Bill Duke

Film director and actor Bill Duke was born William Henry Hudson Duke, Jr. sur Février 26, 1943 in Poughkeepsie, New York and is the son of Ethel Louise (née Douglas) and William Henry Hudson Duke, Sr. Duke earned his A.A. degree from Dutchess Community College and then became interested in the performing arts while attending Boston University, where he had originally enrolled as a pre-med student. He eventually majored in theater there and then went on to earn a M.A. degree in fine arts from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Duke later enrolled in the American Film Institute (AFI).

Duke began his career as an actor, initially in the small theaters of New York City, especially Harlem, performing in such plays as LeRoi Jones’ Slave Ship and Melvin Van Peebles’ musical Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death. Duke’s first movie role came in 1976 when he portrayed a fierce young Black Muslim revolutionary named “Abdullah Mohammed Akbar” in Car Wash. Duke’s television directorial debut came in 1982 when he directed episodes of Knot’s Landing, Falcon Crest, et Flamingo Road for Lorimar Productions. Duke’s most prominent and critically acclaimed television work, cependant, has been his direction of teleplays for the PBS series American Playhouse including “The Killing Floor,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” and “The Meeting,” a 90-minute drama that depicted an imaginary meeting between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., et Malcolm X. During the 1980s, Duke amassed more than 100 television directing credits, including more than 70 episodes of roughly 20 television series such asMiami Vice, Dallas, Crime Story, Cagney and Lacey et Hill Street Blues. Duke directed his first feature film in 1990, a film adaptation of Chester Himes’ novel A Rage in Harlem. Duke went on to direct many other films including Deep Cover, Sister Act 2, Hoodlum et Deacons for Defense.

Dans 2004, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Duke to the California Film Commission, which works to enhance the economic climate of the state by keeping film industry jobs in California. Duke also works with non-profit and charity organizations such as Educating Young Minds, an organization that helps inner-city students excel at school and in life. Duke is the recipient of numerous awards including the AFI’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the NAACP’s Special Award for Outstanding Achievement, SCLC’s Drum Major for Justice Film Award and a Cable Ace Award. President Bill Clinton appointed Duke to the National Endowment for the Humanities.

He is set to release his new book for the film “Dark Girls” on November 4th of this year. His new film “Light Girls” is set to be released on the OWN network within 3 à 4 mois.