About
Most famous for playing Detective Neal Washington on the 1980s NBC drama Hill Street Blues, this Emmy-nominated actor also had a successful theatrical career, earning a 1985 NAACP Image Award for his role in a production of Amen Corner. He amassed over 40 acting credits throughout his long career.
Before Fame
He made his stage debut at New York City's New Federal Theater and went on to guest star in such situation comedies as The Bob Newhart Show and Sanford and Son.
Trivia
He starred as Captain Phillip Laidlaw in the 1989 science fiction movie DeepStar Six. His last on-screen role was in 2018 on the TV show Kevin (Probably) Saves the World.
Family Life
Born Herbert Middleton, Jr., he spent his youth in Newark, New Jersey, and later lived in New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Among the first unmarried African-American men to be granted the right to adopt, he ultimately raised twelve children (two biological and ten adopted).
Associated With
He starred opposite Yolanda King (the daughter of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.) in a 1987 Atlanta stage production of Stepping Into Tomorrow.
