Originally a stage actor and writer, he later wrote the screenplay for and directed the film Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), and he appeared in a number of movies, including Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989), Jungle Fever (1991), and Get on the Bus (1996). He also starred on TV, in the miniseries Queen (1993) and The Stand (1994) and in the movie Miss Evers' Boys (1997), and appeared in the series Evening Shade (1990–94). He was married to the actress Ruby Dee.
