People, Locations, Episodes

Tonya Williams, Actress, and Media Advocate born

*Tonya Williams was born on this date in 1958. She is a Black Canadian actress, producer, director, and media activist. Williams was born in London, England, to Jamaican parents. As a child, she lived in London and Kingston, Jamaica. At age five, she contracted rheumatic fever; she and her mother then moved to Birmingham, England. […]

Reginald Cathey, Actor born

*Reginald Cathey was born on this date in 1958.  He was a Black actor.   Reginald Eurias Cathey was born in Huntsville, Alabama, to Red Cathey, an Army colonel and his wife, a Department of Defense worker and an educator.  He had a sister, Donza, and he spent his childhood with his family on a rural farm in West Germany before returning to Alabama at 14.  His interest […]

Michael Jackson, Singer, and Entertainer born

Michael Jackson was born on this date in 1958. He was an African American singer and entertainer.

Kevin Clash, Puppeteer born

*Kevin Clash was born on this date in 1960. He is an African American puppeteer.

From Baltimore, Maryland, Clash is the distinctive voice for Elmo, the Muppet character. Elmo was introduced on “Sesame Street” in the 1980s. Clash began making puppets when he was 10, having been a “Sesame Street” fan from early childhood. He began performing with his puppets at age 12 in his neighborhood, later taking his act to Baltimore’s Harborplace. Local Baltimore television personality Stu Kerr spotted Clash and hired him for his show, “Caboose.”

Robert Chew, Actor, and Acting Coach born

*Robert F. Chew was born on this date in 1960. He was an African American actor and acting coach.

From Baltimore, Maryland, he graduated from Patterson Park High School and then studied music at Morgan State University. Chew acted in plays all over the country and taught young actors for many years. Known best for playing drug kingpin Proposition Joe on the HBO crime saga “The Wire,” Chew also appeared on “Homicide” and “The Corner,” as well as teaching and mentoring young actors at Baltimore’s Arena Players Youth Theatre.

Eddie Murphy, Film/TV, Actor, and Director born

*On this date in 1961, Eddie Murphy was born. He is an African American actor, director, writer and comedian.

Byron Allen, Entertainment Businessman, born

*Byron Allen was born on this date in 1961. He is a Black businessman, comedian, television producer, philanthropist, and the head of the US entertainment company Entertainment Studios. Byron Allen Folks was born in Detroit but grew up in Los Angeles. His interest in show business began during childhood when he accompanied his mother, Carolyn […]

Forest Whitaker, Actor born

*The birth of Forest Whitaker in 1961 is marked on this date. He is an African American actor, producer and director of film, stage and television.

Forest Steven Whitaker was born in Longview, Texas. One of four children, his father Forest Whitaker, Jr. was an insurance man and his mother Laura Francis Smith was a teacher. His mother put herself through college and earned two Masters Degrees while raising her children. Forest has two younger brothers, Kenn and Damon, an older sister Deborah and his grandfather was novelist Forest Whitaker, Sr.

Laurence Fishburne, Actor for Stage, TV, and Screen born

Laurence Fishburne was born on this date 1961. He is an African American actor, playwright, screenwriter, director, and producer.

Born in Augusta, GA, he and his mother (a divorced teacher) moved the family to Brooklyn, NY, which he considers his hometown. Fishburne landed a regular role on “One Life to Live” when he was 10. His movie debut was in “Cornbread, Earl and Me” (1975). When he was 14, he began work on “Apocalypse Now” after lying about his age. For the next several years, he was offered only small roles. He eventually landed a part on “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”

Dwayne McDuffie, Super Hero Writer born

*Dwayne McDuffie as born on this date in 1962. He was an African American writer of comic books and animated television.

Robb Armstrong, Cartoonist born

*Robb Armstrong was on this date in 1962.  He is a Black artist and cartoonist.    Armstrong was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; his mother, Dorothy, was a seamstress. He has four siblings.  He started drawing sketches of Charlie Brown at age five and lists Charles M. Schulz as one of his influences and heroes.  Armstrong […]

Andre Braugher, Actor born.

*Andre Braugher was born on this date in 1962. He was a Black actor. Andre Keith Braugher was born in Chicago, the youngest of four children born to Sally, a postal worker, and Floyd Braugher, a heavy equipment operator. He lived in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago’s West Side. He attended St. Ignatius College Prep […]

The First Black Actor is Cast in an American TV Soap Opera

On this date in 1962, the first Black actor integrated American day time television.

African American actor, Rex Ingram, appeared as an ordained minister named Victor Graham on the show “A Brighter Day.”

In August on that year, the show made history by creating the first daytime television contract role for an Black, but had no time to make much of an impact, as the show was cancelled two weeks later on September 28.

Hatti McDaniels and Louise Beavers Die On The Same Day

This date in 1962, marks the twin deaths of two award winning African American actress’. Hatti McDaniel, 67, Gone With The Wind and Louise Beavers, 62 Beulah Beulah died.

Vanessa Williams, Singer, and Actress born

*Vanessa Williams was born on this date in 1963.  She is a Black singer, actress, and fashion designer. Vanessa Lynn Williams was born in The Bronx, New York. Her paternal great-great-grandfather was William A. Feilds, a Black legislator in the Tennessee House of Representatives.   Her maternal great-great-grandfather, David Carll, served in the 26th United […]