Calvin Lockhart

Active - 1967 - 2007  |   Born - Oct 18, 1934 in Nassau, Bahamas  |   Died - Mar 29, 2007   |   Genres - Drama, Comedy, Crime

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Biography by AllMovie

Imposing Bahamian actor Calvin Lockhart was at one time an engineering student. Firmly established as a Broadway leading man in the early 1960, Lockhart found that worthwhile opportunities for black performers were severely limited in Hollywood; as a result, he moved to England, where he appeared with regularity in BBC television productions and in such films as A Dandy in Aspic (1966) and Joanna (1968). He returned to the U.S. for the racially supercharged urban drama Halls of Anger (1970), following this personal triumph with an embarrassing appearance in Myra Breckinridge (1970) and a fascinating turn as the charismatic villain of Cotton Comes to Harlem (1972). While he never quite became the "second Sidney Poitier" as predicted by movie publicists, Lockhart was directed by Poitier in Uptown Saturday Night (1974) and Let's Do It Again (1975). Calvin Lockhart's TV work has included recurring appearances on the nighttime serial Dynasty. Lockhart died on Mar 29, 2007, in the Bahamas, of complications from a stroke, shortly after shooting a supporting role in the Nassau-set family drama Rain. He was 72 years old.

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Factsheet

  • Youngest of eight children.
  • Drove a taxi and worked as a carpenter while working as a stage actor in New York.
  • Studied with Uta Hagen.
  • Made his Broadway debut in the play The Cool World (1960), which only ran for two performances.
  • Struggling to find work in the U.S., moved to Europe and formed his own theatre company.
  • Was actor-in-residence with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1974.
  • Had a recurring role on Dynasty as Diahann Carroll's love interest.