Wendell Edward Pierce was born on December 8,1963 and is an American actor and businessman.
39 Facts About Wendell Pierce
2.
Wendell Pierce first gained recognition portraying the role of Detective Bunk Moreland in the acclaimed HBO drama series The Wire from 2002 to 2008.
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Wendell Pierce earned Independent Spirit Awards nominations for his film roles in Four and Burning Cane, which he served as a producer.
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Wendell Pierce made his Broadway debut in John Pielmeier's 1985 play The Boys of Winter, followed by Caryl Churchill's Serious Money in 1988.
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Wendell Pierce performed the lead role of Willy Loman in the revival of Death of a Salesman on the West End in London in 2019 and on Broadway in New York in 2022, for which he earned Laurence Olivier Award and Tony Award nominations.
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Wendell Pierce was born in New Orleans, one of three sons of a teacher and a decorated World War II veteran who worked as a maintenance engineer.
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Wendell Pierce's father's segregated Army unit helped Marines win the Battle of Saipan in 1944.
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Wendell Pierce was raised in the black middle-class community of Pontchartrain Park, the first African-American post-war suburb.
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Wendell Pierce graduated in 1981 from both Benjamin Franklin High School and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.
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In 1981, Wendell Pierce was named a Presidential Scholar of the Arts.
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Wendell Pierce produced and hosted Think About It, a youth-themed talk show, for the local NBC affiliate station, and hosted a weekly jazz show on WYLD-FM Radio called Extensions from Congo Square.
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Wendell Pierce then attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division from 1981 to 1985 graduating as a member of Group 14 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
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Wendell Pierce has been in over 30 films, appeared in nearly 50 television shows, and has performed in dozens of stage productions.
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Wendell Pierce worked on the HBO dramas The Wire and Treme.
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Wendell Pierce was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for his portrayal of Joe, a married and closeted gay man who steps out on his family with a young white man he met online, in Four.
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The film was released on September 13,2013, around the same time that The Michael J Fox Show debuted on NBC, in which Pierce played Michael J Fox's character's boss until the show's cancellation some five months later.
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From 2015 to 2017, Wendell Pierce starred, alongside Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon, in a revival of the sitcom The Odd Couple on CBS playing the role of Teddy.
18.
When Mike Henry stepped down as the voice of Cleveland Brown on Family Guy in June 2020, in light of the George Floyd protests, Wendell Pierce launched a campaign to become Henry's replacement.
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Wendell Pierce lost the role to YouTube personality Arif Zahir.
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Wendell Pierce was lauded for his performance as Holt Fay in Queenie at the John F Kennedy Center.
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Wendell Pierce has performed on Broadway in staged productions of The Piano Lesson, Serious Money, and The Boys of Winter.
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Wendell Pierce has performed off-Broadway in The Cherry Orchard, Waiting for Godot, and Broke-ology performed at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
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Wendell Pierce is a theater producer and produced the Broadway show, Clybourne Park.
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In 2015, Wendell Pierce returned to the stage to star in the Billie Holiday Theatre production of Jackie Alexander's Brothers from the Bottom in New York.
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In 2019, Wendell Pierce starred in the acclaimed Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman at the Young Vic Theatre in London and its successful transfer to the West End.
26.
Wendell Pierce tried to calm her down from the stage, and reportedly was patient in his attempts to calm her down.
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In 2009, Wendell Pierce became the host of the nationally syndicated, Peabody Award-winning radio program, Jazz at Lincoln Center, which featured live recordings from Jazz at Lincoln Center's House of Swing.
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In 2016, Wendell Pierce started appearing on several albums recorded in New Orleans.
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Wendell Pierce recorded the song "Make America Great Again" with Delfeayo Marsalis in 2016, one song with Kermit Ruffins on Irvin Mayfield's 2017 album, A Beautiful World, and one with Stanton Moore on his 2017 album, With You In Mind.
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In 2020, Wendell Pierce recorded "The Ever Fonky Lowdown" with Wynton Marsalis.
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Wendell Pierce considers himself a "true capitalist" and a "classic entrepreneur".
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Wendell Pierce describes himself as "tri-coastal", splitting his time among Los Angeles, New York City, and New Orleans.
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Wendell Pierce is a supporter of the New Orleans Saints, and locals have nicknamed him "Saints Wendell".
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Wendell Pierce is an avid supporter of St Patrick's Athletic FC.
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Wendell Pierce was a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton and was on the board of Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a campaign created by the Clinton Foundation.
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Wendell Pierce attended the 2012 Democratic National Convention, was one of President Barack Obama's top campaign fundraisers in 2012, and once escorted Gwen Ifill to a White House State Dinner.
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On Sunday, May 15,2016, Wendell Pierce was arrested and charged with simple battery for an alleged attack against a female Bernie Sanders supporter outside Atlanta Loews Hotel.
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Wendell Pierce was booked and released on $1,000 bond from Fulton County Jail.
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Wendell Pierce subsequently completed a pre-trial diversion program, including counselling and community service resulting in dismissal of the charge.