A Different World

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NBC (ended 1993)

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  • Jasmine Guy

    Whitley Marion Gilbert-Wayne

    8.3
    Guy is best known for her role as Whitney Gilbert on the NBC series "A Different World" which aired from 1987 to 1993. She won six NAACP Image Awards for her portrayal as the elitist poor little rich girl with a southern accent. She originally trained as a classical dancer and was a member of the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Company in her late teens. She is a singer, choreographer, and author.moreless

  • Kadeem Hardison

    Dwayne Cleophus Wayne

    8.1
    Hardison became interested in acting when he was in his early teens, and he began studying theater at New York's Eubie Blake Theater, where one of his instructors was Earle Hyman, who later portrayed Grandpa Huxtable on The Cosby Show. Hardison's work with Hyman helped win the young actor a guest spot on a 1984 episode of The Cosby Show, playing opposite Lisa Bonet; the same year, Hardison made his big-screen debut with a small role in the hip-hop musical Beat Street. Hardison made a handful of appearances in movies and television projects over the next two years, but his debut appearance on The Cosby Show earned him a major dividend in 1987, when Denise Huxtable, Lisa Bonet's character on The Cosby Show, was spun-off into her own series, A Different World.moreless

  • Dawnn Lewis

    Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor (seasons 1 - 5)

    7.1
    Dawnn Lewis was born August 13, 1960. She is remembered mostly from her role as Jalessa Vinson on "Different World, A" (1987). Dawnn helped compose the theme song that was used for the series. She left the show in 1992 to join the cast of "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" (1992) as Robin Dumars. In 1995-1996 she continued a career in acting doing mostly voiceovers which include a character on "Spider-Man" (1995), "Bruno The Kid" (1996) and the movie "C Bear And Jamal" (1996) (TV). In 1998, she helped write the movie Black Jaq (1998) (TV). She continues to make guest appearances on various shows.moreless

  • Lisa Bonet

    Denise Huxtable (season 1)

    7.3
    Lisa Bonet is an American actress who is a native of San Francisco, California. Of African-American and Jewish ancestry. Bonet actually began acting when she was 11, attending many auditions and participating in several television commercials before she became a star.moreless

  • Cree Summer

    Winifred "Freddie" Brooks (seasons 2 - 6)

    9.3
    Cree Summer Francks was born July 7, 1969 in California to actor Don Francks. Her father didn't want to raise Cree in Hollywood so he moved them to a Plains Cree reserve in Canada, where they lived in a house made of mud. She later lived in a bus, a horse stable as well as a commune. Cree has had an extensive career in voiceover work. Her career started early in her teens when she got the part of the voice of Penny on "Inspector Gadget". It led to many, many more voice roles. In 1988 Cree joined the cast of "A Different World" as Freddie Brooks, a role which she kept for the next 5 years. In 1999 Cree released her first CD, produced by Lenny Kravitz (they met thanks to mutual friend actress Lisa Bonet). Cree continues to work as a voiceover actress in movies and TV as well as building her career as a singer. Her father is famed Canadian actor Don Francks, and her mother is Lili Red Eagle , a member of the Plains Cree First Nation. Her brother is former Much Music VJ Rainbow Sun Francks of Stargate Atlantis. She was born in Los Angeles, California, but grew up on an Indian reserve in Saskatchewan, Canada. Summer's career began in 1983 when she was cast as the voice of niece Penny on the original cartoon version of Inspector Gadget. Her unique, throaty voice was instantly recognizable to casting agents (as well as viewers even today), who began frequently casting her in animated programs. Many of these were part of cult franchises, like The Care Bears Movie (1985) and Ewoks (1985, part of the Star Wars franchise). Audiences finally had a chance to put Summer's voice to a face when she was cast as the afrocentric Winifred "Freddie" Brooks in the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World. Summer, a multiracial woman (of Caucasian, Black, and Native American descent) who wears her hair in a large afro-style, proved to have an appearance as unique as her voice. She remained a regular cast member of the show from 1988 through its end in 1993. During the run of A Different World Summer continued working in voice acting. She was cast in the short-lived television series Sweet Justice in 1994; it went off air in 1995. Barring numerous guest appearances on other live action television shows such as Living Single and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Summer's professional work since has been limited to voice acting. In all, Cree Summer has voiced over 70 animated characters between 1983 and 2004, many of them were African-American girls. These have spanned the realm of video games, cartoon television series, animated films and commercials. Among her most famous roles was in Tiny Toon Adventures (1990) as Elmyra Duff (which she reprised for Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain), Aka Pella in Histeria!, Dulcy the dragon in Sonic the Hedgehog, and Cleo the poodle in Clifford the Big Red Dog (2000-2003). Among her more recent roles are Susie Carmichael in All Grown Up! (itself a role carried over from Rugrats), and the Lincoln sisters Abby/Numbuh 5 and Teen Ninja Cree (formerly Numbuh 11) in Codename: Kids Next Door. In 2001, she did the voice of Princess 'Kida' Kidagakash for Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire. She also does voices in M&M's advertisements as the voice of the female green M&M. Summer has also ventured into the realm of music. In 1990, she sang background vocals on two tracks for fellow A Different World cast member Jasmine Guy's self titled LP. In 1993 she released an album (as lead singer) with her band Subject to Change. The album was not officially released by Capitol Records because of creative differences; the records that were produced were distributed promotionally and are considered a rarity. The band, with an aggressive political message and rock-soul fusion sound, remained popular as a co-headlining act with other performers. In 1999 Summer released the solo album Street Faerie produced by and featuring guest artist (and friend) Lenny Kravitz, the album was not hugely successful. Summer toured as Kravitz's opening act, but her label dropped her and a planned spot with Lilith Fair was cancelled. The label continued to promote it, however, sending out a four-track sampler to radio and issuing remix singles of the track "Revelation Sunshine" in Australia and Europe.moreless

  • Darryl M. Bell

    Ron Johnson (seasons 2 - 6, recurring previously)

    9.3

  • Charnele Brown

    Kimberly Reese (seasons 2 - 6)

    7.2

  • Lou Myers

    Vernon Gaines (seasons 3 - 6, recurring previously)

    9.8

  • Sinbad

    Walter Oakes (seasons 2 - 4, recurring previously)

    8.2
    Sinbad's name recalls the literary legend that symbolizes strength, adventure and optimism and is what he strives for.

    "I renamed myself Sinbad because Sinbad is bad'. He could hang out with rogues and with kings. He didn't have the strength of Hercules, but he could outwit anyone."

    Born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Sinbad grew up telling jokes to his three brothers and two sisters. The image sticks: Sinbad the wild child, off-the-wall Sinbad who would do anything for attention, acting stupid, free as the wind, an unpredictable force that can't be harnessed, and always willing to pay any price, looking for laughs.

    Sinbad's first love was basketball and the Globetrotters were a childhood dream. He won a basketball scholarship to University of Denver.

    "I had flaming red hair and they called me Red Chamberlain. I had "Baby Wilt" written on the side of my car. I was on my way to becoming All-American. I thought college ball was going to be the ticket."

    But basketball's loss was comedy's gain and Sinbad has become one of stand-up's biggest names. It began in 1983, when he embarked on his "Poverty Tour," going from city to city on the Greyhound, from comedy club to comedy club, working for meals, changing out of hotel restrooms. "I prayed, Please Lord, this is hard work so if I'm not funny let me know right away."

    Sinbad's break was Star Search in the mid eighties. He was never a winner, but good enough to get on the show seven times and become a finalist. That led to a TV movie and a role as Redd Foxx's son on The New Redd Fox Show ("If you don't do this right," Redd told Bad, "we'll get a white boy to play the part.").

    The next break came from Bill Cosby. Cosby became a fan. He cast him in A Different World which along with Sinbad's stint as host of It's Showtime at the Apollo, allowed him to eventually do the 1991 Share the Dream Tour of historically black colleges - a tour backed by Coca-Cola, United Airlines and B.E.T. (Black Entertainment Television). As executive producer and head writer, Sinbad developed an outrageously funny variety show -- "Sinbad & Friends All the Way Live ... Almost" and starred in "Aliens for Breakfast" a children's special for ABC Television.

    Sinbad never tells jokes - "I don't know any," he admits - but rather stalks the stage, telling real-life stories. He doesn't deliver payoff lines; he slam-dunks them. His comedy is large, physical, impetuous. Psychologically, he jams us, poking holes in our life. His stories mirror our foibles. His is the explosive energy of the neighborhood, his phrasing is manic, musical and right on time. He doesn't write his material; he relives it as he remembers it. He never curses - "I want people to bring the whole family to my show."

    Sinbad has received extra exposure in the ad campaign for Reebok Blacktop basketball shoes. The Sinbad-Reebok campaign was the recipient of the prestigious 1992 Grand Effie Award. Blacktop's were also voted New Product of the Year by Footwear News. Sinbad appeared in several television commercials as celebrity spokesperson for Polaroid's Captiva Camera and National Spokesperson for Polaroid's OneStep Talking Camera.

    Sinbad made his big screen debut in the 1991 gridiron comedy Necessary Roughness. His other motion picture credits include a starring role in Houseguest and a cameo in Conehead. He was the voice of the canine Riley in Homeward Bound II. On television, he starred in the title role of The Cherokee Kid on HBO; was star and executive producer of his own acclaimed Fox TV sitcom, The Sinbad Show. Sinbad's Summer Jam Weekend aired on HBO in July this year.

    Sinbad finds time for humanitarian and community services, especially issues that affect children. Working with The Children's Defense Fund and Omega Boys Club has helped him to continue to be more aware of the needs of children. In March of 1996, Sinbad accompanied First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on an official visit to Bosnia and other European stops to provide comic relief to U.S. peacekeeping troops.

    Sinbad is a recipient of the 1994 Candle Award from Morehouse College honoring his excellence in Arts and Entertainment. His commitment to AIDS awareness inspired his participation in the "Time Out" video produced by Arsenio Hall Communications with the proceeds benefiting the Magic Johnson Foundation. Sinbad performed a concert for Morehouse College in which all proceeds benefit the Endowed Scholarship Fund in the names of Sinbad's parents, the Reverend Dr. Donald and Louise Adkins.

    Sinbad is in the business of working with family- his brothers Mark (personal manager), Michael (financial consultant), Donald (sound technician / photographer) and sisters' Dorothea (director of development/road manager) and Donna (publicist). Moreover, it is his family ties that encourage his clean, animated and hilariously funny comedy that is well received by audiences everywhere.moreless

  • Glynn Turman

    Col. Bradford Taylor (seasons 2 - 6)

    7.6

  • Jada Pinkett Smith

    Lena James (season 6, recurring previously)

    7.0
    Jada Pinkett was born on September 18, 1971 in Baltimore, Maryland. Her mother's name was Adrienne Banfield and her father's name is Robson Pinkett Jr. Her father was a contractor and her mother was a nurse. They divorced after a few months of marriage. She majored in dance at the Baltimore School for Arts, where one of her classmates where Tupac Shakur. She spent a year at The Baltimore School of Arts before she went to North Carolina School of Arts, to pursue her acting carrer. She got her first job in 1991 when she went to the sitcom "A Different World". She was in her first movie debut two years later in "Menace Society II" in 1993. She didn't get noticed that much until she went in the movie "The Nutty Professor" in 1996. Pinkett-Smith is married to Will Smith, and they have a son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith; and a daughter, Willow Camille Reign Smith. After five days before shooting "Woo" her close friend Tupac died.moreless

  • Marisa Tomei

    Maggie Lauten (season 1)

    7.7
    Marisa was born on December 04, 1964 in Brooklyn. She started acting on-screen in 1983 with a role in the daytime soap opera As The World Turns. This role lasted for two years. She then went on to do several movies in the 1990s, which granted her notability. Among these are My Cousin Vinny and Untamed Heart. Her role in My Cousin Vinny even landed Marisa an Oscar. Marisa continues to act. In 2006 she had a guest star spot on the hit F/X show Rescue Me.moreless

  • Ajai Sanders

    Gina Deveaux (season 6, recurring previously)

    10

  • Mary Alice

    Leticia "Lettie" Bostic (episodes 13 - 20, 23 - 44)

    0.0

  • Loretta Devine

    Stevie Rallen (episodes 1 - 9, 21)

    9.2
    Loretta Devine is an American actress born in Houston, Texas, on August 21, 1949. In 1971 she graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech. She also graduated Brandeis University in 1976 with a MFA in Theater. She is best known for her role of teacher Marla Hendricks on Boston Public. At the moment she has a recurring role as Adele Webber on the Grey's Anatomy.moreless

  • Karen Malina White

    Charmaine Tyesha Brown (season 6)

    9.6

  • Gary Dourdan

    Shazza Zulu

    9.3
    Gary Durdin, or now known as, Gary Dourdan, was born December 11, 1966 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Gary has a daughter, Nyla and a son, Lyric from other relationships. Robert Durdin, Gary's father, is an agent for jazz musicians. Sandy Durdin, Gary's mother, is a fashion designer. Gary is the youngest of 5 children, and when he was 6, his older brother Darryl, was murdered when he was on a vacation in Haiti. The case is still unsolved. Gary has been a big fan of acting since his younger days. Gary graduated from a local performing arts High school, which is now known as Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia, PA. Gary soon went through his Reckless period, when instead of going to college, he got into a bad drug and alcohol habit. When Gary was held up at gunpoint by a guy on drugs, Gary gave him his money and jewelry. After experiencing this, Gary decided to clean up his act and started focusing on his career. He started doing Broadway, and also modelling for several magazines. Gary got his first break when Debbie Allen cast him as Shazza Zulu on A Different World based on a tape of him in an avant-garde play. Gary is more recognized as Warrick Brown, from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.moreless

  • Sinbad

    Walter Oakes

    8.2
    Sinbad's name recalls the literary legend that symbolizes strength, adventure and optimism and is what he strives for.

    "I renamed myself Sinbad because Sinbad is bad'. He could hang out with rogues and with kings. He didn't have the strength of Hercules, but he could outwit anyone."

    Born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Sinbad grew up telling jokes to his three brothers and two sisters. The image sticks: Sinbad the wild child, off-the-wall Sinbad who would do anything for attention, acting stupid, free as the wind, an unpredictable force that can't be harnessed, and always willing to pay any price, looking for laughs.

    Sinbad's first love was basketball and the Globetrotters were a childhood dream. He won a basketball scholarship to University of Denver.

    "I had flaming red hair and they called me Red Chamberlain. I had "Baby Wilt" written on the side of my car. I was on my way to becoming All-American. I thought college ball was going to be the ticket."

    But basketball's loss was comedy's gain and Sinbad has become one of stand-up's biggest names. It began in 1983, when he embarked on his "Poverty Tour," going from city to city on the Greyhound, from comedy club to comedy club, working for meals, changing out of hotel restrooms. "I prayed, Please Lord, this is hard work so if I'm not funny let me know right away."

    Sinbad's break was Star Search in the mid eighties. He was never a winner, but good enough to get on the show seven times and become a finalist. That led to a TV movie and a role as Redd Foxx's son on The New Redd Fox Show ("If you don't do this right," Redd told Bad, "we'll get a white boy to play the part.").

    The next break came from Bill Cosby. Cosby became a fan. He cast him in A Different World which along with Sinbad's stint as host of It's Showtime at the Apollo, allowed him to eventually do the 1991 Share the Dream Tour of historically black colleges - a tour backed by Coca-Cola, United Airlines and B.E.T. (Black Entertainment Television). As executive producer and head writer, Sinbad developed an outrageously funny variety show -- "Sinbad & Friends All the Way Live ... Almost" and starred in "Aliens for Breakfast" a children's special for ABC Television.

    Sinbad never tells jokes - "I don't know any," he admits - but rather stalks the stage, telling real-life stories. He doesn't deliver payoff lines; he slam-dunks them. His comedy is large, physical, impetuous. Psychologically, he jams us, poking holes in our life. His stories mirror our foibles. His is the explosive energy of the neighborhood, his phrasing is manic, musical and right on time. He doesn't write his material; he relives it as he remembers it. He never curses - "I want people to bring the whole family to my show."

    Sinbad has received extra exposure in the ad campaign for Reebok Blacktop basketball shoes. The Sinbad-Reebok campaign was the recipient of the prestigious 1992 Grand Effie Award. Blacktop's were also voted New Product of the Year by Footwear News. Sinbad appeared in several television commercials as celebrity spokesperson for Polaroid's Captiva Camera and National Spokesperson for Polaroid's OneStep Talking Camera.

    Sinbad made his big screen debut in the 1991 gridiron comedy Necessary Roughness. His other motion picture credits include a starring role in Houseguest and a cameo in Conehead. He was the voice of the canine Riley in Homeward Bound II. On television, he starred in the title role of The Cherokee Kid on HBO; was star and executive producer of his own acclaimed Fox TV sitcom, The Sinbad Show. Sinbad's Summer Jam Weekend aired on HBO in July this year.

    Sinbad finds time for humanitarian and community services, especially issues that affect children. Working with The Children's Defense Fund and Omega Boys Club has helped him to continue to be more aware of the needs of children. In March of 1996, Sinbad accompanied First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on an official visit to Bosnia and other European stops to provide comic relief to U.S. peacekeeping troops.

    Sinbad is a recipient of the 1994 Candle Award from Morehouse College honoring his excellence in Arts and Entertainment. His commitment to AIDS awareness inspired his participation in the "Time Out" video produced by Arsenio Hall Communications with the proceeds benefiting the Magic Johnson Foundation. Sinbad performed a concert for Morehouse College in which all proceeds benefit the Endowed Scholarship Fund in the names of Sinbad's parents, the Reverend Dr. Donald and Louise Adkins.

    Sinbad is in the business of working with family- his brothers Mark (personal manager), Michael (financial consultant), Donald (sound technician / photographer) and sisters' Dorothea (director of development/road manager) and Donna (publicist). Moreover, it is his family ties that encourage his clean, animated and hilariously funny comedy that is well received by audiences everywhere.moreless

  • Lou Myers

    Vernon Gaines

    9.8

  • Jada Pinkett Smith

    Lena James

    7.0
    Jada Pinkett was born on September 18, 1971 in Baltimore, Maryland. Her mother's name was Adrienne Banfield and her father's name is Robson Pinkett Jr. Her father was a contractor and her mother was a nurse. They divorced after a few months of marriage. She majored in dance at the Baltimore School for Arts, where one of her classmates where Tupac Shakur. She spent a year at The Baltimore School of Arts before she went to North Carolina School of Arts, to pursue her acting carrer. She got her first job in 1991 when she went to the sitcom "A Different World". She was in her first movie debut two years later in "Menace Society II" in 1993. She didn't get noticed that much until she went in the movie "The Nutty Professor" in 1996. Pinkett-Smith is married to Will Smith, and they have a son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith; and a daughter, Willow Camille Reign Smith. After five days before shooting "Woo" her close friend Tupac died.moreless

  • Ajai Sanders

    Gina Deveaux

    10

  • Maurice Davis

    Randall Adams

    0.0

  • Dominic Hoffman

    Julian Day

    8.6

  • Abner Mariri

    Kobie

    0.0

  • Bee-Be Smith

    Gloria

    9.8

  • Kim Wayans

    Allison

    9.6

    Part of a unique family of comedians, Kim Wayans has enjoyed working with her brothers, film and television stars Keenen, Damon, Marlon and Shawn. She starred with all of them on the groundbreaking television comedy sketch show In Living Color, and has worked with them in various combinations in such motion pictures as I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the 'Hood and Low Down Dirty Shame. Most recently, Wayans starred in the art film Talking About Sex and had a cameo in the feature film Floundering.
    Her first break in entertainment came when she was booked to do stand - up comedy at The Improv clubs in Santa Monica and Hollywood. Since then, Wayans has made several guest television appearances and has starred as a regular on Quincy Jones's In the House, opposite Debbie Allen and LL Cool J. She is currently working as a story editor on the ABC comedy My Wife and Kids.

    moreless

  • Diahann Carroll

    Marion Gilbert

    8.9
    Diahann Carroll began her career as a model for Ebony magazine when she was 15 years old. She was a student at Manhattan's School of Performing Arts when she began entering talent shows. After graduation, she sang in New York's vital nightclubs before her first appearance on Broadway in The House of Flowers. She received her first Tony Award nomination for her role in the 1954 play. In the same year, she had her first film role in Carmen Jones.

    Diahann had numerous film and Broadway roles and released several albums in the last 50's and early 60's. She won a Tony Award for her Broadway role in the musical No Strings in 1962. Also in 1962, she was nominated for her first Emmy as a guest star in the TV series,
    Naked City    . She then became the second African-American woman to star in her own TV series,
    Julia    , from 1968 to 1971. She won a Golden Globe award in 1968 and was nominated for an Emmy in 1969 for her starring role. She continued to work in films, including Claudine in 1974 with James Earl Jones for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

    Diahann has been married and divorced or widowed four times to the following men: Monte Kay, Freddie Glausman, Robert DeLeon (widowed), and Vic Damone. She also had a long affair with Sidney Poiter and a broken engagement with talk show host, David Frost. She has one child, Suzanne Kay, who was born in 1960. Diahann is well-known for her TV roles as Dominique Deveraux in
    Dynasty     and as Whitley Gilbert's mother in
    A Different World     for which she was again nominated for an Emmy. Diahann is a breast cancer survivor and now promotes cancer awareness and early screenings. She continues to act, sing, and promote her line of wigs, clothing and accessories.moreless

  • Rueben Grundy

    Ernest Bennett

    0.0

  • Patti LaBelle

    Adele Wayne

    8.6
    Patti was born in Philadelphia and grew up singing in gospel choirs. In 1960, she teamed with a friend to form her first singing group--The Ordettes. The group added some members and changed its name. With this group, The Blue Belles, Patti scored several Billboard top 20 hits. Through the '60's and '70's the group underwent numerous changes and incarnations. By 1975, Patti was ready to embark on a solo career. In the late '70's and early '80's, Patti began adding acting credits to her resumee (including a Broadway play). Throughout the '80's and '90's, Patti continued her solo career (scoring more hits) and continued to appear on film and TV.moreless

  • Cory Tyler

    Terrence Johann Taylor

    8.8
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