Obba Babatundé facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Obba Babatundé
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Babatundé in 1969
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Donald Cohen
December 1, 1951 New York City, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1969–present |
Obba Babatundé, born Donald Cohen on December 1, 1951, is an American actor. He has won a Daytime Emmy award for his acting. Obba Babatundé grew up in Queens, New York City. He has been in many stage plays, movies, and TV shows during his long career.
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Early Life and Education
Obba Babatundé was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. He went to public schools when he was a child. From a young age, he loved theater and would sing, dance, and act for his family.
He went to Jamaica High School. There, he was a good student who took part in many activities. He was in the "Sing '68" musical program. He was also a student helper and a member of both the track and cross country teams. After finishing high school in 1969, he started teaching at a private school for students of color. He also looked for acting jobs in New York. He got some roles in plays that were performed Off-Off-Broadway, which means they were smaller productions not on the main Broadway stages.
Later, he learned that his family came from Nigeria. So, he chose a new name using words from the Yoruba language. Obba means "king," and Babatunde means "father has returned again."
Acting Career
Obba Babatundé has said that getting a part in a touring show of Guys and Dolls in 1976 was a big moment for him. He acted alongside famous stars like Leslie Uggams and Richard Roundtree. Since then, he has performed in many other stage plays.
His first performance on Broadway was in Timbuktu! in 1978. He also performed with Liza Minnelli in a documentary film called “Liza In New Orleans” in 1980. He is well-known for playing the first C.C. White in the musical Dreamgirls. For this role, he was nominated for a Tony Award in 1982. After performing on Broadway, he also toured with the show for two years. Over time, he started working more in movies and television. He has had many roles in both.
Film Roles
Obba Babatundé has appeared in many movies. Some of his film roles include Willie Long in Life, Lamar in That Thing You Do!, and Mayor Denny in Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups. He also played Dean Cain in the film How High. Other movies he has been in are The Celestine Prophecy, Material Girls, After the Sunset, and The Notebook. He played a SWAT captain in John Q. and an attorney in Philadelphia (1993).
Television Roles
Babatundé has been a regular actor in three main TV series. He played President Silvanus Fabre in CBS' Madam Secretary. He was Barton Royce in Showtime's I'm Dying Up Here (2017). He also played Dean Fairbanks in Netflix's Dear White People (2017–2018).
He had recurring roles in Kingdom and Amazon's Hand of God, where he played Bishop Bruce Congdon. He also appeared in Half & Half. You might have seen him in guest roles on shows like The Bold and the Beautiful, Boston Legal, Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, Cold Case, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friends, and Dawson's Creek. In a 1998 TV miniseries called The Temptations, he played Berry Gordy, who started Motown Records.
Since 2017, Babatundé has played Daniel Harrelson Sr. in the series S.W.A.T.. He plays the father of the main character, played by Shemar Moore.
Other Ventures
Voice Acting
Obba Babatundé has used his voice for many animated films and video games. He voiced Lando Calrissian in several Star Wars games, including Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds and Disney Infinity 3.0. He was also the voice of Conroy in Rocket Power. In The Wild Thornberrys Movie, he voiced the character of Boko. In the 2016 film Pup Star, he was the voice of a singing dog named Big Ears.
Producer and Director
Babatundé has also worked behind the scenes as a producer and director. He helped produce and direct a film called Oscar's Black Odyssey. He also co-produced Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty and TV in Black: The First 50 Years. He was an associate producer for the film Voodoo Dolls and an executive producer for Journey. More recently, he directed and acted in the film American Bad Boy with Katt Williams. He also produced and directed a short film called Clarissa's Gift.
He even directed a version of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. He also helped write, direct, and produce a show called In the Blink of an Eye.
Singing
Obba Babatundé has also recorded music. He sang the main song on Onaje Allan Gumbs's album Sack Full of Dreams. He also sang "The Gal That Got Away" on the Over The Rainbow soundtrack, which features music by Harold Arlen.
In 1982, he starred as Zodzetrick in the Houston Grand Opera's show of Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha.
Awards and Nominations
In 1981, Obba Babatundé was nominated for an Ovation Award and a Tony Award. These nominations were for his role as C.C. White in the first Broadway cast of Dreamgirls.
He was also nominated for an Emmy Award in 1997 for the HBO film Miss Evers' Boys. He received an NAACP Image Award nomination in 1999 for the HBO film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.
In 2010, Babatundé won the NAACP Theatre Award for "Best Lead Male." He won this for playing Sammy Davis Jr. in the musical Sammy. In 2011, he won an NAACP Image Award for "Best Actor" for his role as Sarge in A Soldier's Play.
In 2019, Obba Babatundé was added to the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum. In 2016, he won a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series." This was for his role as Julius Avant in the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful". He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Peachtree Village International Film Festival.
Personal Life
Obba Babatundé is the grandfather of NFL running back Tarik Cohen. He is also Jewish.
See also
In Spanish: Obba Babatundé para niños
