Personal history and early life. He attended Potomac High School in Oxon Hill, Maryland. At NEC, he helped guide the companys productions to 11 Obie Awards, 2 Tony Awards, 4 Vernon Rice Drama Desk Awards, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, one Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and other distinguished theatre awards. And then I looked down at the end of the hall to the mens dressing room, so I go down there to meet some of the guys. His father, Edward, died in a work accident on the railroad in 1939. Robert Hooks and Lynn Redgrave watching as flood waters surround them in a scene from the film 'Last Of The Mobile Hot Shots', 1970. The address on file for this person is 118 N.E. Robert Hooks was born on April 18, 1937 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. 806 Dennis St, Camden, AR, 71701-6154. [1] Along with Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald S. Krone, he founded The Negro Ensemble Company. As of mid-2017, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $5 million, mostly earned through a successful career in film and television. They were so nice to me; I couldnt believe the warm welcome they gave me.A few months later I had moved up to New York to pursue an acting career. Hooks attended Stevens Elementary School. Get our latest U.S. theatre coverage sent directly to your inbox each week, and our roundup of theatre education content each month. Remember him? It was like out of one of the horror movies, and she raised herself out of the chair and fell backwards and fainted on the stage. Named Bobby Dean Hooks at birth, Robert was their first child born up north and the first to be born in a hospital. He has been married to Lorrie Marlow since June 15, 2008. Having trained at the Bessie V. Hicks School of Theatre in Philadelphia, and after seeing A Raisin in the Sun in its Philadelphia tryout in February 1959, Hooks moved to New York to pursue acting. Tennessee and I drank after the show; he drank like crazy, but what a brilliant man. The goal of the Negro Ensemble Company of Los Angeles was to be a new and innovative multi-ethnic cultural project that strived to achieve the community effectiveness and professional success of its parent organization. Significant roles for which Hooks is known include Reeve Scott in Hurry Sundown (1967), Mr. T. in the blaxploitation film Trouble Man (1972), grandpa Gene Donovan in the comedy Seventeen Again (2000), and Fleet Admiral Morrow in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984). Im feeling great, Im feeling fantastic. Robert Hooks!" Hooks' hardscrabble journey starting in the rat-infested Foggy Bottom of Washington, DC and the indentured summer servitude of Southern tobacco farms has mirrored that of an America that was going through its own seismic shifts. Hooks father died while working on a railroad track. Thats not why I have been successful in this industry. The main thing I want people to remember about me is that my career and my success are more than myself, which is really the title of my upcoming book. 2, Robert Hooks talks about visiting black communities all across the country while on the road with 'A Raisin in the Sun', Robert Hooks talks about getting a role in the play 'A Taste of Honey', Robert Hooks talks about 'Voices of Our People', Robert Hooks talks about performing in front of his family and friends in Washington, D.C. in 'A Taste of Honey', Robert Hooks talks about his first time singing on Broadway in 'A Taste of Honey', Robert Hooks talks about joining the cast of 'The Blacks', Robert Hooks talks about the plot of 'The Blacks' and the playwright Jean Genet, Robert Hooks describes the plot of 'Dutchman' by Amiri Baraka, Robert Hooks talks about fundraising to support civil rights efforts in the South, Robert Hooks talks about beginning to work with young people in his community, Chelsea, New York, and teaching them about theater, Robert Hooks talks about the formation of the Group Theater Workshop, Robert Hooks talks about HistoryMaker Douglas Turner Howard's plays 'Happy Ending' and 'Day of Absence', Robert Hooks talks about producing HistoryMaker Douglas Turner Ward's two plays, 'Happy Ending' and 'Day of Absence', Robert Hooks acts out the plot of HistoryMaker Douglas Turner Ward's play 'Happy Ending', Robert Hooks compares the work of HistoryMaker Douglas Turner Ward and Amiri Baraka, Robert Hooks talks about the formation of the Negro Ensemble Company, Robert Hooks talks about the leadership of the Negro Ensemble Company, Robert Hooks talks about the success of the Negro Ensemble Company, Robert Hooks talks about raising money for the Civil Rights Movement with his celebrity friends, Robert Hooks talks about his friendship with HistoryMaker Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier, Robert Hooks talks about acting in his first movie 'Sweet Love Bitter' which debuted in 1967, pt. In 1986, he starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom He's the Mayor. What is the story behind this? Hooks worked as a director and producer on the series Prison Break. "This is a credit to their work ethic, loyalty and dedication to their profession," Sheriff David Carpenter said. The play Dutchman hit the live audiences harder than the movie version. Im standing there in the street just outside the stage door and Lloyd Richards walks out, and then from the wings walks the actress Billie Allen, who was Diana Sandss understudy in the play. Find Robert Hooks obituaries and memorials at Legacy.com From 1969 to 1972, Hooks served as an original board member of Black Academy of Arts and Letters, located in New York, alongside C. Eric Lincoln, President; John O. Killens, Alvin F. Poussaint, and Charles White. It was fun. Then one afternoon, while in rehearsal, came the moment that stopped time for us on Broadway, and for many around the world. That year, he debuted as Bobby Dean Hooks in a touring production of Raisin in the Sun. ROBERT HOOKS ( CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER) 5969 W 86TH PLACE, LLC. Robert Hooks - Biography - IMDb [1] Along with Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald S. Krone, he founded The Negro Ensemble Company. So as you can see, acting was in their blood because they had their Pops set a great example for them. The applause was so exciting and amazing; I was the first one on my feet, yelling Bravo and clappingso much so, I broke the band on my wristwatch and the whole thing fell on the floor and I couldnt find it, I was too busy clapping and yelling. All my buddies said how much they liked what I did in the play. Washington had to hear it. We humbly honor the old school soul music era and will keep pushing forward to keep it alive. Hooks is credited as the director of the 2017 Madiba, a three-part BET television special about the life of the late Nelson Mandela and the struggle of the ANC which with the leadership of Mandela, famously succeeded to overthrow the regime of apartheid in South Africa, starring Laurence Fishburne in the role of Mandela. Required fields are marked *. Simply put, Kevins dad is a legend and if you dont know who he is, get ready to learn a lil somethin today ILOSM fam.. Your email address will not be published. Thats what I want to be remembered by. He made his Broadway debut in 1960 in Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright, and became well known for his role as Clay in LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka's Dutchman in 1964. T in the 70s film Trouble Man (1972); Grandpa Gene Donovan in the comedy, Seventeen Again (2000); and Fleet Admiral Morrow in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984). He also portrayed Doctor Walcott in the 1980s television series, Dynasty.. Occupation. First of all, it was a legendary play, and the original cast was just phenomenal. Kevin Hooks Net Worth 2023: Wiki Bio, Married, Dating, Family, Height All the top-flight Black theatre actors working at the time did The Blacks at one point or another in its historic Off-Broadway run. Official Sites, He is father of actor turned director/producer. All rights reserved. It was at Francis Junior High School. Robert was once married to Kevins mother, Yvonne Hickman (whom there are no photos of, because she apparently wasnt into the spotlight like her ex-husband and son), whom he also has two more children with. And Ive enjoyed doing things for other people, starting all the way back to the Group Theatre Workshop with those kids I got off the streets of New York when they didnt have any place to go. He was born April 15, 1954, in Asheboro. What else could you share about that production that most people do not know? Other Works Mobile number (870) 824-9433 . The company is a California Non-Profit Corporation - Ca - Religious, which was filed on October 25, 1972. There were all kinds of problems with white producers doing Black material; they just wouldnt do it. David knew that I was picketing Subways Are for Sleeping while I was doing A Taste of Honey. Business Owner at Media Mille LLC She didnt ask me, she told me I was going to be in the play. Marital status. If youre from the Old School era of the late 1970s/early 80s, you more than likely are very familiar with actor, Kevin Hooks (59). At any rate, this is a good miniseries with a lot of well-known actors and actresses including Olivia Cole (excellent at Maggie Rogers), Cloris Leachman (as the snarky Mrs. Jaffrey), Louis Gossett, Jr. and Robert Hooks as Levi Mercer and Mays (two good friends of Maggie's) and countless other stars representing the First Families. I saw a reading of that play when they were trying to get the producer for it. For his personal life, it is known that Kevin was married to Regina from 1978 to 84, and has since been married to Cheryl,and they have two children. Age 45 / Nov 1976. Set in contemporary Harlem at New York's grittiest and most depressing ebb, that film was regarded as a "blaxploitation" version of Romeo and Juliet, using African American and Puerto Rican ethnicity in lieu of medieval families. He then became a part of Gordon Parks Jr.s last film Aaron Loves Angela, playing a withdrawn teenager, and partnered with Irene Cara. THE DIGITAL REPOSITORY FOR THE BLACK EXPERIENCE. target_type: 'mix' 4 James Moore Hooks + Dorothy Schleuning. She called me in every night; I would brush her hair and wed talk politics and Civil Rights. He had also seen me do Tiger Tiger Burning Bright. Longtime African American actor Robert Hooks on the state of black