AllMovie

Born in the Bronx, Shavar Ross moved to Georgia with his mother at age six when his parents separated. Ross' father headed to Los Angeles to launch a career in show business, and it was on a visit to see his dad in Tinseltown that the youngster -- then just eight years old -- was discovered by a talent scout. He would eventually win the role of Dudley on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, launching a career that would come to include countless TV appearances on shows like Family Matters and Friday the 13th. Ross also got involved in voice acting, lending his vocal talents to various Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and completed four years of ministry school, after which he founded the Alive Church, a nondenominational Christian church in Los Angeles. He also launched his own production company, Tri-Seven Entertainment.