Keith David - Film & Theater Personalities, Birthday and Childhood
Keith David's Personal Details
Keith David is a well-known American film and TV actor
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | June 4, 1956 |
| Nationality | American |
| Famous | African American Actors, Juilliard School, Film & Theater Personalities, Actors, Comedians |
| Spouses | Dionne Lea Williams |
| Known as | Keith David Williams |
| Universities |
|
| Notable Alumnis |
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| Birth Place | Harlem, New York, U.S |
| Height | 188 |
| Gender | Male |
| Father | Lester Williams |
| Mother | Dolores (née Dickenson) |
| Net Worth | $3 Million Jun 13,2016 |
| Sun Sign | Gemini |
| Born in | Harlem, New York, U.S |
| Famous as | Actor |
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Keith David's photo
Who is Keith David?
Keith David is an accomplished African-American film, television and voice actor. He was raised in New York and decided as a young boy of 13, that he wanted to be an actor. He acted in films such as ‘Crash’, ‘There’s Something About Mary’, ‘Barbershop’, and ‘Men at Work’, and cult favorites, including ‘The Thing’, ‘They Live’, ‘Pitch Black’ ‘The Chronicles of Riddick’, ‘Armageddon’, ‘Platoon’, and ‘Requiem for a Dream’. Though he did not get long roles, yet he made them memorable with the brilliance of his acting. Possessing a deep and commanding voice, he carved a niche for himself as a voice actor. He received Emmy Awards as the narrator of several Ken Burns documentaries, including ‘The War’. He lent his voice to Goliath in the Disney series ‘Gargoyles’, Spawn/Al Simmons in Todd McFarlane’s ‘Spawn’, Dr. Facilier in ‘The Princess and the Frog’, and to numerous video game characters and commercials. As a stage actor, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his role in the Broadway play, ‘Jelly’s Last Jam’.
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Childhood & Early Life
Keith David was born on June 4, 1956 to Dolores, a manager at New York Telephone, and Lester Williams, a director of payroll operations. He played the Cowardly Lion at school and wanted to be an actor.
He studied at Manhattan's School of Performing Arts and trained at the Juilliard School's Drama Division between 1975 and1979, and acquired a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from there.
Career
In 1980, Keith David joined Romanian-born British–American actor John Houseman's ‘The Acting Company’ and was part of his productions such as ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ and ‘Waiting for Godot’.
He got his break in 1982 with ‘The Thing’, a cult science-fiction-horror super hit film directed by John Carpenter. Starring with Kurt Russell, he essayed the role of Childs.
In the 1980s, he appeared in two episodes of children's television series, ‘Mister Rogers' Neighborhood’, portraying Keith, the Southwood Carpenter in ‘Neighborhood of Make-Believe’, and Keith, the game coin collector in ‘Donkey Kong’.
He acted as Vietnam War veteran Louis Fedders, sharing screen space with Charlie Sheen and Leslie Hope in the 1990 released comedy film, ‘Men at Work’, directed by Emilio Estevez
Between 1986 and 1990, he made insignificant appearances in Oliver Stone's war movie, ‘Platoon’, in the Steven Seagal starrer ‘Marked for Death’, and in the comedy film, ‘Stars and Bars’.
In the 1990s, he lent his voice to two major television animated series. He dubbed for the character Goliath in the series, ‘Gargoyles’ and for the title character in ‘Spawn’.
In 1995, he had starring roles in two crime films. In ‘Dead Presidents’, he essayed the role of a small time crook ‘Kirby’ and in ‘Clockers’, he played ‘André the Giant’.
The actor had a supporting role as Police Lieutenant Ed Fox in the movie, ‘Volcano’, in 1997. The movie starred Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche and received mixed reviews from critics.
In 1997, the actor lent his voice to Okkoto-nushi, a boar god in ‘Princess Mononoke’, and was also part of another Japanese project, ‘3×3 Eyes’.
He was part of two films of different genres in 1998. He acted as General Kimsey in the sci-fi film, ‘Armageddon’ and as Charlie, Mary′s stepfather in the comedy, ‘There's Something About Mary’.
The futuristic thriller, ‘The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black’, released in 2000 had Van Diesel in the lead, while David played a Muslim Imam, Abu 'Imam' al-Walid.
Since 2003, he has been associated with rapper Ice Cube. He can be heard in Ice’s band, Westside Connection's album, ‘Terrorist Threats’, and in his solo albums, ‘Raw Footage’ and ‘I Am the West’.
In the award-winning 2005 documentary, ‘Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson’, by filmmaker Ken Burns, he was the narrator. Jack Johnson was the first African-American Heavyweight Boxing Champion.
Between 2002 and 2010, he acted in comedy films including ‘Barbershop’, ‘Agent Cody Banks’, ‘Delta Farce’, ‘First Sunday’, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ , and also in ‘The Chronicles of Riddick’, ‘Crash’ and ‘Chain Letter’.
He was the narrator in many documentaries since 2004, including the BBC’s ‘World War II: Behind Closed Doors’, PBS’s ‘Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land’ and History Channel’s ‘Crusades: Crescent & the Cross’.
In 2007, ‘The War’, a seven episode mini-series produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, he was the narrator. The documentary explained the WWII from the American angle.
In 2009, he worked in two animated films. In ‘Coraline’, he lent his voice to The Cat, and to Doctor Facilier, the villainous voodoo witch doctor in ‘The Princess and the Frog’.
He has voiced for two video games–‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’ as Sergeant Foley, and ‘Saints Row IV’, a comedy -action- 2013-video game as himself and the character Julius Little.
He is now part of new comedy show called ‘Enlisted’ on Fox TV. David plays Command Sergeant Major Donald Cody.
Major Works
In 1988, Keith David acted with Roddy Piper and Meg Foster in John Carpenter’s science fiction film, ‘They Live’, and was involved in one of the best fight scenes ever.
In 1992, he appeared in the musical ‘Jelly's Last Jam’ which chronicled the life and career of Jelly Roll Morton who popularized Jazz. He was nominated for a Tony for Best Supporting Actor.
Awards
In 2002, Keith David shared the Best Ensemble category award given by the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association with rapper Ice Cube’s band Westside Connections, for the comedy film ‘Barbershop’.
He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards in the category Outstanding Voice-Over Performance, for the documentaries ‘Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson’, and ‘The War’ episode ‘A Necessary War’.
Personal Life & Legacy
He married Margit Edwards, a drama student at Hunter College in 1990. He is presently married to actress Dionne Lea Williams. He and Dionne have two children.
Trivia
A great admirer of the late singer, Nat King Cole, this actor hopes to play the singer some day. A good singer, he has already performed some Cole favorites on stage.
This actor saved Charlie Sheen's life when he pulled him into their helicopter, as the aircraft banked dangerously during the filming of ‘Platoon’.
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Keith David's awards
| Year | Name | Award |
|---|---|---|
Primetime Emmy Awards | ||
| 2016 | Outstanding Narrator | Jackie Robinson (2016) |
| 2008 | Outstanding Voice-Over Performance | The War (2007) |
| 2005 | Outstanding Voice-Over Performance | Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004) |
Keith David biography timelines
- // 4th Jun 1956Keith David was born on June 4, 1956 to Dolores, a manager at New York Telephone, and Lester Williams, a director of payroll operations. He played the Cowardly Lion at school and wanted to be an actor.
- // 1975 To 1979He studied at Manhattan's School of Performing Arts and trained at the Juilliard School's Drama Division between 1975 and1979, and acquired a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from there.
- // 1980In 1980, Keith David joined Romanian-born British–American actor John Houseman's ‘The Acting Company’ and was part of his productions such as ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ and ‘Waiting for Godot’.
- // 1982He got his break in 1982 with ‘The Thing’, a cult science-fiction-horror super hit film directed by John Carpenter. Starring with Kurt Russell, he essayed the role of Childs.
- // 1986 To 1990Between 1986 and 1990, he made insignificant appearances in Oliver Stone's war movie, ‘Platoon’, in the Steven Seagal starrer ‘Marked for Death’, and in the comedy film, ‘Stars and Bars’.
- // 1988In 1988, Keith David acted with Roddy Piper and Meg Foster in John Carpenter’s science fiction film, ‘They Live’, and was involved in one of the best fight scenes ever.
- // 1990He acted as Vietnam War veteran Louis Fedders, sharing screen space with Charlie Sheen and Leslie Hope in the 1990 released comedy film, ‘Men at Work’, directed by Emilio Estevez
- // 1990He married Margit Edwards, a drama student at Hunter College in 1990. He is presently married to actress Dionne Lea Williams. He and Dionne have two children.
- // 1992In 1992, he appeared in the musical ‘Jelly's Last Jam’ which chronicled the life and career of Jelly Roll Morton who popularized Jazz. He was nominated for a Tony for Best Supporting Actor.
- // 1995In 1995, he had starring roles in two crime films. In ‘Dead Presidents’, he essayed the role of a small time crook ‘Kirby’ and in ‘Clockers’, he played ‘André the Giant’.
- // 1997The actor had a supporting role as Police Lieutenant Ed Fox in the movie, ‘Volcano’, in 1997. The movie starred Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche and received mixed reviews from critics.
- // 1997In 1997, the actor lent his voice to Okkoto-nushi, a boar god in ‘Princess Mononoke’, and was also part of another Japanese project, ‘3×3 Eyes’.
- // 1998He was part of two films of different genres in 1998. He acted as General Kimsey in the sci-fi film, ‘Armageddon’ and as Charlie, Mary′s stepfather in the comedy, ‘There's Something About Mary’.
- // 2000The futuristic thriller, ‘The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black’, released in 2000 had Van Diesel in the lead, while David played a Muslim Imam, Abu 'Imam' al-Walid.
- // 2002 To 2010Between 2002 and 2010, he acted in comedy films including ‘Barbershop’, ‘Agent Cody Banks’, ‘Delta Farce’, ‘First Sunday’, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ , and also in ‘The Chronicles of Riddick’, ‘Crash’ and ‘Chain Letter’.
- // 2002In 2002, Keith David shared the Best Ensemble category award given by the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association with rapper Ice Cube’s band Westside Connections, for the comedy film ‘Barbershop’.
- // 2003Since 2003, he has been associated with rapper Ice Cube. He can be heard in Ice’s band, Westside Connection's album, ‘Terrorist Threats’, and in his solo albums, ‘Raw Footage’ and ‘I Am the West’.
- // 2004He was the narrator in many documentaries since 2004, including the BBC’s ‘World War II: Behind Closed Doors’, PBS’s ‘Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land’ and History Channel’s ‘Crusades: Crescent & the Cross’.
- // 2005In the award-winning 2005 documentary, ‘Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson’, by filmmaker Ken Burns, he was the narrator. Jack Johnson was the first African-American Heavyweight Boxing Champion.
- // 2007In 2007, ‘The War’, a seven episode mini-series produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, he was the narrator. The documentary explained the WWII from the American angle.
- // 2009In 2009, he worked in two animated films. In ‘Coraline’, he lent his voice to The Cat, and to Doctor Facilier, the villainous voodoo witch doctor in ‘The Princess and the Frog’.
- // 2013He has voiced for two video games–‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’ as Sergeant Foley, and ‘Saints Row IV’, a comedy -action- 2013-video game as himself and the character Julius Little.
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Keith David's FAQ
What is Keith David birthday?
Keith David was born at 1956-06-04
Where is Keith David's birth place?
Keith David was born in Harlem, New York, U.S
What is Keith David nationalities?
Keith David's nationalities is American
Who is Keith David spouses?
Keith David's spouses is Dionne Lea Williams
What was Keith David universities?
Keith David studied at Juilliard School, Manhattan's School of Performing Arts, Juilliard School's Drama Division
What was Keith David notable alumnis?
Keith David's notable alumnis is Juilliard School
How tall is Keith David?
Keith David's height is 188
Who is Keith David's father?
Keith David's father is Lester Williams
Who is Keith David's mother?
Keith David's mother is Dolores (née Dickenson)
What is Keith David's sun sign?
Keith David is Gemini
How famous is Keith David?
Keith David is famouse as Actor