Adolph Caesar

Adolph Caesar
Caesar in 1979
Born	(1933-12-05)December 5, 1933 Harlem,New York City, U.S.
Died	March 6, 1986(1986-03-06)(aged 52) Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1969–1986
Known for	Playing Sgt. Waters inA Soldier's Playand its film adaptationA Soldier's Story
Spouse	Diane ​ (m.1986)​
Children	3

Adolph Caesar(December 5, 1933 – March 6, 1986) was an American film and theater actor. Known for his signature deep voice,Caesar was a staple ofoff-Broadwayas a member of theNegro Ensemble Company,and as a voiceover artist for numerousfilm trailers.He earned widespread acclaim for his performance as Sgt. Vernon Waters inCharles Fuller'sPulitzer Prize-winningA Soldier's Play,a role he reprised in the 1984 film adaptationA Soldier's Story,for which he receivedAcademy AwardandGolden Globe Awardnominations, and won anNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture.

Early life and education

Caesar was born inHarlem,New York City in 1933 as the youngest of three sons born to aDominicanmother and a black indigenous father.At age 12, he contracted laryngitis which led to his notably deep voice.

After graduating fromGeorge Washington High Schoolin 1952, Caesar enlisted in theUnited States Navyduring theKorean Warera,serving as ahospital corpsmanfor five years,achieving the rank ofchief petty officer.Upon his discharge from the service, he decided to break into the theater and went on to study drama atNew York University,graduating in 1962.

Career

Early career

Caesar made his film debut in 1969 inChe!,playing Cuban revolutionaryJuan Almeida Bosque.A year later, Caesar became an announcer for and then joined theNegro Ensemble Companyin 1970 for productions such asThe River Niger,Square Root of the Soul,andThe Brownsville Raid.Caesar also later worked with the Minnesota Theater Company, Inner City Repertory Company, and theAmerican Shakespeare Theatre.He had a stint on the soap operasGuiding LightandGeneral Hospitalin 1964 and 1969, respectively.

Thanks to his voice, Caesar found frequent work as a voice-over artist for television and radio commercials, including theatrical previews and radio commercials for manyblaxploitationfilms such asCleopatra Jones,Superfly,Truck TurnerandThe Spook Who Sat by the Door.For many years, he was the voice of theUnited Negro College Fund's publicity campaign, reciting the iconic slogan "...because a mind is a terrible thing to waste."

Later in his career, Caesar also lent his voice to the animated seriesSilverhawks,in which he voiced Hotwing, a magician and skilled illusionist.

In 1980, Caesar appeared in the infamousBruceploitationmockumentaryFist of Fear, Touch of Death,playing himself as a fictional television news reporter investigating the death ofBruce Lee.

A Soldier's Play

Caesar’s most iconic work started with his role as Army Sergeant. Vernon C. Waters inCharles Fuller'sPulitzer Prize-winning stage drama,A Soldier's Play,for which Caesar wonDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Playand anObie Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Achievement.A Soldier’s Playis set inLouisianaduringWorld War II,just before theU.S. militarywas desegregated. Sgt. Waters is an ambitious Blackdrill sergeantwho strives for recognition for African-American soldiers while detesting "Geechees",as he termsuneducated, subservient, and unintelligent southern Blacks,as an obstacle toracial equalityand the success of the futureAfrican American upper class,and who need to be removed at all costs. The play and film are amurder mysterythat unfolds in flashbacks, as a Black JAG Captain investigates Sgt. Waters' murder at the beginning of the play and which the Captain eventually reveals to have been afraggingby one of Waters' own men.

In a 1985 interview with theLos Angeles Times,Caesar stated, while crafting the character of Waters, he drew on his experiences withracisminClassical theatre,"I’d studiedShakespeareto death. I knew more about Shakespeare than Shakespeare knew about himself. After I did one season at a Shakespearean repertory company, a director said to me, ‘You have a marvelous voice. You know the king’s English well. You speakiambic pentameter.My suggestion is that you go to New York and get a good colored role.' Waters has tried his best, but no matter what you do, they still hate you. "Caesar subsequently coined the character's signature phrase," They still hate you ".

Caesar subsequently reprised his role as Waters inNorman Jewison's 1984 film adaptation of Fuller's play, retitledA Soldier's Story.His performance was acclaimed and earned him numerous accolades, includingAcademy AwardandGolden Globe Awardnominations for Best Supporting Actor, and anNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture.He also won theLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Later career

On the basis of hisSoldier's Storysuccess, Caesar was cast inSteven Spielberg'sThe Color Purpleas Old Mister Johnson, the father ofDanny Glover's character. He also appeared on an episode ofThe Twilight Zoneand anABC Afterschool Special.Caesar's last completed film wasClub Paradise,released posthumously.

Personal life and death

Caesar had three children with his wife Diane, whom he was married to until his death.

Caesar was working on theLos Angelesset of the 1986 filmTough Guys(withBurt LancasterandKirk Douglas) when he suffered aheart attackand died a short time later.His role was recast withEli Wallach.He was interred at theFerncliff CemeteryinHartsdale, New York.

Works

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1969	Che!	Juan Almeida	Richard Fleischer
1975	Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle	Brutish (voice)	Picha Boris Szulzinger	English-language version
1979	The Hitter	Nathan	Christopher Leitch
1980	Fist of Fear, Touch of Death	Himself	Matthew Mallinson
1984	A Soldier's Story	Sgt. Vernon Waters	Norman Jewison
1985	The Color Purple	Old Mister Johnson	Steven Spielberg
1986	Club Paradise	Prime Minister Solomon Gundy	Harold Ramis	Released posthumously

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	The Wild Wild West	Vidoq	Episode: "The Night of the Gruesome Games"
1969	General Hospital	Douglas Burke
1970	The Challenge	Clarence Opano	Television film
1978	Watch Your Mouth	Jeff Cremer	2 episodes
1984	Guiding Light	Zamana
1985	Tales from the Darkside	Mars Gillis	Episode: "Parlour Floor Front"
1986	The Twilight Zone	The Supervisor	Episode: "A Matter of Minutes"
	Fortune Dane	Charles Dane	Episode: "Pilot"
	ABC Afterschool Specials	Dr. Rancid	Episode: "Getting Even: A Wimp's Revenge"
	SilverHawks	Hotwing / Seymour (voices)	Main cast

Theatre (partial)

Year	Title	Role	Director	Theatre	Notes
1965-67	Happy Ending / Day of Absence	Jackson	Philip Meister	St. Mark's Playhouse
1971	Rosalee Pritchett	Robert Barron	Shauneille Perry
	Perry's Mission	Lester "Bobo" Johnson	Douglas Turner Ward
	Ride a Black Horse	Harold
	Mary Stuart	Count Bellievre	Jules Irving	Vivian Beaumont Theater	Broadway debut
1971-72	The Sty of the Blind Pig	Doc	Shauneille Perry	St. Mark's Playhouse
1972	A Ballet Behind the Bridge	Lalsingh	Douglas Turner Ward		Also choreographer
	Frederick Douglass...Through His Own Words	Frederick Douglass			Also playwright
1974	Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide	The Newscaster	Dean Irby
1975	Waiting for Mongo	Doodybug	Douglas Turner Ward
1976-77	The Brownsville Raid	Pvt. James Holliman	Israel Hicks	Lucille Lortel Theatre
1977	The Square Root of Soul	—	Perry Schwartz		As playwright
1979	Plays from Africa		Dean Irby	St. Mark's Playhouse
1979	A Season to Unravel	Garrison	Glenda Dickerson
1980	Lagrima del Diablo	Aquilo	Richard Gant
1981-83	A Soldier's Play	Sgt. Vernon Waters	Douglas Turner Ward	Julia Miles Theater

Awards and honors

Award	Year	Category	Nominated work	Outcome
Academy Award	1985	Best Supporting Actor	A Soldier's Story	Nominated
Daytime Emmy Award	1987	Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming	ABC Afterschool Specials( "Getting Even: A Wimp's Revenge" )	Nominated
Drama Desk Award	1982	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play	A Soldier's Play	Won
Golden Globe Award	1985	Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture	A Soldier's Story	Nominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association	1984	Best Supporting Actor		Won
NAACP Image Award	1985	Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture		Won
Obie Award	1983	Outstanding Off-Broadway Achievement	A Soldier's Play	Won

References

• "Adolph Caesar Biography".filmreference.2008.RetrievedSeptember 1,2008.

External links

• Adolph Caesarat theInternet Broadway Database
• Adolph CaesaratIMDb
• Adolph Caesar's Entry at the Lortel Archives
• Adolph Caesar's Entry at the Grindhouse Database
• Los Angeles Times