Ben Vereen Biography

Fast Facts

• Discovered he was adopted in the late 1960s when he applied for a passport
• Nominated for a Tony for his first two Broadway musicals: as Best Featured Actor in 1972 for Jesus Christ Superstar, and as Best Actor in 1973 for Pippin (which he won)
• Costarred with Jeff Goldblum in the 1980 detective series Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, playing a parolee-turned-PI
• In 1988, reprised the character as a regular in the series J
• J
• Starbuck, starring Dale Roberston as a Texas billionaire who solves crimes
• Almost killed in a 1992 Pacific Coast Highway accident, which occurred when he was walking back to his Malibu home (after earlier crashing his car)
• Hit by a small truck, he suffered head and internal injuries and a broken leg; spent four hours in surgery and six weeks hospitalized
• Godfather to R&B singer Usher; helped him prepare for his 2006 Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in Chicago