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LeVar Burton <span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>  LeVar Burton is an American actor and director born Levardis Robert Burton Jr. in Landstuhl, West Germany, on February 16, 1957. Burton's father was an officer in the U.S. army. He graduated from the University of Southern California's School of Theater. Burton began appearing on television in the late 70s. His first role was in Almos' a Man. A year later, he landed his break-out role as Kunta Kinte, in the drama Roots. He played an African teen who refused to be dominated by his enslavers. He was nominated for an Emmy award for the role and Burton became a household name. He capitalized on his success, making appearances on Battle of the Network Stars and The $10,000 Pyramid. He also appeared in several TV Movies like The Dummy, The Acorn People and Gambling's White Tiger. Early genre credits include The Midnight Hour, and The Supernaturals. In the 80s, Burton's interests included children's programming. He played parts in films and other programs that celebrated Black American history and became the host and producer of the Emmy Award-wining show Reading Rainbow. In 1986 he was invited by Gene Roddenberry to join the cast of a new Star Trek series, Star Trek: The Next Generation. Burton played engineer Lt. Geordi LaForge, a blind engineering whiz who wore a VISOR to compensate for his visual impairment. The show was a great success and Burton directed several episodes of the series. In the early 90s, Burton gave voice to the character of Kwame on Captain Planet and the Planeteers. He also voiced characters on Batman: The Animated Series, and Gargoyles. Star Trek: TNG ended in 1994 but Burton reprised the role of LaForge in the movies Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek: Nemesis]. He also gave voice to the video games connected to the series. He also directed episodes of other Star Trek series, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Enterprise. He also directed several episodes of Charmed In the twenty-first century, he appeared in Ali in the role of Martin Luther King, Jr. He also guest starred on episodes of Boomtown, Becker, and Family Guy.
Personal LifeAt 13, Burton entered the seminary with the intention of becoming a priest. It proved not to be his calling however, and four years later he left the seminary to pursue acting. He has two children, a son, born in 1980 and a daughter, Michaela, with wife Stephanie Cozart Burton.
AwardsBurton was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role in Roots. He has also been nominated for several Daytime Emmy Awards, and Image Awards for the reading rainbow and in 2006 he was nominated for a Black Reel award for Miracle's Boys. He has won:
External LinksTo see specific information, such as individual movies, please click the Levar Burton category link at the bottom of this article. To see other articles that reference Levar Burton, please click the What Links Here tool in the toolbox at the bottom of this page.Burton, Levar Categories: Levar Burton | 1957 births | Actors | American actors | Star Trek actors | Star Trek directors | Batman universe actors | Directors | Charmed | 1980s actors | 1990s actors | 2000s actors
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