Cleavon Little
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| Cleavon Little | |||||||||||||||
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 Little in Blazing Saddles (1974) |
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| Born | Cleavon Jake Little June 1, 1939 Chickasha, Oklahoma, United States |
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| Died | October 22, 1992 (aged 53) Sherman Oaks, California, United States |
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| Occupation | film, television and stage actor Singer |
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| Years active | 1964-1992 | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Valerie Wiggins[1] (1972-1974, 1 child) |
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Cleavon Jake Little (June 1, 1939 – October 22, 1992) was an Emmy and Tony Award-winning, BAFTA Award-nominated American film and theatre actor, best known for his lead role as Bart in the 1974 Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles and as the irreverent Dr. Jerry Noland in the early 1970s situation-comedy television series program Temperatures Rising. In 1978 he played "The Prince of Darkness" in the radio station comedy FM. He was also in the 1984 action film Toy Soldiers and acted out the role of Super Soul in the film Vanishing Point in 1971.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early Life
Little was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma. He grew up in California and attended college at San Diego State University. After receiving a full scholarship to Juilliard he moved to New York and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Art[2].
[edit] Early Career
Little started off with small, and uncredited parts, he had small roles in films such as What's So Bad About Feeling Good, John and Mary and Cotton Comes to Harlem. In 1971 he was casted to portray Super Soul in the movie Vanishing Point, after a few more films and guest appearances Little was cast to portay Sheriff Bart in the 1974 comedy film Blazing Saddles, beating Richard Pryor, who co-wrote the script intending to play the role himself. Studio execs were apparently nervous over Pryor's reputation as a racy comedian and thought Cleavon would be a safer choice[3]. This role earned him a BAFTA Award nomination as Most Promising Newcomer. Little made his off-Broadway debut in the 1968 political satire MacBird!, 1970 he won a Tony award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award for his work in the Broadway musical Purlie. A year later Little was hired as an ensemble player on the syndicated TV variety weekly The David Frost Revue.
[edit] Later Career
After Blazing Saddles, Little appeard in a large amount of, unfortunately, least successfull films, such as FM, High Risk, Jimmy the Kid and Toy Soldiers. Little also made guest appearances on The Mod Squad, The Rookies, Police Story, The Rockford Files, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, ABC Afterschool Specials, The Fall Guy and ALF. In 1989 he appeared in an episode of Dear John and won the Outstanding Guest Actor Emmy, defeating Robert Picardo, Jack Gilford, Leslie Nielsen and Sammy Davis Jr.[4]. Little also had a part in Fletch Lives, the least successfull sequel to 1985s Fletch. His last appearance overall was a guest part on an episode of Tales from the Crypt, before he died in Sherman Oaks, California of colon cancer at the age of 53.
[edit] References
- ^ Cleavon Little Biography (1939-). Filmreference. Retrieved on May 23, 2008.
- ^ Cleavon Little. Biography. Allmovie. Retrieved on May 23, 2008.
- ^ Cleavon Little Trivia. The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on May 23, 2008.
- ^ The 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1989). The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on May 23, 2008.
[edit] External links
- Cleavon Little at the Internet Movie Database
- Cleavon Little at Find A Grave
- Cleavon Little at the Internet Broadway Database
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jerry Orbach for Promises, Promises |
Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical 1970 for Purlie |
Succeeded by Hal Linden for The Rothschilds |
| Preceded by N/A |
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series 1989 for Dear John |
Succeeded by Jay Thomas for Murphy Brown |
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Little, Cleavon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 1, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chickasha, Oklahoma |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 22, 1992 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Sherman Oaks, California |
