AVERY BROOKS

Avery Brooks was born on 18 April 1949, in Evansville, Indiana, USA Brooks was the first African-American to graduate with a Master of Fine Arts in acting and directing at Rutgers University.

He is an accomplished actor, director, musician, and teacher, Avery Brooks has made appearances on stage and screen from New York to Los Angeles. He played the lead role in Shakespeare's Othello at Rutgers and at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC, and, since 1978, has performed to critical acclaim the title role in the Phillip Hayes Dean play Paul Robeson.

He has done extensive work with the Smithsonian Institution's program in Black American culture, and was nominated for an American Cable Entertainment (ACE) Award for his performance in Showtime's television production of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." He has performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival, and he sang the title role in the American Musical Theatre Festival production of the Anthony Davis opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.

In addition, he has performed with such jazz artists as Joseph Jarman, Lester Bowie, and Jon Hendricks. He has hosted several documentaries, and starred as television's Hawk. In recent years he has been in the limelight as star of the new syndicated television series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

M.F.A. graduate in acting and directing at Rutgers, Mr. Brooks is a tenured professor of theater at Rutgers' Mason Gross School of the Arts. He has also taught at Case Western Reserve University and Oberlin College which awarded him an honorary doctorate in fine arts in 1996.

Avery Brooks' honours include induction into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre, an NAACP Image Award, and the Lifelong Commitment to Arts and Education award from Young Audiences of D.C. He also served as co-chair of the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta with Dionne Warwick in 1992, and as artistic director in 1994 and 1996. His recent movies include the 1998 Academy Award nominated American History X. (Credit to: Rutgeres Hall of distinguished Alumni for this information.)

"Avery, like his character, is a very complex man. He is NOT a demanding or ego-driven actor, rather he is a thoughtful and intelligent man who sometimes has insights into the character that no one else has thought about. He has also been unfailingly polite and a classy guy in all my dealings with him." - Ron Moore (Co-Executive Producer - DS9) on America Online March 24, 1997

Avery Brooks was quoted in an interview about his work and his performances: "If I were a carpenter, I'd find a way to empower using that skill. I'm using as much as God has given--my mind, my voice, my heart, my art forms. This is the highest form of expression on the planet from God, to me, to you."

THIS IS JUST SOME OF THE CREDITS FOR AVERY BROOKS WORK