Vondie Curtis-Hall

Curtis-Hall was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Angeline, a nurse, and Curtis Hall, a construction company owner. Designer Kevan Hall is the brother of Vondie. They also have a sister, Sherrie. All of them attended Presentation Our Lady of Victory grade school in Detroit where they were taught by the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the only all black order of nuns in the United States. Initially a stage actor, Curtis-Hall was a member of the original cast of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. He originated the role of Marty, James "Thunder" Early's original manager. Curtis-Hall has appeared in numerous films including One Good Cop, Passion Fish, Sugar Hill, Coming To America, Crooklyn, Drop Squad, Eve's Bayou, Turn It Up and William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. His credits as a director include the films Gridlock'd, Glitter, Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story, Waist Deep, as well as episodes of television shows The Shield, Firefly, Chicago Hope, and MDs. In 2000, Vondie Curtis-Hall and Danny Glover (who portrayed Marty in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls) both appeared in the TNT made-for-television movie Freedom Song. In 2019 Curtis-Hall appeared in the film Harriet, where, according to one reviewer, "Vondie Curtis-Hall gives one of the finest performances of his long career as Reverend Green."