Cleavant Derricks (actor)

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This article is about the actor, Cleavant Derricks, Jr.. For his father, see Cleavant Derricks (songwriter).

Cleavant Derricks

Born	Cleavant Derricks, Jr. May 15, 1953 (1953-05-15) Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Occupation	Actor/Singer-songwriter
Years active	1978–present

Cleavant Derricks, Jr. (born May 15, 1953) is a Tony Award-winning American actor and singer-songwriter.

Biography

Derricks was born in Knoxville, Tennessee to a pianist mother and Baptist preacher/composer Cleavant Derricks, Sr.^[1]^[2] His twin brother is actor and musician Clinton Derricks-Carroll. Derricks began his career as a Nashville gospel songwriter. With his father, he wrote the gospel album Satisfaction Guaranteed. He was the musical director and composer for the musical When Hell Freezes Over I'll Skate.

Derricks went to New York City to study acting with Vinnette Carroll at the Urban Arts Theatre. He received rave reviews for his performance in her Broadway shows, including But Never Jam Today. He also won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for creating the role of James "Thunder" Early in Dreamgirls. He also starred in the Broadway musical Brooklyn as the Streetsinger.

Soon afterwards, Derricks appeared in films such as Moscow on the Hudson, Neil Simon's The Slugger's Wife and recently, Wes Craven's Carnival of Souls. He was a series regular on the television series Thea with Thea Vidale and Brandy, and Good Sports with Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal. His role as Rembrandt Brown (known as the Crying Man) on Sliders with Jerry O'Connell, Sabrina Lloyd and John Rhys-Davies is notable because Derricks is the only original Sliders actor to appear throughout the entire series. In addition, Derricks has had numerous guest-starring roles in series such as Roseanne, A Different World, Miami Vice, Spenser: For Hire, Charmed and many others.

Filmography

Cold Case (2007)
Wedding Bells (2007)
Basilisk: the Serpent King (2006)
The Bernie Mac Show (2002) as Willie
World Traveler (2001) as Carl
The Practice (2001) as Mr. Lees
18 Wheels of Justice (2000) as Harold Baines
Charmed (2000) as Cleavant Wilson
Touched by an Angel (1999) as Robert
Wes Craven's Carnival of Souls (1998) as Sid
Sliders (1995-2000) as Rembrandt 'Cryin' Man' Brown
Something Wilder (1994-1995) as Caleb
Thea (1993-1994) as Charles
Woops! (1992)
Drexell's Class (1991-1992) as George Foster
Good Sports (1991) as Jeff Mussberger
Sibs (1991)
L.A. Law (1991) as Mark Wright

A Different World (1991) as Larry
Roseanne (1989)
Moonlighting (1987) as Leonard Haven
Spenser: For Hire (1987) as Mac Dickerson
Bluffing It (1987) as Cal
Mickey and Nora (1987) as Marvin
The Equalizer (1986) as Sonny Raines
Off Beat (1986) as Abe Washington
Neil Simon's The Slugger's Wife (1985) as Manny Alvarado
Miami Vice (1985) as David Jones
Moscow on the Hudson (1984) as Lionel Witherspoon
The Ambush Murders (1982)
Fort Apache the Bronx (1981) as Suspect #4
When Hell Freezes Over, I'll Skate (1979)
Cindy (1978) as Michael Simpson¸

Discography

Dreamgirls: Original Broadway Cast Album (1982)
Beginnings (1999)
Brooklyn (2004)

References

^ "Cleavant Derricks reveals his personal, professional soul". New York Amsterdam News. 8 February 1997. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-3294855.html. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
^ "Cleavant Derricks Biography". filmreference. 2008. http://www.filmreference.com/film/68/Cleavant-Derricks.html. Retrieved 2008-07-06.

External links

Cleavant Derricks official website
Cleavant Derricks at the Internet Broadway Database
Cleavant Derricks at the Internet Movie Database
"Exclusive Interviews: Cleavant Derricks". Earth Prime. http://earthprime.com/interviews/cleavant-derricks.html. Retrieved 2008-04-09.

Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

Sammy Williams (1976) · Lenny Baker (1977) · Kevin Kline (1978) · Henderson Forsythe (1979) · Mandy Patinkin (1980) · Hinton Battle (1981) · Cleavant Derricks (1982) · Charles Coles (1983) · Hinton Battle (1984) · Ron Richardson (1985) · Michael Rupert (1986) · Michael Maguire (1987) · Bill McCutcheon (1988) · Scott Wise (1989) · Michael Jeter (1990) · Hinton Battle (1991) · Scott Waara (1992) · Anthony Crivello (1993) · Jarrod Emick (1994) · George Hearn (1995) · Wilson Jermaine Heredia (1996) · Chuck Cooper (1997) · Ron Rifkin (1998) · Roger Bart (1999) · Boyd Gaines (2000)

Complete list: (1947-1975) · (1976-2000) · (2001-present)