Co-Executive Producer
• Movies
• The Road to Freedom: The Vernon Johns Story (also known as TheVernon Johns Story), syndicated, 1994
• WRITINGS
• Memoirs
• (With Peter Knobler) Giant Steps: An Autobiography of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bantam, 1983
• (With Mignon McCarthy) Kareem, Random House, 1990
• (With Steinburg) Black Profiles in Courage, 1996
• (With Stephen Singular) A Season on the Reservation: My Sojourn with the Mountain Apaches, Morrow, 2000
• Contributor to periodicals, including TV Guide.

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

• Doucette, Eddie, The Milwaukee Bucks and the Remarkable Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Prentice-Hall, 1974
• Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed.
• Hano, Arnold, Kareem!: Basketball Great, Putnam, 1975
• Haskins, James, From Lew Alcindor to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lothrop,1978
• Jackson, H. C., Jabbar: Giant of the NBA, Walck, 1972
• Klein, Dave, Pro Basketball's Big Men, Random House, 1973
• Margolies, Jacob, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Basketball Great, F. Watts,1973
• Notable Black Men, Gale Research, 1998
• Pepe, Phil, Stand Tall: The Lew Alcindor Story, Grosset & Dunlap, 1970
• Family Circle, October 13, 1992, p. 164
• Jet, June 26, 1989, p. 46; October 9, 1989, p. 48; February 24, 1992, p. 52; February 16, 1998, p. 49; March 6, 2000, p. 53; August 7, 2000, p.36
• People Weekly, October 28, 996, p. 41; September 13, 1999, p. 11
• The Sporting News, February 28, 2000, p. 15
• Sports Illustrated, October 19, 1987, p. 89; November 17, 1997, p.28; February 12, 1990, p. 34; November 30, 1998, p. 72
• Variety, August 22, 1990, p. 3