Bill Duke

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Bill Duke

William Henry Duke Jr. (born February 26, 1943 in Poughkeepsie , New York ) is an American actor and director .

Life

Duke studied acting at Boston University . He then graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts and the AFI Conservatory . Duke made his first steps in the film business in the early 1970s through appearances in various television series. At the same time, he shot episodes of TV series as a director. Bill Duke's first notable film role was in Car Wash in 1976 . Four years later he could be seen at Richard Gere's side in A Man for a few hours . In the following 10 years, Duke was mostly seen in action films such as The Phantom Command and Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger . In 1990 he played the antagonist of Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn in A Bird on a Wire . What is striking in the films he plays in is his height of 1.93 meters.

In 1991 Bill Duke tried again as a director. After he was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for the television film The Killing Floor in 1985 , he took it easy behind the camera. His drama Harlem Action ran among others in the competition in Cannes . In 1993 he shot Sister Act 2 - In divine Mission, the sequel to the successful comedy Sister Act with Whoopi Goldberg . In 2003 Duke received a Black Reel Award for the television film Deacons for Defense .

After he retired as an actor in the mid-1990s, he has been back in front of the camera more and more since 1998.

Filmography (selection)

actor

Director

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Duke, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Duke, William Henry Jr.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor and director
DATE OF BIRTH February 26, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Poughkeepsie , New York