Notes:
Data source is John Vincent Mumma E-mail drmumma@mindspring.com
Moses Gunn (October 2, 1929 ? December 16, 1993)[1] was an American actor of stage and screen. An Obie Award-winning stage player, he co-founded the Negro Ensemble Company in the 1960s. His 1962 Off-Broadway debut was in Jean Genet's The Blacks, and his Broadway debut was in A Hand is on the Gate, an evening of African-American poetry. He was nominated for a 1976 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for The Poison Tree and played Othello on Broadway in 1970.
Contents
1 Biography
2 Death
3 Film / Television
4 References
5 External links
Biography
Gunn was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Mary and George Gunn, a labourer, and was one of seven siblings. After his mother died, his family separated. Moses left home and rode the railroad at just 12 years old. He returned to St. Louis and attended school while living at the home of Jewel Richie, his English teacher. He graduated from Tennessee State University after serving in the United States Army, then went to graduate school at Kansas University, gaining a master's degree. He taught briefly at Grambling College before attempting an acting career in New York City. He married Gwendolyn Mumma Landes in 1966, becoming stepfather to her daughter Kirsten Sarah Landes. In 1970 they had a son, Justin,[2] who became a musician and composer in the Copenhagen-based band, "The Reverend Shine Snake Oil Co."
An authoritative black character actor of film and television, Gunn also enjoyed a successful career on stage. He made his New York City stage debut in the original off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's The Blacks (1962). He performed many Shakespearean roles in Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park, winning an Obie Award for his portrayal of Aaron in Titus Andronicus. He won a second Obie for his work in the NEC produced First Breeze of Summer, which moved to Broadway. His acclaimed performance as Othello at the Stratford, Connecticut Shakespeare Festival moved to Broadway in 1970. Other Broadway plays in which Gunn performed are: A Hand is on the Gate, Twelfth Night, I Have a Dream, and The Poison Tree. He was nominated for a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor for The Poison Tree.
He may be best remembered in film for his portrayal of mobster Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Jonas in the first two Shaft movies, Booker T. Washington in the 1981 movie Ragtime, a performance which won him an NAACP Image Award, and as Cairon, the Childlike Empress' imperial physician, in the 1984 film The NeverEnding Story. He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1977 for his role in the television mini-series Roots. He also co-starred with Avery Brooks on the television series A Man Called Hawk. Gunn appeared in six episodes as atheist shop owner Carl Dixon on Good Times, as boxer-turned-farmer Joe Kagan on Little House on the Prairie, and as "Moses Gage" in Father Murphy. In 1989, Gunn appeared in two episodes of The Cosby Show as two different characters. His final acting role was as murder suspect Risley Tucker in "Three Men and Adena", an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street.
He died from complications of asthma in Guilford, Connecticut on December 16, 1993.
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BIOGRAPHY of Moses Gunn
Born in St. Louis, Missouri on October 2, 1929, Moses Gunn left his home at the age of 12 to jump trains. Around high school age, he returned to St. Louis to the care of teacher Jewel Richie, who became like a mother to him.
Gunn attended and graduated from Tennessee State University some time in the 1950s after a stint in the army, where he was stationed in Germany. From 1959-1961, Gunn attended the University of Kansas for a master's degree but did not complete the coursework at that time, leaving early to pursue an acting career in New York City.
In his early years in NYC, Gunn was involved in many national touring stage productions and regional reperatory theaters. In 1964 while at the Antioch Shakespeare Festival, Gunn met Gwen Mumma Landes. The two married in 1966. Gwen already had a daughter, Kirsten, and the couple would eventually have a son, Justin, in 1970.
In 1968, Moses helped co-found the Negro Ensemble Company, which he stayed with until the early 1970s. Also during that decade, Gunn's career began to include roles in television and film production. While Gunn had a prolific career, he was best known for his roles in Shaft, Father Murphy, The Never Ending Story, and several other productions about which information is included in this collection.
In the spring of 1989, Gunn finished his master's degree at the University of Kansas, acting alongside KU professor William (Bill) Kuhlke in I'm Not Rappaport.
In 1991, Gunn began to have health issues associated with his asthma and was in and out of the hospital over the next 3 years. He died from complications of asthma in Guilford, Connecticut on December 16, 1993.
Possible living individual, birth date and location removed!