Born in the Harlem section of New York City, joined the Navy, then studied drama at New York University; was an announcer for then joined the Negro Ensemble Co. in 1970 for such productions as "The River Niger", "Square Root of the Soul" and "The Brownsville Raid"; worked with repertory groups such as the Minnesota Theater Co., Inner City Repertory Co., and the American Shakespeare Co.; first appeared on the screen in 'Che! (1969), then returned to stage until the late 1970s when he did low-budget films The Hitter (1978), Fist of Fear, Touch of Death (1980)) before achieving his greatest success in A Soldier's Story (1984) (from the stage play for which he collected two awards), which earned him an Oscar nomination; appeared in The Color Purple (1985) and was working on Tough Guys (1986) with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas when he collapsed on the set of a heart attack and died a short time later. He was only 52.