Chuck Cooper (actor)

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.

In 2015, Cooper appeared on Broadway as the slave Thomas in the new musical Amazing Grace, at the Nederlander Theatre. The musical is about John Newton, the redeemed slave-trader who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace".

Personal life

Cooper has three children, Eddie, Alex, and Lilli, from his first marriage. His son Eddie has performed on television and on stage. Lilli Cooper, his daughter, is also an actress. She made her Broadway debut in the original cast of the 2006 musical Spring Awakening. She has also performed as Elphaba in Wicked, in official tours and on Broadway.

In May 2009 Cooper and playwright Deborah Brevoort were married in Carmel, New York, after almost ten years of dating. Their initial meeting and eventual engagement were covered in a New York Times website video.