Get Movie Showtimes & Tickets

Go
Go
Search
Celebs
Photos
Fan Sites
Apply
Directory
Support
MyHollywood
Sign In
Sign Up
Forums
Hot List

Home Celebs Cleavon Little
Bullet Arrow Photos
Bullet Arrow News
Bullet Arrow Interviews
Bullet Arrow Premieres
Bullet Arrow Forums
Bullet Arrow Meet Fans
Bullet Arrow Fan Sites
Bullet Arrow Get a Poster at AllPosters.com
Advertisement
Stage-trained African-American comic actor who garnered international acclaim for his portrayal of Black Bart, the unlikely sheriff, in Mel Brooks' Western spoof "Blazing Saddles" (1974). Little's big break came with a turn in Peter Yates' "John and Mary" (1969), alongside Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow. In 1970, he starred on stage in Ossie Davis' musical "Purlie", for which he won a Tony and a Drama Desk Award, and appeared in Davis' landmark black independent film, "Cotton Comes to Harlem"....
Full Bio , Awards & Milestones

Filmography

Murder By Numbers - ( David Shelby / 1990 / Released / )
Fletch Lives - ( Calculus / 1989 / Released / )
Once Bitten - ( Sebastian / 1985 / Released / )
The Gig - ( Marshall Wilson / 1985 / Released / Manson Classics )
Surf II - ( Daddy O / 1984 / Released / )
Toy Soldiers - ( Buck / 1984 / Released / New World Pictures )
Jimmy the Kid - ( Herb Lovejoy / 1983 / Released / New World Pictures )
The Salamander - ( Major Malinowsky / 1983 / Released / Grade, Lew )
High Risk - ( Rockney / 1981 / Released / )
Scavenger Hunt - ( Jackson / 1979 / Released / )
FM - ( Prince / 1978 / Released / )
Greased Lightning - ( Peewee / 1977 / Released / Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group )
Blazing Saddles - ( Bart / 1974 / Released / Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group )
Vanishing Point - ( Super Soul / 1971 / Released / Fox Films, Ltd. )
Cotton Comes to Harlem - ( Lo Boy / 1970 / Released / )
John and Mary - ( Film Director / 1969 / Released / )
What's So Bad About Feeling Good? - ( Phil / 1968 / Released / )
TV Credits
This'll Kill Ya ( 1992 / Released ): Actor
Five Up, Two Down ( 1991 / Released ): Actor
In the Nick of Time ( 1991 / Released ): Actor
Perfect Harmony ( 1991 / Released ): Actor
Separate But Equal ( 1991 / Released ): Actor
All God's Dangers ( 1990 / Released ): Actor
Bagdad Cafe ( 1990 / Released ): Actor
True Colors ( 1990 / Released ): Actor
Gore Vidal's Lincoln ( 1988 / Released ): Actor
Tickets, Please ( 1988 / Released ): Actor
The 40th Annual Tony Awards ( 1986 / Released ): Actor
Now We're Cookin' ( 1983 / Released ): Actor
Don't Look Back ( 1981 / Released ): Actor
The Color of Friendship ( 1981 / Released ): Actor
Mr. Dugan ( 1979 / Released ): Actor
Uptown Saturday Night ( 1979 / Released ): Actor
Komedy Tonite ( 1978 / Released ): Actor
The Day the Earth Moved ( 1974 / Released ): Actor
Money to Burn ( 1973 / Released ): Actor
The New Temperatures Rising Show ( 1973 / Released ): Actor
Temperatures Rising ( 1972 / Released ): Actor
All in the Family ( 1971 / Released ): Actor
The Homecoming ( 1971 / Released ): Actor
Another World ( 1964 / Released ): Actor
Dear John ( Released ): Actor
The David Frost Revue ( Released ): Actor
Full Biography (Back to top)

Stage-trained African-American comic actor who garnered international acclaim for his portrayal of Black Bart, the unlikely sheriff, in Mel Brooks' Western spoof "Blazing Saddles" (1974). Little's big break came with a turn in Peter Yates' "John and Mary" (1969), alongside Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow. In 1970, he starred on stage in Ossie Davis' musical "Purlie", for which he won a Tony and a Drama Desk Award, and appeared in Davis' landmark black independent film, "Cotton Comes to Harlem". Throughout his career, Little displayed a manic, live wire comic energy and a flamboyant, streetwise style of line delivery.

Profession(s):
Actor, singer
Sometimes Credited As:
Awards (Back to top)
Emmy Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series "Dear John" 1988 - 1989
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Performance "Purlie" 1970
Tony Actor (Musical) "Purlie" 1970

Milestones (Back to top)
1992 Final TV role for the HBO series "Tales From the Crypt" episode "None but the Lonely Heart"
1990 Final film role in "Murder by Numbers"
1986 Notable Broadway success as an elderly man in the comedy-drama "I'm Not Rappaport", opposite Judd Hirsch
1979 Played title role in the series "Mr. Dugan"
1972 - 1974 TV series debut in "Temperatures Rising"
1971 Regular on "The David Frost Revue"
1971 TV movie debut with "The Homecoming", writer Earl Hamner Jr's forerunner to "The Waltons"
1969 Film debut in "John and Mary"
TV debut in an episode of "All in the Family"
Recurring character on the NBC series, "Dear John"
Regular on the short-lived series, "Bagdad Cafe"
Replaced the father on the Fox sitcom "True Colors"

•To suggest updates to this information, click here

Advertisement