actor; movie director; movie producer
Personal Information
Born in 1964 in Tacoma, WA; son of Frank (a U.S. Army colonel) and Marilyn (an interior designer) Underwood; married, Desiree DaCosta; children: Paris and Brielle.
Education: Carnegie-Mellon University, B.F.A., 1988.
Career
Actor, director, and producer. Began acting in high school plays in Petersburg, Virginia. Television appearances include guest spots on The Cosby Show and Knight Rider, 1985; recurring role on One Life to Live, 1985; series regular on Downtown, 1986; series regular on L.A. Law, 1987-94; series regular on High Incident, 1996, series regular on City of Angels, 2000. Television movies include Murder in Mississippi, 1990; Heat Wave, 1990; Father & Son: Dangerous Relations, 1993; Soul of the Game, 1996; Mama Flora's Family, 1998. Motion picture appearances include Krush Groove, 1985; Posse, 1993; The Second Coming, 1993 (also director and producer); Just Cause, 1995; Set It Off, 1996; Gattaca, 1997; Deep Impact, 1998; Asunder, 1998; The Wishing Tree, 1999; Rules of Engagement, 2000. Has produced music videos for Tony Terry's "With You" and "That Kind of Guy." Also appeared in Measure for Measure, produced in New York City, 1993.
Life's Work
Blair Underwood is best known for his portrayal of the upscale lawyer Jonathan Rollins on the highly successful television show L.A. Law. While his character has been called "cocky," "abrasive" and "arrogant," his friends are quick to point out that the real Blair Underwood is "friendly" and "sweet." That is, until he is confronted with a cause that has become a passion for him.
As an outspoken champion for civil rights, Underwood has worked hard to get other black actors and actresses better representation in the entertainment industry. He has also dedicated himself to taking roles about blacks in history that are portrayed in an uplifting and accurate light. But Underwood does not limit his concern to correcting the image of past events.
In 1991, Underwood took his activism to a U.S. Senate Committee examining the plight of black men. Along with Clifford Alexander, the first African American to serve as U.S. Army secretary, Underwood pleaded an emotional case to government leaders. Jet recounted part of his testimony. "If we and all American citizens will commit ourselves to addressing the plight of today's African American male, the African American male of tomorrow will be committed to his education; to his family; and to his career...rather than to a correctional facility or an early grave."
Such impassioned pleas are not uncommon for the son of a former Army colonel and an interior designer. Born in Tacoma, Washington, the second son of Frank and Marilyn Underwood, Blair credits his family with helping him keep everything in perspective. "One thing my folks always told me," he told Marilyn Marshall of Ebony, "is that the same people you step on going up, you will see on the way down."
His strong family relationships helped ease the pain of the almost yearly moves to places like Warren, Michigan, Stuttgart, Germany, and Richmond, Virginia. With each move, Underwood credits an optimistic outlook with helping him to beat the moving blues. "Whether it was the people, the climate or the location, it was important to find something about a place that you liked," he told Pamela Johnson of Essence. He tried almost everything to make the transitions easier, including little league football and, when he was eight- and nine-years-old living in Colorado, swimming competitively. After he placed fourth in the state in freestyle, his parents thought he might want to pursue swimming as a career.
But Underwood had other ideas--he wanted to become a cowboy. In fact, Underwood readily admits that he wanted to be a cowboy long before he wanted to be an actor. Fortunately for him, he has been able to do both as an adult. In addition to horseback riding, he has taken part in rodeos. In 1989, he served as Grand Marshall for the Coors Bill Picket Invitational Rodeo in Los Angeles and, in 1996, he acted in Posse, Hollywood's first major western with an all-black cast.
The Underwood family settled in Petersburg, Virginia, when Blair was 13-years-old. It was in high school, where he performed in school plays and served as student body president in his senior year, that Underwood decided that he wanted to make acting his career. "We weren't sure this was the route to take," his mother later told TV Guide, "but my husband, Frank, and I have always said, 'If it's reasonable and honest and it's what our kids want, we'll support them.'"
With his parents' support, Underwood moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to attend Carnegie-Mellon University. After almost three years as a musical theater major, he became concerned that the cost of his education was putting too much of a strain on his family's resources, and so he quit school. Eventually though, Underwood completed the requirements for a bachelor's of fine arts degree. By using his first season on L.A. Law as an internship and writing his senior thesis on his experiences as a professional actor, he was able to secure his degree in the spring of 1988.
Underwood's decision to leave school in January of 1985 was also prompted by his belief that he had learned enough about his craft and that it was time for him to make some money. He later recounted his decision to Johnson. "The day I got my 8-by-10's I told my roommate, 'I'm going to New York to just show these pictures around and see what happens.' The whole game plan was to get out there anyway you can, any project."
A Few Lucky Breaks
Expecting to spend the next few years as a struggling actor, Underwood was delighted when he got his first project, a guest appearance on The Cosby Show, after only two days in New York. This was soon followed by a second appearance on Cosby, a guest shot as a punk rocker on the television series Knight Rider and a role in the movie Krush Groove. Within this same time period, Underwood landed a three-month stint on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live. His character, Bobby Blue, proved to be so popular that the producers offered to extend his contract.
Underwood turned down the high-paying, steady job on one of American's most popular soap operas in the hopes of getting something better. And, in true Blair Underwood good fortune, two weeks after he turned down the job, he signed on as a regular for a new CBS prime-time series. Underwood moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1986 to begin work on Downtown, a show about the misadventures of a cop and four of his parolees, one of whom would be portrayed by Underwood.
Unfortunately, his quick rise in the business came to a standstill. After taping only 13 episodes, the series was canceled. The whole experience left Underwood questioning his decision to leave New York, but more importantly he started to question the integrity of the industry in general. "It was frustrating," he told Johnson. "It started out to be about a cop and four parolees, and by the end, it was about a cop and four little cheerleaders in the background. We didn't have that much to do. You're supposedly a regular on the series, but you pop in every once in a while and say a few sarcastic lines, and that's it."
It took almost two years for Underwood to get his next role in a series, but, fortunately for him, it proved to be one that would catapult him into the limelight. When Steven Bochco, the creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning TV series L.A. Law, decided to add a black character to the series, Underwood got the job. Once again, good luck had come Underwood's way.
The weekly drama that chronicled the lives of a group of high-powered California lawyers in and out of the courtroom was already a success when Underwood joined the show. His character, Jonathan Rollins, was patterned after the white attorneys portrayed on the show--well-educated, polished, and articulate. But Underwood's character was distinguished from the others by the size of his ego, something that Underwood relished. "He has spice and hits you right off the bat," he told Jet. "He makes you say, 'Whoa, who is this brother?'"
It didn't take long before he was hoping to bring the struggles of being a black man into the scripts. "I would love to have them show Jonathan driving a car and being stopped," he told Susan Littwin of TV Guide, "because Jonathan's never dealt with that. He's come from money, from a very privileged background." Underwood, however, did understand that type of subtle racism; shortly after moving to Los Angeles, he was pulled over by the police for what he believes was no reason except that he was a black man driving a nice car.
Underwood was also hoping that the producers would bring a love interest into the storyline of the show. Ironically, when his character finally did have a serious relationship, it was with a white actress. Though he was pleased that the show had broken a taboo by showing a black man and a white women in a love scene on television, he was equally glad that it didn't turn into a serious interracial love affair. "I think it's important to show a character like Jonathan," he confessed to Littwin, "who is obviously a minority in the world he operates in--not 'selling out.' There are so many intelligent, beautiful black actresses. I'd love to work with them and show that relationship."
Fought Typecasting for Good Roles
As the popularity of the character of Jonathan Rollins grew, so did the national recognition that Underwood received. It wasn't long before he was making appearances on Oprah and Today, gracing the covers of Jet and Ebony magazines, and serving as a judge in the Miss America pageant. He also started taking advantage of his new celebrity by exploring activities like piloting F-18 jets with the Navy's Blue Angels and race car driving.
Underwood's talents as an actor were quickly being noticed, though the persona of Jonathan Rollins was also typecasting him. When he auditioned for the role of civil rights worker James Chaney in the 1990 made-for-TV movie Murder in Mississippi, producers were reluctant to cast him. "We didn't want him," the movie's producer Mark Wolper told People's Joanne Kaufman. "We didn't feel he could get out of his L.A. Law persona--clean-cut and uptown. We didn't believe he could be down-home." Underwood, determined to get the part, showed up at the audition in sweat pants and a T-shirt. After reading only three lines he got the job.
The movie--based on the relationship of three civil rights workers who were murdered in Mississippi in 1964 because they were trying to register African Americans to vote--covered the same ground as the 1988 feature film Mississippi Burning. Even though the two films centered on the same story and characters, Murder in Mississippi was hailed by critics and family members of the slain activists as a more authentic version of the actual events. Robert Seidenberg wrote in American Film: "As a rule, television's a bad place to look for historical precision. But Murder in Mississippi proves a startling exception. Like the controversial Mississippi Burning, this fact-based drama focuses on the 'Freedom Summer' of 1964, but it seeks to paint a truer picture of that critical epoch."
Underwood was pleased to be in a movie that was honored for telling the truth about the civil rights movement; he was also forthright in his own opinion of the two movies. "Mississippi Burning was a brilliant film visually," he told Littwin. "The acting was incredible. Dramatically, it was exciting. Historically it was b.s.... What people don't understand really, because of the way Hollywood has portrayed blacks from the South, is that they weren't all afraid; they weren't all downcast. The heroes of the civil rights movement were the blacks. We were fighting for ourselves."
Later that same year, Underwood made another film about the black struggle for equal rights. Heat Wave, a Turner Network Television (TNT) made-for-cable movie, recreated the 1965 Watts riots--a six-day uproar in Los Angeles in which 34 people were killed. The story focused on Underwood's character, Bob Richardson, the first black reporter on the staff of the Los Angeles Times. Since whites were not allowed into the riot area, Richardson's eyewitness accounts were relied upon for the most accurate information. Once again, critics hailed the movie as a winner. People gave it an "A+" with an opening paragraph that went beyond praise: "I screened a rough cut of this film--which means the editing was unfinished. It's hard to see how they can make this one much better."
While Underwood's movie career was meeting with great success, his television series was beginning to become a favorite target for critics. In the fall of 1992, Jeff Jarvis belittled L.A. Law in TV Guide. "L.A. Law has become a cheap and stupid parody of itself," the reporter claimed. "Law's real problem: it has simply lived too long. It's a candle that once burned brilliantly but now has run out of wax and wick." Unfortunately, the ratings also reflected Jarvis's sentiments. Once a Thursday night staple for many Americans, L.A. Law dropped from its perch as one of the top-rated shows. In 1994, though it had regained some of its reputation from the critics and fans, the damage was done. The series was canceled after its eighth season.
Sensing that the series had run its course, Underwood continued to make his mark in large and small screen films in the early 1990s. His 1993 television movie Father & Son: Dangerous Relations explores the struggles of being black in America. This time the story centers on a father and son who are reunited for the first time in decades while serving time in prison. The movie exposes the lives of a father, played by Louis Gossett, Jr., and his son, played by Underwood, who also served as an associate producer, as they try to develop a relationship.
Posse, a 1993 feature film, was one that he dreamed of making ever since he was a child, even though he was disappointed not to be cast as a cowboy. The movie--about a Spanish-American War deserter who travels the Wild West with his band of marauders looking to avenge his father's murder--received mixed reviews from critics.
Expanded His Horizons
Not one to limit himself to television and film acting, Underwood expanded his horizons further. In 1993, he started directing music videos, including two for recording artist Tony Terry. He also appeared as Claudio in Measure for Measure at the Shakespeare Festival in New York City's Central Park that summer. Around the same time, he completed work on the film The Second Coming, serving as director, cowriter, executive producer, and star. The short film chronicles the life of a black Jesus Christ in modern times. "My hope is to open minds," Underwood told Upscale, "especially young people's, and give them enough information to validate their spirituality and even their existence."
In 1996, Underwood starred in the HBO movie, Soul of the Game, a docudrama about the start of the integration of black players from baseball's Negro League to the all-white majors. The film chronicles the lives of baseball greats Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson. Underwood, who played Robinson, said that one of the most difficult aspects of the role was recreating Robinson's batting style and speed. He told Jet, "Mastering Robinson's running style, which was low to the ground, grasping his particular manner of handling the bat and imitating his pigeon-toed walk was challenging."
Underwood appeared in several films throughout the late 1990s. Included among these were Gattaca (1997), Deep Impact (1998), and The Wishing Tree (1999). He also won a role in the television miniseries, Mama Flora's Family, airing on CBS in 1998. Based on a story by acclaimed author Alex Haley, the miniseries began where Haley's miniseries Roots ended. Cicely Tyson took on the title role of Mama Flora and Underwood played her son, Willie.
Offered Role in City of Angels
Underwood was attending a reunion for L.A. Law when producer Steven Bochco pulled him aside and said, as Underwood told Jet, "'I'm doing this show and I have this role that's just primo for you.'" Bochco told Underwood about City of Angels, a hospital drama featuring a predominantly black cast, and offered him the role of Dr. Ben Turner. Underwood leaped at the chance to play the talented surgeon.
Robert Morse, Michael Warren, and Vivica A. Fox also joined the ensemble cast. Fox told Jet, "Blair is the main reason I wanted to do this." Phil Buckman filled the role of Geoffrey Weiss, the hospital's sole Jewish resident. "We have one white character in the hospital," Underwood told Jet. "I was the one black character on L.A. Law for so long. It's like a flip flop."
Underwood was fully aware of the importance of starring in network television's first primarily black medical drama. "There's so much riding on this show," he told Jet. "The perception in Hollywood is that if Steven Bochco, with the pedigree of black talent that he's assembled can't make a primarily black drama work, other networks and people in this town will say, 'Why should we?'"
Critics praised the ensemble cast and the show's writing. Ratings for the first season of City of Angels were not high, but the show's fans were dedicated. Letters, faxes, telephone calls, and e-mails poured in, all requesting that the show remain on the air. In response, CBS announced that it would pick up the show for a second season. The series was then canceled in November of 2000.
As Underwood continues pursuing his lifelong dream as an actor, he vows to continue his fight for racial equality. He believes that part of the fight should be to correct an inaccurately represented past. He believes that respect for one's heritage is a privilege that will strengthen personal identity. He told Kaufman, "If you know where you come from no one can shake your tree."
Awards
NAACP Image Award, 1994.
Further Reading
Periodicals
- American Film, February 1990, p. 40.
- Ebony, March 1989, p. 96; May 1990, p. 98; October 1993, p. 46.
- Entertainment Weekly, January 31, 1992, p. 44, November 8, 1996, p. 48.
- Essence, June 1988, p. 52.
- Jet, February 8, 1988, p. 58; February 5, 1990, p. 64; March 5, 1990, p. 58; August 13, 1990, p. 56; June 10, 1991, p. 4; April 29, 1996, p. 32; November 9, 1998, p. 63; January 17, 2000, p. 36; June 5, 2000, p. 37.
- Maclean's, May 17, 1993, p. 50.
- New York, February 5, 1990, p. 82; August 2, 1993, p. 57.
- New York Times, February 17, 1994, p. C22.
- People, February 5, 1990, pp. 8, 51; August 13, 1990, p. 8; April 19, 1993, p. 11; May 31, 1993, p. 14.
- People Weekly, May 8, 2000, p. 181.
- Time, August 24, 1992, p. 71; May 11, 1991, p. 10; December 12, 1992, p. 7.
- TV Guide, February 3, 1990, p. 8; May 11, 1991, p. 10; December 12, 1992, p. 7; April 17, 1993, p. 105; May 14, 1994, p. 8.
- Upscale, December/January 1993, p. 114.
- USA Today, April 15, 1993, p. D3.
- Variety, February 7, 1990, p. 158; July 26, 1993, p. 30.
- Additional material was obtained on-line at the Internet Movie Database web site located at http://us.imdb.com.
— Joe Kuskowski and Jennifer M. York
