BEN VEREEN
Master Class Artist

Ben Vereen from appearances on Broadway in Sweet Charity, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Pippin, Grind, Jelly's Last Jam, Christmas Carol, Chicago, Fosse and the critically acclaimed, I'm Not Rappaport, Vereen channels his high-intensity performances into unforgettable experiences for audiences. He won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Pippin. In 2002, he received the Black Theatre Award. Vereen again returned to the stage in 2005 starring as the “The Wizard” in Wicked.

Vereen's television credits include: Chicken George in Roots, Louis Armstrong in Louis Armstrong - Chicago Style, The Jesse Owens Story, Ellis Island (Golden Globe nomination), Anne Rice's Feast of All Saints, Holiday in Bryant Park, And Then Came Love, Broadway: The Next Generation, Love-In: A Musical Celebration, Intruders: They are Among Us (Emmy nomination), Lost in London, Salute to Liberty Special, Salute to the USA Olympic Team, telethons, Faerie Tale Theatre's Puss N' Boots, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Silk Stockings, Tenspeed and Brownshoe, Webster, You Write the Songs, Zooblie Zoo; with recurring roles on J.J. Starbuck and Booker and with guest appearances on Grey's Anatomy, Law & Order, OZ, Touched By An Angel, Second Noah, New York Undercover, The Nanny, Star Trek - The Next Generation, The Jamie Foxx Show, Promised Land, and Hollywood Squares. His own network special Ben Vereen: His Roots, received nine Emmy nominations and won seven Emmy Awards.

In the early 90's, he released a number of well-received children's Sing-Along musical videos. Film appearances: All That Jazz, Funny Lady (Golden Globe nomination), Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Once Upon a Forest, The Painting, Idlewild, Tapioca, Mama, I Want to Sing! In 2004, Vereen was nominated for a “Career Achievement Award” by the Le Prix International Film Star Awards Organization. Vereen serves on Ballet Florida's Board of Directors and the board of the American Red Cross and the American Diabetes Association. He has served as chairman of several organizations including The American Heart Association and the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Association.

In 1989, he spearheaded his own organization “Celebrities for a Drug Free America”; which has since raised monies for drug rehabilitation centers, educational programs and inner city community-based projects. Awards: The Community Mental Health Council 2004 Lifeline Celebration Achievement Award, 1978 Israel's Cultural Award, 1979 Israel's Humanitarian Award, 1978, 1979, 2003 NAACP's Image Awards, 1983 Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award, 1985 Father of Year Award, 1990 Victory Award. Honorary doctorates University of Arizona, Boston's Emerson College, Brooklyn's St. Francis College, Chicago's Columbia College and the University of Richmond. In 2005, he received a professorship at the East Michigan University in Theatre. In 2001, Medgar Evers College created the Ben Vereen Scholarship for the Performing Arts and he received an Achieving Excellence Award from LaGuardia High School. In 2002, he was named a children's Ambassador to the U.N.

www.BenVereen.com