A special actor,
Adolph Caesar
December 5
On this date in 1933, Adolph Caesar was born. he was an An Afrikan actor (born
in amerikkka).
From Harlem, New York, Caesar graduated from George Washington high school in New York City and enlisted in the Navy where he achieved the rank of chief petty officer. After military retirement he studied dramatic arts at New York University.
In 1970, he joined the Negro Ensemble Company, performing in many of their productions including, The River Niger, The Brownsville Road, and the one-man show The Square Root of Soul. He worked with the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Lincoln Center Repertory Company, and the American Shakespeare Company in Stratford, Conneticut, and the Center Theater Group at the Mark Tapper Forum in Los Angeles. Caesar came to prominence in 1981 with a strong performance of Sgt. Vernon C. Waters in the Negro Ensemble Company’s production of A Soldier’s Play. This earned him an Obie Award and a New York Drama Desk Award.
His performance in the film version of the same drama earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor in 1984. Other credits to him included The Color Purple (1985) and Club Paradise (1986). Adolph Caesar died during a filming on March 6, 1986.
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Biography for
Adolph Caesar
Mini biography
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 (Hitter, The (1979), Fist of Fear, Touch of Death (1980)) before achieving his greatest success in Soldier's Story, A (1984) (from the stage play for which he collected two awards), which earned him an Oscar nomination; appeared in Color Purple, The (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.
mini-biography by
Michaelginty@hotmail.com
Spouse
? (? - 6 March 1986) (his death) 3 children
Trivia
Voice for United Negro College Fund commercial: "...because a mind is a terrible thing to waste."
Died on the set of the film "Tough Guys", but was later replaced by Eli Wallach.
Provided the voice-overs for the radio and TV spots for "Dawn of the Dead (1978)".
Dynamic Afrikan actor (born in the united states), Adolph Caesar studied drama at NYU after a hitch in the navy. He worked as an announcer on ethnically oriented radio stations, then joined the Negro Ensemble Company, the first of many specialized repertory groups to be graced by his talents. In between his stage and TV assignments, Caesar made a good living as a commercial spokesman and cartoon voice-over artist. Though in films since 1969's Che, Caesar did not achieve movie prominence until he repeated his blistering stage performance as a vicious, self-hating Army sergeant in A Soldier's Story (1985), a role which won him an Oscar nomination. Adolph Caesar died of a heart attack suffered on the set of the Kirk Douglas-Burt Lancaster vehicle Tough Guys (1986). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Adolph Caesar
Date of birth (location)
5 December 1933
New York, New York, USA
Date of death (details)
6 March 1986
Los Angeles, California, USA. (heart attack)
Mini biography
Born in the Harlem section of New York City, joined the Navy, then studied... (show more)
IMDbPro Professional Details
Filmography as: Actor, Himself, Notable TV Guest Appearances
Actor - filmography
(1980s) (1970s) (1960s)
1. "Silverhawks" (1986) TV Series (voice) .... Seymour/Hotwing
2. Club Paradise (1986) .... Prime Minister Solomon Gundy
3. Getting Even: A Wimp's Revenge (1986) (TV)
... aka Getting Even (1986/II) (TV) (USA: short title)
4. Color Purple, The (1985) .... Old Mister
5. "Guiding Light, The" (1952) TV Series .... Zamana (1984)
... aka "Guiding Light" (1978) (USA: new title)
6. Soldier's Story, A (1984) .... Sgt. Waters
7. Fist of Fear, Touch of Death (1980) .... TV Anchorman
... aka Dragon and the Cobra, The (1991) (USA: video title)
... aka Fist of Fear (1980) (USA: video box title)
8. Hitter, The (1979) .... Nathan
9. Tarzoon, la honte de la jungle (1975) (voice)
... aka Honte de la jungle, La (1975) (France)
... aka Jungle Burger (1975) (UK)
... aka Shame of the Jungle (1979) (USA)
... aka Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle (1979) (USA)
10. Challenge, The (1970) (TV) .... Clarence Opano
11. "General Hospital" (1963) TV Series .... Douglas Burke (1969)
12. Che! (1969) .... Juan Almeida
Filmography as: Actor, Himself, Notable TV Guest Appearances
Himself - filmography
1. Men of Bronze (1977) .... Narrator
Filmography as: Actor, Himself, Notable TV Guest Appearances
Notable TV Guest Appearances
1. "Twilight Zone, The" (1985) playing "Supervisor" in episode: "A Matter of Minutes" (episode # 1.38) 24 January 1986
2. "Tales from the Darkside" (1984) playing "Mars Gillis" in episode: "Parlour Floor Front" (episode # 2.4) 20 October 1985
3. "Wild Wild West, The" (1965) playing "Vidoq" in episode: "The Night of the Gruesome Games" (episode # 4.5) 25 October 1968
LINKS:
www.us.imdb.com/name/nm0128360/bio
www.amctv.com/person/detail/0%2C%2C19152-1-1%2C00.html
www.moviegallery.com/movies/performer/pid/P+10141
www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2449/A_special_actor_Adolph_Caesar