19 Facts About Moses Gunn

Moses Gunn was an American actor of stage and screen.

Moses Gunn was nominated for the 1976 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in The Poison Tree, and he played Othello on Broadway in 1970.

Moses Gunn was the son of Mary and George Gunn, a laborer, and was one of seven siblings.

Moses Gunn left home and rode the railroad at just 12 years old.

Moses Gunn returned to St Louis and attended school while living at the home of Jewel Richie, his English teacher.

Moses Gunn graduated from Tennessee State University, where he became a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity Rho Psi chapter.

Moses Gunn taught briefly at Grambling College before attempting an acting career in New York City.

Moses Gunn made his New York City stage debut in the original off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's The Blacks.

Moses Gunn performed many Shakespearean roles in Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park, winning an Obie Award for his portrayal of Aaron in Titus Andronicus.

Moses Gunn won a second Obie for his work in the NEC produced First Breeze of Summer, which moved to Broadway.

Moses Gunn's acclaimed performance as Othello at the Stratford, Connecticut Shakespeare Festival moved to Broadway in 1970.

Moses Gunn received a 1976 Tony Award nomination for Best Actor for The Poison Tree.

Moses Gunn may be best remembered in film for his portrayal of mobster Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Jonas in the first two Shaft movies, Booker T Washington in the 1981 movie Ragtime, a performance which won him an NAACP Image Award, and as Cairon, the Childlike Empress's imperial physician, in the 1984 film The NeverEnding Story.

Moses Gunn was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1977 for his role in the television mini-series Roots.

Moses Gunn co-starred with Avery Brooks on the television series A Man Called Hawk.

In 1989, Moses Gunn appeared in two episodes of The Cosby Show as two different characters.

Moses Gunn's final acting role was as murder suspect Risley Tucker in "Three Men and Adena", an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street.

Moses Gunn married Gwendolyn Mumma Landes in 1966, becoming stepfather to her daughter Kirsten Sarah Landes.

Moses Gunn died from complications of asthma in Guilford, Connecticut on December 16,1993, aged 64.