Roger Robinson (actor)

Roger Robinson (May 2, 1940 – September 26, 2018) was an American actor who debuted on Broadway in 1969, and also acted in film and television. He received the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for the 2009 revival of Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson.^[1]

Roger Robinson
Born	May 2, 1940 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Died	September 26, 2018(2018-09-26) (aged 78) Escondido, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1969–2018

Life and career

Born in Seattle, Washington,^[2] Robinson made his Broadway debut in 1969 in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? opposite Al Pacino. Additional theatre credits include Amen Corner, The Iceman Cometh, and Seven Guitars, which garnered him his first Tony nomination.

Robinson appeared in six of August Wilson's ten plays chronicling African-American life in the 20th century. He felt the playwright's "use of language is second to none, except Eugene O'Neill and perhaps Tennessee Williams."^[2] Robinson was the first African American to receive the Richard Seff Award, presented annually by the Actors' Equity Foundation to an actor fifty years of age or older for his performance in a supporting role in a Broadway or off-Broadway production.^[2]

Robinson's film credits include Believe in Me (1971), Willie Dynamite (1974), Newman's Law (1974), Meteor (1979), It's My Turn (1980), The Lonely Guy (1984), Who's the Man? (1993), Wedding Daze (2006), and Brother to Brother (2004). The latter won him the LA Outfest Grand Jury Award Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film and a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male.

Robinson's television credits include the television miniseries King, TV-movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders, which led to a recurring role on Kojak, a regular role on the short-lived Mary Stuart Masterson series Kate Brasher, and guest appearances on Ironside, Starsky and Hutch, The Jeffersons, A Man Called Hawk, Law & Order, New York Undercover, Homicide: Life on the Street, ER, Kojak, and NYPD Blue. On ABC's How to Get Away With Murder, he played Mac Harkness, the father of Viola Davis' Annalise Keating. He also wrote material for Martin Lawrence Presents: 1st Amendment Stand-Up.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Believe in Me	Angel
1974	Willie Dynamite	Bell
1974	Newman's Law	Garry
1979	Meteor	Bill Hunter
1980	It's My Turn	Flicker
1984	The Lonely Guy	Greeting Card Supervisor
1992	Flodder in Amerika	Zwerver
1993	Who's the Man?	Charlie
1995	Burnzy's Last Call	Russell
2004	Brother to Brother	Bruce
2005	On the One	Butter
2006	Wedding Daze	Dr. Favreau
2011	Smoking Nonsmoking	Jeffries
2014	Foreclosure
2014	H.	Harold
2016	Custody	Martha's Father
2016	Vineland	Father Gordon
2018	The Pack	Jeffries	(final film role)

References

1. "2009 Tony Award Winner: Roger Robinson For 'Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play'", broadwayworld.com. June 7, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
2. "Roger Robinson, Tony-Winning Actor and a Detective on 'Kojak,' Dies at 78". Black Christian News. September 30, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.

External links

• Roger Robinson at the Internet Broadway Database
• Roger Robinson at IMDb
• Playbill.com interview, June 2, 2009