Born in the Harlem section of New York City, joined the Navy, then studied drama at New York University; was an announcer for then joined the Negro Ensemble Co. in 1970 for such productions as "The River Niger", "Square Root of the Soul" and "The Brownsville Raid"; worked with repertory groups such as the Minnesota Theater Co., Inner City Repertory Co., and the American Shakespeare Co.; first appeared on the screen in CHE (1969), then returned to stage until the late 1970s when he did low-budget films (Le cogneur de Harlem (1979), Fist of Fear, Touch of Death (1980)) before achieving his greatest success in Soldier's Story (1984) (from the stage play for which he collected two awards), which earned him an Oscar nomination; appeared in La couleur pourpre (1985) and was working on "Tough Guys" with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas when he collapsed on the set of a heart attack and died a short time later. He was only 52.
