Brooks, Avery 1948–

BROOKS, Avery 1948–

PERSONAL

Full name, Avery Franklin Brooks; born October 2, 1948, in Evansville, IN; son of Samuel (a singer, tool and die worker, and union official) and Eva Lydia (a music instructor and chorale conductor; maiden name, Crawford) Brooks; grandson of Samuel Travis Crawford (a singer); married Vicki Lenora Bowen (an assistant dean), 1976; children: Ayana, Cabral, Asante. Education: Rutgers University, B.A., M.F.A.; attended Indiana University and Oberlin College.

Addresses: Manager— Vanguard Talent Management, 650 North Bronson Ave., Suite B–140, Los Angeles, CA 90004.

Career: Actor, teacher, director, and choreographer. Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts, associate professor of theatre and drama, beginning 1976; National Black Arts Festival, Atlanta, GA, artistic director, 1993–96; appeared in television commercials. Avery Brooks Productions, principal.

Awards, Honors: CableAce Award nomination, c. 1988, for Uncle Tom's Cabin; named to Hall of Distinguished Alumni, Rutgers University, 1993; Image Award nominations, outstanding lead actor in a drama series, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1996 and 1997, and Saturn Award nomination, best genre television actor, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, 1997, all for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Image Award nomination, outstanding performance in a youth or children's series/special, 1998, for "The Golden Goose" episode of Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child; honorary degrees from various institutions, including Tougaloo University and University at Buffalo, State University of New York.

CREDITS

Television Appearances; Series:

Hawk, Spenser: For Hire, ABC, 1985–89.

Hawk, A Man Called Hawk, ABC, 1989.

Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (also known as DS9, Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: DS9 ), syndicated, 1993–99.

Host, Ancient Evidence, BBC, beginning 2003.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Cletus Moyer, Roots: The Gift, ABC, 1988.

Narrator, Heart of Africa (documentary; also known as National Geographic's "Heart of Africa "), PBS, 1996.

Voices, Jazz (documentary), PBS, 2001.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Dude on bus, Finnegan Begin Again, HBO, 1985.

Uncle Tom, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Showtime, 1987.

Eyes on the Prize: Marian Anderson (documentary; also known as Marian Anderson ), PBS, 1991.

Hawk, Spenser: Ceremony, Lifetime, 1993.

Reverend James Lawson, The Ernest Green Story, The Disney Channel, 1993.

Hawk, Spenser: A Judas Goat, Lifetime, 1994.

Hawk, Spenser: Pale Kings & Princes, Lifetime, 1994.

Hawk, Spenser: A Savage Place, Lifetime, 1995.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Solomon Northrup, "Solomon Northrup's 'Odyssey'" (also known as "Half–Slave, Half–Free" and "Half–Slave, Half–Free: Solomon Northrup's 'Odyssey'"), American Playhouse, PBS, 1984.

Gordon Parks: Moments without Proper Names (also known as Moments without Proper Names ), PBS, 1988.

Host, "Prisoners on the Street," Trackdown (also known as Trackdown: Prisoners on the Street ), ABC, 1988.

Host, Trackdown, ABC, two additional specials, 1988.

Host, A Passion for Faith (documentary), ABC, c. 1990.

Host and narrator, The Musical Legacy of Roland Hayes (documentary), PBS, 1990.

The Science of Star Trek (documentary), PBS, 1995.

Himself, Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond, UPN, 1996.

Host, The Ark of the Spirit with Avery Brooks, TBS, 1996.

Voice, Africans in America—America's Journey through Slavery (documentary), PBS, 1998.

Voice of W. E. B. DuBois, The Two Nations of Black America (documentary), PBS, 1998.

Narrator, Apartheid's Last Stand (documentary), The Discovery Channel, 1999.

Narrator, Our Savage Sun (documentary), The Discovery Channel, 1999.

Narrator, South Georgia Island: Paradise of Ice (documentary), PBS, 1999.

Narrator, Space Colonies: Living Among the Stars (documentary), The Discovery Channel, 1999.

Narrator of American version, Walking with Dinosaurs (also known as Dinosaurier—Im Reich der Giganten ), BBC and The Discovery Channel, 1999.

(In archive footage) Ultimate Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments, UPN, 1999.

Narrator, The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs (documentary), The Discovery Channel, 2000.

Narrator of American version, Big Al Uncovered (documentary; also known as The Science of Big Al ), BBC, 2000.

(In archive footage) Solomon Northrup, Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks (documentary), HBO, 2000.

Pop Goes the Fourth, Arts and Entertainment, 2000.

Narrator of American version, The Ballad of Big Al (also known as Allosaurus: A "Walking with Dinosaurs " Special ), The Discovery Channel and BBC, 2001.

Narrator, Land of the Mammoth (animated documentary), The Discovery Channel, 2001.

Voice, Echoes from the White House (documentary), PBS, 2001.

Voice of narrator, Jesus: The Complete Story (documentary), The Discovery Channel, 2001.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

Himself, 26th Annual NAACP Image Awards, NBC, 1994.

The 1999 Essence Awards, Fox, 1999.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Voice of Nokkar, "Sentinel," Gargoyles (animated), syndicated, 1996.

Television Appearances; Pilots:

Commander Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine—Emissary, syndicated, 1993.

Television Work; Series:

Producer, A Man Called Hawk, ABC, 1989.

Additional voices, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (animated), HBO, c. 1995–98.

Television Director; Episodic:

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (also known as DS9, Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: DS9 ), episodes from 1994–99.

Film Appearances:

Paris, The Big Hit, TriStar, 1998.

Sweeney, American History X, New Line Cinema, 1998.

Voice of narrator, Africa's Elephant Kingdom (documentary), IMAX Corporation, 1998.

Voice of narrator, The Greatest Places (documentary), 1998.

Narrator, Quest for Life (short documentary), Metavision, 2000.

Detective Leon Jackson, 15 Minutes (also known as 15 Minuten Ruhm ), New Line Cinema, 2001.

Stage Appearances:

Sean David, A Photograph: A Study of Cruelty (also known as A Photograph ), New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, New York City, 1978.

Paul Robeson, Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?, Promenade Theatre, New York City, 1978–79, Century Theatre, New York City, 1979.

Second player, Spell #7, New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, 1979.

Title role, Paul Robeson (solo show; also known as Paul Robeson: A Play with Music ), various venues, including Westwood Playhouse, Los Angeles, John Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, and Longacre Theatre, New York City, various performances from 1982–95.

Malcolm X, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (opera), 1985.

Title role, Othello, Folger Shakespeare Festival, Washington, DC, 1985.

Title role, Paul Robeson (solo show; Paul Robeson: A Play with Music ), John Golden Theatre, New York City, 1988.

Fences, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, MO, 1990.

The Talented Tenth, Crossroads Theatre Company, New Brunswick, NJ, 1992.

Lopahin, The Cherry Orchard, McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, NJ, 2000.

Oedipus, The Oedipus Plays, Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, DC, 2001.

New Federal Theatre 30th Anniversary Gala, Majestic Theatre, New York City, 2001.

Title role, King Lear, Yale Repertory Theatre, University Theatre, New Haven, CT, 2004.

Appeared as Theseus and Oberson, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Arena Stage, Washington, DC; appeared in Catch the Spirit of Black Theater.

Major Tours:

The Exonerated, The Culture Project, U.S. cities, 2002–2004.

Stage Work:

Choreographer, The Mighty Gents, New York Shakespeare Festival, Mobile Theatre, New York City, 1979.

Director, Manfred (staged reading), Music with Words Festival, New England Conservatory, 1986.

RECORDINGS

Videos:

Narrator, Ebony/Jet Guide to Black Excellence (three videos), Home Vision Entertainment, c. 1991.

Video Games:

Captain Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine—Harbinger, 1996.

Captain Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, 1999.

Captain Benjamin Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine—Dominion Wars, 2001.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 9, Gale, 1995.

Periodicals:

Chronicle of Higher Education, June 8, 1994.

Cinefantastique, November, 1997, pp. 27–29.

Entertainment Weekly, January 8, 1993.

Essence, April, 1989, pp. 74–77.

Jet, February 1, 1993, p. 64.

New York Post, August 10, 1988.

Parade, December 20, 1998, pp. 8–9.

Starlog, October, 1994.

TV Guide, February 13, 1993; May 27, 1995; August 24, 1996, p. 19.