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Avon Long

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Years active
  
1935-1984

Name
  
Avon Long

Role
  
Actor



Born
  
June 18, 1910 (
1910-06-18
)
Baltimore, Maryland

Died
  
February 15, 1984, New York City, New York, United States

Spouse
  
Gretchen Cotton (m. ?–1984)

Albums
  
The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Gershwin: Porgy and Bess

Nominations
  
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical

Movies
  
The Sting, Trading Places, Harry and Tonto, Bye Bye Monkey, Roots: The Next Generations

Similar People
  
Lawrence Winters, Thelma Carpenter, Anne Brown, Lehman Engel, J Rosamond Johnson

Avon Long (June 18, 1910 – February 15, 1984) was an American Broadway actor and singer.

Contents

Biography

Avon Long Black Kudos Avon Long Avon Long June 18 1910 February

Long was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He performed in a number of Broadway shows, including Black Rhythm (1939), Porgy and Bess (as Sportin' Life in the 1942 revival), and Beggar's Holiday (1946). Long and Lena Horne co-introduced the Harold Arlen-Ted Koehler composition "As Long As I Live" in "Cotton Club Parade" (1934) when Miss Horne was only 16 years old.

Avon Long Black Kudos Avon Long Avon Long June 18 1910 February

He reprised his role of Sportin' Life in the 1951 3-LP Columbia Masterworks recording of Porgy and Bess, the most complete recording of the opera issued up to that time. He also co-starred with Thelma Carpenter in the 1952 revival of Shuffle Along, which they recorded for RCA Victor.

Long received a Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) in 1973, for the role of Dave in Don't Play Us Cheap. The all-black play opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York on May 16, 1972 and ran for 164 performances. Long, along with Thomas Anderson, Joshie Armstead, Robert Dunn, Jay Van Leer, Esther Rolle, Mabel King, George Ooppee McCurn, Frank Carey, Nate Barnett, and Rhetta Hughes, recreated their stage roles in a film production by Melvin Van Peebles, in 1973.

He originated the role of John in Bubbling Brown Sugar on Broadway, which opened at the August Wilson Theatre (then-ANTA Playhouse) on March 2, 1976, and closed on December 31, 1977, after 766 performances.

Avon Long Avon Long Bio Facts Family Famous Birthdays

Long also appeared in a number of films and television shows. He played the elderly Chicken George Moore in Roots: The Next Generations miniseries, and had small roles in Trading Places - memorable as Ezra, the man to whom Don Ameche gives a miserably small Christmas bonus ("maybe I'll go to the movies - by myself"), The Sting ("Flat rate!"), and Harry and Tonto.

Long died from cancer at 73, on February 15, 1984 in New York City, and was interred in NY's Ferncliff Cemetery, in Hartsdale, New York.

His oldest granddaughter is author, artist and radio talk show host JoAnn Pinkney Wilcox, who wrote the book "Getting Paid To Keep You In Debt!"

Filmography

Actor
1984
Nothing Lasts Forever as
Alphacruiser Steward
1983
Trading Places as
Ezra
1980
F.D.R.: The Last Year (TV Movie) as
Bunnright
1979
Roots: The Next Generations (TV Mini Series) as
Chicken George Moore
- Part I (1882-1883) (1979) - Chicken George Moore
1978
Bye Bye Monkey as
Miko
1974
Harry and Tonto as
Leroy
1973
The Sting as
Benny Garfield
1972
Don't Play Us Cheap as
Brother Dave
1968
Finian's Rainbow as
Passion Pilgrim Gospeleer (uncredited)
1962
13 West Street as
Police detective sitting at desk (uncredited)
1959
The Big Story (TV Series) as
Davie
- With Intent to Kill (1959) - Davie
1959
The Green Pastures (TV Movie) as
First Gambler
1957
The Green Pastures (TV Movie) as
First Gambler
1956
The Rack as
Hotel Room Service Waiter (uncredited)
1948
Romance on the High Seas as
Specialty Singer
1946
Centennial Summer as
Specialty
1935
Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party (Short) as
Cotton Club Dancer (uncredited)
Soundtrack
2002
Rumble (writer: "Bad Boy")
1983
Breathless (writer: "Bad Boy")
1968
Finian's Rainbow (performer: "The Begat" (1946) - uncredited)
1948
Romance on the High Seas (performer: "The Tourist Trade" - uncredited)
1946
Centennial Summer (performer: "Cinderella Sue" - uncredited)
Self
1973
The 27th Annual Tony Awards (TV Special) as
Self - Nominee
1952
The Ken Murray Show (TV Series) as
Self
- Ray Middleton/Bethel Leslie (1952) - Self
1951
Kreisler Bandstand (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #1.7 (1951) - Self
1950
Showtime, U.S.A. (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #1.5 (1950) - Self
1950
Floor Show (TV Series) as
Self - Singer / Dancer
- Episode dated 13 May 1950 (1950) - Self - Singer / Dancer
1949
All-Star Thanksgiving Show (TV Special) as
Self
1949
Sugar Hill Times (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #1.2 (1949) - Self
1949
Hotel Broadway (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #1.1 (1949) - Self

References

Avon Long Wikipedia


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