Obba Babatundé
Obba Babatunde (born Donald Cohen, December 1, 1951) is an American stage and movie actor, voice actor, producer, director and singer. He's also an actor on The Bold and the Beautiful.[1]
Obba Babatunde | |
|---|---|
 Babatundé in 1969 | |
| Born | Donald Cohen December 1, 1951 |
| Occupation | Actor, director, producer, singer |
| Years active | 1969–present |
A native of Queens, New York,[2] Babatundé has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television movies, and two prime-time series. He starred as Zodzetrick in the Houston Grand Opera's 1982 revival of Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha.
Early life and education
He was born in 1951 as Donald A. Cohen to an African-American family in Jamaica, Queens, New York. As a child, he attended public schools, as did his brother Akin. He was attracted early to theater and from a young age would sing, dance and act for his family. He attended Jamaica High School where he was a well-rounded student who in addition to appearing in the Sing '68 school musical program he was a student aide and a member of both the track and cross country teams. After graduating from Jamaica High School in 1969, he started teaching at a private school for students of color. He also pursued acting jobs in New York, gaining some roles Off-Off-Broadway.[1]
Learning that his ancestry included people from Nigeria, he adopted a name made of Yoruba words: Obba, for "king", and Babatunde, meaning "father has returned again."[3]
Career
Babatundé has said a breakthrough role was gaining a part in a 1976 touring company of Guys and Dolls, starring Leslie Uggams and Richard Roundtree. Since then he has performed in many other stage productions.[3]
His first Broadway performance was in Timbuktu! in 1978. He is known for starring as C.C. White in Dreamgirls, for which he was nominated for a 1982 Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical. After performing on Broadway in this role, he also toured for two years with the company.[4] He gradually moved into film and television work, and has had numerous roles in both genres.
Film
His feature film appearances include Life as Willie, The Celestine Prophecy, Material Girls, After the Sunset, The Manchurian Candidate, The Notebook, a SWAT captain in John Q, an attorney in Philadelphia (1993), The Last Fall, If I Tell You I Have To Kill You, The Fallen Faithful, Trapped, Tension, and Kinky.
He also played Harvard College Dean Cain in the movie How High, as well as the role of Willie Long in the movie Life, the role of Lamar, the hotel concierge in the film That Thing You Do!, and in Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups, he played Mayor Denny.
Television
Babatundé has appeared in three prime-time series: CBS’ Madam Secretary, as Barton Royce in the Showtime's I’m Dying Up Here (2017) , and as Dean Fairbanks in Netflix's Dear White People (2017-2018).
Babatundé appeared in a recurring role on Kingdom and Amazon's Hand of God, as Bishop Bruce Congdon. He also appeared in Half & Half, as well as appearances on The Bold and the Beautiful, Boston Legal, Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, Cold Case, Strong Medicine, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Touched by an Angel, Chicago Hope, Any Day Now, Karen Sisco, Dawson's Creek, and Friends. In the 1998 miniseries, The Temptations, he played Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records.
Babatundé appeared as Daniel Harrelson, Sr., the father of Shemar Moore's character in the 2017 series S.W.A.T..
Voice roles
Babatundé's voice acting roles in animated movies and games include Lando Calrissian in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, and Disney Infinity 3.0 as well as Conroy in Rocket Power.[5] In the animated feature The Wild Thornberrys Movie, Babatundé voiced the character of Boko, and in the 2016 Air Bud Entertainment movie Pup Star, he played the soul-singing Basset Hound, Big Ears.
Producer and director
Babatundé was co-producer and director of Oscar's Black Odyssey, co-producer of Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty, and co-producer of TV in Black: The First 50 Years. He is associate producer of the horror film Voodoo Dolls and executive producer of Journey. Most recently, Babatundé directed and co-stars with Katt Williams in the Lionsgate Home Entertainment feature film American Bad Boy, and he produced and directed the short film Clarissa's Gift.
Babatundé also directed a version of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. He co-authored, directed, and produced In the Blink of an Eye.
Singing
Some of his recorded works include singing the title track on the Onaje Allan Gumbs's album Sack Full of Dreams, and "The Gal That Got Away" on Over The Rainbow, the Harold Arlen soundtrack.
In 1982 Babatunde starred as Zodzetrick in the Houston Grand Opera's second production of Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha. They had produced it first in 1976. After the opera was rediscovered, the world premiere was produced in 1972 by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Morehouse College chorus.
Awards and nominations
In 2016, Babatundé received the Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series", as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Peachtree Village International Film Festival.
In 2010, Babatundé won NAACP Theatre Awards' "Best Lead Male" for his portrayal of Sammy Davis, Jr. in the Old Globe production of the musical Sammy.[6]
Babatundé was nominated for an Emmy in the HBO movie Miss Evers' Boys, an NAACP Image Award in the HBO movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and an Ovation Award and a Tony Award for his role as C.C. White in the original Broadway cast of Dreamgirls. He won an NAACP Image Award as “Best Actor” for his role as Sarge in A Soldiers Play.[7]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Leonard Part 6 | Bongo Drummer | Credited as Babatunde |
| 1988 | Married to the Mob | The Face of Justice | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1990 | Miami Blues | Blink Willie the Informant | |
| 1991 | The Silence of the Lambs | TV Anchor Man | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1991 | Dead Again | Syd – Restaurant Owner | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1992 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Lane | |
| 1993 | Undercover Blues | Sawyer | |
| 1993 | Necronomicon | Paul (part 3) | Also known as Necronomicon: Book of Dead |
| 1993 | Philadelphia | Jerome Green | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1995 | Born to Be Wild | Interpreter | |
| 1995 | A Reason to Believe | Professor Thurman | |
| 1995 | Fatal Pursuit | Trinidad | |
| 1996 | Multiplicity | Paul | |
| 1996 | Carpool | Jeffery | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1996 | That Thing You Do! | Lamarr | |
| 1999 | Life | Willie Long | |
| 2000 | The Visit | Tony | |
| 2001 | How High | Dean Carl Cain | |
| 2002 | John Q | Sergeant Moody | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2002 | The Wild Thornberrys Movie | Boko (voice) | |
| 2003 | The Great Commission | Reverend Jesse | |
| 2004 | The Notebook | Band Leader | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2004 | The Manchurian Candidate | Senator Wells | |
| 2004 | After the Sunset | Zacharias | Credited asObba Babatunde |
| 2004 | Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.! | Chief Ankamuti (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2004 | Joy Road | Dr. Howard Perkins | |
| 2005 | Flip the Script | T Mr. Jones | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2006 | The Celestine Prophecy | Miguel | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2006 | Material Girls | Craig | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2007 | April Fools | Detective Combs | Direct-to-video |
| 2007 | Cover | Attorney Miller | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2008 | The Eye | Dr. Haskins | |
| 2009 | Black Dynamite | Osiris | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2009 | I Do...I Did | Mr. Johnson | |
| 2010 | Trapped: Haitian Nights | Ikliff | |
| 2010 | The Fallen Faithful | Reverend Emmanuel | |
| 2011 | All-Star Superman | Judge / Bibliobot (voices) | Direct-to-video |
| 2011 | Go Beyond the Lens | Host | Short film Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2011 | The Trap Door | Mesmer | Direct-to-video |
| 2012 | Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire | Vampire Actor #4 (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2012 | The Last Fall | Larry Armstrong | |
| 2012 | Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups | Mayor Denny | Direct-to-video |
| 2013 | Dolls of Voodoo | Iklif | |
| 2014 | The Dead Sea | Mayor | |
| 2014 | Lap Dance | Roscoe | |
| 2015 | American Bad Boy | Pastor Lovely | |
| 2015 | Death's Door | Mesmer | |
| 2015 | If I Tell You I Have to Kill You | Jonathan Black | |
| 2016 | Pup Star | Big Ears (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2016 | The Watcher | Stark | |
| 2017 | Pup Star 2: Better Together | Big Ears (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2017 | 'Til Death Do us Part | John Harris | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2018 | The Choir Director | Mr. Wilcox | |
| 2018 | Tennis, the Good Boy | Armon (voice) | Short film |
| 2018 | Kinky | Mr. Bernard | |
| 2018 | Jingle Belle | Charles Williams | |
| 2018 | Revival | Nicodemus | |
| 2018 | City of Lies | Police Chief | |
| 2019 | Mather | Mather | Short film |
| 2020 | Trigger | Chief Keaton | |
| 2020 | The Millennial | Mr. Burke | |
| 2021 | Fuhgedd About It | Captain Ross | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | America's Musical Theater | Zodzetrick | Episode: "Treemonisha" Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1987 | All My Children | Rusty Bennett | One episode |
| 1988 | God Bless the Child | Raymond Watkins | Television movie |
| 1988 | Matlock | Backstage Man | Episode: "The Magician" Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1988 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Terrence Quimby | Episode: "Fort Figueroa" |
| 1989 | Heart and Soul | Also Taylor | Television short movie |
| 1990 | A Different World | Frank Benning | Episode: "Soldier Boy" |
| 1992 | The Human Factor | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 1992 | Tales from the Crypt | Lieutenant Jamison | Credited as Obba Babatunde Episode: "Maniac at Large" |
| 1992 | Sisters | Ben | Episode: "Crash and Born" Credited asObba Babatunde |
| 1993 | The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. | Mongoose | Episode: "A.K.A. Kansas" Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1994 | M.A.N.T.I.S. | Cornell | Television movie |
| 1994 | Getting By | Episode: "The Rich Guy" | |
| 1994 | Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | Jameson Walker | Episode: "Trading Places" |
| 1994 | Tom | Tanner | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1994 | Thunder in Paradise | Carl | Episode: "Identity Crisis" Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1994 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Gordy Berry | Episodes: "The Client" and "What's Will Got to Do With It?" |
| 1994 | Touched by an Angel | Carter Evans | Episode: "Fallen Angela" Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1995 | Under One Roof | Ben | Episode: "Pilot" Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1995 | Sliders | Cezanne Brown | Episode: "Summer of Love" |
| 1995 | Chicago Hope | Charles Ellis | Credited as Obba Babatunde Episodes: "Freeze Outs" and "Full Moon" |
| 1996 | Soul of the Game | Cum Posey | Television movie |
| 1996 | The Tomorrow Man | Brian Parish | Television movie |
| 1996 | The Cherokee Kid | Isom Dart | Television movie |
| 1997 | Friends | The Director | Credited as Obba Babatunde Episode: "The One with All the Jealousy" |
| 1997 | The Burning Zone | Vince, Police Lieutenant | Episode: "The Last Endless Summer" |
| 1997 | Miss Evers' Boys | Willie Johnson | Television movie |
| 1997 | Sparks | Mr. Kirby | Episode: "A Day in the Life II" |
| 1997 | Spy Game | Lieutenant Wardell | Episode: "Lorne and Max Drop the Bell" |
| 1998 | The Temptations | Berry Gordy | 2 episodes Television miniseries |
| 1999 | Introducing Dorothy Dandridge | Harold Nicholas | Television movie Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 1999 | Xyber 9: New Dawn | Additional Voices (voice) | Unknown episodes |
| 1999–2000 | Dawson's Creek | Principal Howard Green | 8 episodes |
| 1999–2004 | Rocket Power | Conroy (voice) / Various | 21 episodes |
| 1999 | The Apartment Complex | Chett | Television movie |
| 1999 | Linc's | Army Vet | Episode: "Dog Day Afternoon" |
| 2000 | The Outer Limits | Dr. Joseph Lennox | Episode: "The Beholder" |
| 2000 | The Invisible Man | Allardyce | Episode: "The Value of Secrets" |
| 2000 | Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family | Sergeant Bonner | Episode: "Bazooka Joe" |
| 2000 | Max Steel | Additional Voices (voice) | Episodes: "Sportsmen" and "Scions" |
| 2001 | Any Day Now | Judge Richards | Episodes: "It's Not Just a Word: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2001 | Family Law | Philip Hamilton | Episode: "Planting Seeds" |
| 2001–2002 | Soul Food | Benjamin Chadway | Episodes: "A Clear and Present Stranger" and "Love and Other Strangers" |
| 2001–2003 | Static Shock | Watch Store Salesman / Singer / Scientist (voices) | 3 episodes Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2001 | One Special Moment | Television movie | |
| 2001 | The Beast | Mr. Lowry | Episode: "The Price" |
| 2002 | Redeemer | Charles Henderson | Television movie Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2002–2006 | Half & Half | Charles Thorne | 34 episodes Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2002 | NYPD Blue | Kevin Dupree | Episode: "Maya Con Dios" |
| 2003–2004 | Karen Sisco | Daniel Burden | 3 episodes |
| 2004 | Soap Talk | Himself | One episode |
| 2005 | Everwood | Jason | Episode: "Giving Up the Girl" |
| 2006–2013 | Winx Club | King Teredor (voice) | 13 episodes |
| 2007 | Cold Case | Dr. Octavia Leroy | Episode: "Shuffle, Ball Change" |
| 2007 | The Young and the Restless | Carter Campbell | 5 episodes |
| 2007 | Boston Legal | Dr. Stanley Rivers / Dr. Victor Rivers | Credited as Obba Babatunde Episodes: "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Innocent Man" |
| 2007 | Girlfriends | Attendant | Episode: "Save the Last Dance" |
| 2008 | Psych | David Gaffney | Credited as Obba Babatunde Episode: "There's Something About Mira" |
| 2008 | Saving Grace | Doc | Episode: "Do You Live Him?" |
| 2009 | NCIS | Joe Banks | Episode: "Knockout" |
| 2009 | Grey's Anatomy | Dan Gates | Episode: "Sweet Surrender" |
| 2010 | Criminal Minds | Sheriff Sanders | Episode: "Solitary Man" |
| 2011 | Private Practice | Dr. Larry Cannon | Episode: "Heaven Can Wait" |
| 2011 | Love That Girl! | Jim | Episode: "Happy Birthday, Bro" Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2011 | Winx Club: Enchantix | King Teredor (voice) | Episode: "The Wizard's Challenge" |
| 2013 | Cult | Quentin Farrow | Credited as Obba Babatunde Episodes: "The Good Fight" and "Executive Producer Steven Rae" |
| 2014 | Enlisted | General Murray | Episode: "The General Inspection" |
| 2014 | Kingdom | Detective Gaines | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Hand of God | Bishop Bruce Congdon | 3 episodes |
| 2015–2020 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Julius Avant | 78 episodes |
| 2017 | Madam Secretary | President Silvanus Fabre | Episode: "The Detour" |
| 2017 | The Last Tycoon | Les Turpin | Episode: "Oscar, Oscar, Oscar" |
| 2017–2018 | Detroiters | Mr. Duvet | 3 episodes Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2017 | I'm Dying Up Here | Barton Royce | 7 episodes |
| 2017 | D.P.W. | Mayor McCann | Television movie |
| 2018 | The Good Fight | Danny Quinn | Episode: "Day 492" |
| 2018–present | S.W.A.T. | Daniel Harrelson, Sr. | 14 episodes Recurring cast |
| 2018 | Forever | Gregory | Episodes: "Oceanside" and "Goodbye Forever" |
| 2018 | Ballers | J.D. Pritchard | Episode: "The Kids Are Alright" |
| 2019 | Corporate | Cronker Wilson | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | For the People | Philip Kaws | Episode: "You Belong Here" |
| 2020 | Little Fires Everywhere | George Wright | Television miniseries Episodes: "Duo" and "The Uncanny" |
| 2020 | Kiss Me for Christmas | Mr. Porter | Television movie |
| 2020 | Goliath | TBA | Season 4 Recurring cast[8] |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds | Lando Calrissian (voice) | Credited as Obba Baba Tunde |
| 2001 | Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II - Rogue Leader | Lando Calrissian (voice) | |
| 2003 | Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III - Rebel Strike | Lando Calrissian (voice) | |
| 2006 | Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent | Additional Voices (voice) | |
| 2012 | Kinect Star Wars | Lando Calrissian (voice) | Credited as Obba Babatunde |
| 2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Lando Calrissian (voice) | |
References
- "Folio '69 "Donald A. Cohen" (Jamaica High School, Jamaica, New York)". Ancestry.com. Generations Network. 1969. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- S. Torriano Berry; Venise T. Berry (2 September 2009). The A to Z of African American Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810870345. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
- Chika Udeh, "Everything You Must Know about Hollywood Icon Obba Babatunde", Buzz Nigeria, 2018
- "Obba Babatunde", Broadway Productions, Internet Broadway Database, 2001-2019
- Avalanche Software. Disney Infinity 3.0. Scene: Closing credits, 5:39 in, Featuring the Voice Talents of.
- "Babatunde, Gurira and Zambello Win NAACP Theatre Awards | Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
- "Kiss Me Kate Tops 2011 Ovation Award Nominations". 19 September 2011.
- Petski, Denise (February 21, 2020). "'Goliath' Adds Geoffrey Arend & Brandon Scott As Series Regulars, Two Recurring For Season 4". www.deadline.com. Deadline. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
