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

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