Keith David Biography

Fast Facts

• First acting role was as the Cowardly Lion in his grammar school's production of The Wizard of Oz
• Right after Juilliard, became Raul Julia's understudy for the Shakespeare Festival in Central Park's production of Othello
• Won the 1989 Actors' Equity Association's St
• Clair Bayfield Award (for best Shakespearean performance) for his work in Coriolanus
• Won the 1996 NAACP Theatre Award for Best Actor for his work in the Broadway play Seven Guitars
• Provided the narration for the 2012 Community episode "Pillows and Blankets" in a parody of his narration of Ken Burns' documentaries like Jazz (2001) and The War (2007)
• Has his own cabaret act, which features renditions of pop and jazz standards, and has starred in a musical tribute to Nat King Cole