Which actor played kunta kinte

Browse episodes. Top Top-rated. Trailer Roots: 30th Anniversary Special Edition. Photos Top cast Edit. Robert Reed Dr. William Reynolds as Dr. William Reynolds. Louis Gossett Jr.

Fiddler as Fiddler. Lynda Day George Mrs. Reynolds as Mrs. Olivia Cole Mathilda as Mathilda …. Ralph Waite Slater as Slater.

Ed Asner Capt. Thomas Davies as Capt. Thomas Davies. Ji-Tu Cumbuka Wrestler as Wrestler. More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit. A saga of African-American life, based on Alex Haley's family history.

Kunta Kinte is abducted from his African village, sold into slavery, and taken to America. He makes several escape attempts until he is finally caught and maimed. He marries Bell, his plantation's cook, and they have a daughter, Kizzy, who is eventually sold away from them. Kizzy has a son by her new master, and the boy grows up to become Chicken George. He's a legendary cock fighter who leads his family into freedom.

Throughout the series, the family observes notable events in U. The Saga of an American Family. Biography Drama History War. Did you know Edit. Trivia Author Harold Courlander successfully sued author Alex Haley for plagiarizing works which led to the book that served as the basis for this miniseries.

Goofs Kizzy, a slave who works in the fields, has long, beautifully manicured fingernails. Quotes Omoro, Kunta's father : [holding his infant son up to starry sky] Kunta Kinte, behold the only thing greater than yourself! The Roots Mural was the same, but when the title Roots was shown on-screen it was over a dark blue background.

The cover of the novel rises up from a horizontal to a vertical position. Also, the end credits have been changed considerably. In the original, there were eight sets of end credits one for each episode.

When the show was re-edited to six episodes, names were combined for different hours and some of the end credit sequences with a still from that episode are missing, including one featuring Kizzy and Missy Anne having a picnic. Soundtracks Oluwa by Quincy Jones. User reviews 71 Review. Top review. Grossly overrated. Q: Did you have any sense at the time — 36 years ago — that Roots would become a milestone event? Gossett: I knew it was historical for African American actors — that finally on prime-time TV our story was going to be told.

We didn't think anybody was going to watch it. Neither did ABC. They had a contractual commitment to [producer David L. Wolper], and they said, "You know what? We'll just put it on for [eight] days in a row and just get rid of it. We thought at least we'd get some deep stuff said. And then the opposite happened.

The world went crazy. Uggams: On the set we felt there was something special going on. Of course we had no idea how special it was going to turn out.

I came onto the set five weeks into filming — and from the minute I walked on, I just felt there's something going on here among the cast, the crew, everybody. Q: Tell us what you recall about preparing for and making Roots. Did you get the part you wanted? Uggams: I had read for several different parts, but Kizzy was the part that I wanted. I auditioned several times. The hardest part was doing the screen test, because they had to make sure I could age to play Ben Vereen 's mother.

Ben was already set to play Chicken George from the beginning. So he has to train this pure, free African in order for him to survive. I realized how important that was. I realized the significance of the role. So then as I created a character, I used my grandparents' history and people in my family, and that was their philosophy: survival.

Q: It premiered on Jan. What do you remember about the initial reaction when it aired? Uggams : I was in Vegas rehearsing Guys and Dolls , and from the first night of Roots, the casinos were empty. It was just amazing. And for room service, if you didn't order early, you would just get a busy signal. Nobody was going out. She called me up and said, "Leslie, we had to change the showtime because they're all watching Roots. I've never seen anything like that happen in America.

Everybody watched. Restaurants, bars, were putting signs out saying, "Come here and watch Roots. Gossett: They were worried about the South watching , but the South paid more attention to it than the North. It brought a whole new level of fame. It was wonderful. We were celebrated all around the world.

Q: The network miniseries, particularly one that can claim to be educational, is just about extinct now. Did Roots have any lasting impact on television?

Gossett: Well, it broke through a ceiling, but we have to continue. We need a television series that represents the new demographic. Uggams: It would be number one. It was a change in history in so many ways.