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Avery Brooks

Avery Brooks is well-known to television audiences for his roles on the long-running series Deep Space Nine as Captain Benjamin Sisko, as Hawk on the series A Man Called Hawk and opposite Robert Urich in Spenser: For Hire. His recent film roles include director Kirk Wong's The Big Hit (produced by John Woo) and American History X with Edward Norton. For television, Brooks was seen in the title role of Solomon Northrup's Odyssey for PBS' American Playhouse and he received a Cable ACE nomination for his portrayal of Uncle Tom in Showtime's production of Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Equally known for his theatre work, Brooks has performed to critical acclaim in the role of Paul Robeson in two plays: Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been? and Philip Hayes Dean's Paul Robeson, both on and off Broadway. His other theatre credits include the lead role of Othello at Washington D.C's Folger Theatre, the title role in the opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, August Wilson's Fences and several roles at the New York Shakespeare Festival.

Also an accomplished musician, Brooks has performed with jazz artists such as Joseph Jarman, Lester Bowie, Henry Threadgill and Jon Hendricks. He has hosted several music-oriented documentaries, including the award-winning The Musical Legacy of Roland Hayes.

Brooks was the first black masters of fine arts graduate in acting and directing at Rutgers University. For the past 28 years, he has been affiliated with Rutgers where he is currently a tenured professor of theater at the Mason Gross School of Arts. In 1993, Brooks was inducted into the Rutgers University Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He has also taught at Oberlin College and Case Western Reserve University. He has also done extensive work with the Smithsonian Institute's Program in Black American Culture.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2000.

Avery Brooks Facts

Birth Name Avery Franklin Brooks
OccupationActor
BirthdayOctober 2, 1948 (75)
SignLibra
BirthplaceEvansville, Indiana, USA
Height6' 1" (1m85)  How tall is Avery Brooks compared to you?

Selected Filmography

American History X
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Complete Series
Emissary
Dracula: Dead and Loving It
Dracula
Spenser for Hire: The Complete Second Season
Spenser For Hire: The Complete First Season
Spenser for Hire: Season 3
Captains Close-up, The: Avery Brooks
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