Chuck Cooper (actor)

Chuck Cooper (born November 8, 1954) is an American actor. He won the 1997 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical, for his performance as the pimp Memphis in The Life.

Career

Cooper made his Broadway debut in 1983 in the musical Amen Corner, playing the role of Brother Boxer. He was an understudy in the original Broadway casts of his next three shows: Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (he eventually took over the role of Adam), Passion, and Getting Away with Murder.

Cooper won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical, for his performance as the pimp Memphis in the 1997 Broadway production of the musical The Life.

Cooper has also appeared in Chicago as Billy Flynn, Caroline, or Change as the dual role of The Bus and The Dryer, and Finian's Rainbow as Bill Rawkins, as well as benefit performances of Hair and A Wonderful Life. In February 2010 he was the narrator in the U.S. premiere of Seven Scenes from Hamlet, by the Spanish composer Benet Casablancas, at the Miller Theatre in Manhattan.

Chuck Cooper

Chuck Cooper may refer to:

See also

Chuck Cooper (basketball)

Charles Henry "Chuck" Cooper (September 29, 1926 – February 5, 1984) was an American professional basketball player. He and two others, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton and Earl Lloyd, became the first African American player in the NBA in 1950. Cooper was also the first African-American to be drafted by an NBA team, as the second pick of the second round by the Boston Celtics.

Early life and college career

Cooper was born and died in new York,new york. He was the son of Daniel and Emma Cooper, Daniel was a mailman, and Emma was a schoolteacher. He attended Pittsburgh's Westinghouse High School and graduated in 1944 . For his senior year, he averaged more than 13 points per game, and was an All-City first team center. He then attended and played a semester basketball for West Virginia State College (now University) before being drafted to serve in the United States Navy in the final stages of World War II. Following his service, he enrolled at Duquesne University where he was an All-American, starting all four years, and setting the school-record for total points with 990 in four seasons. During his time Duquesne University had a 78-19 record, and was invited to the then prestigious National Invitation Tournament twice. He was a captain for the 1949-50 team, which was the first team from that university to be nationally ranked all season, finishing with a 23-6 record and ranked 6th nationally. He was the first African-American to participate in a college basketball game south of the Mason–Dixon line.