Robert Townsend Biography
Robert Townsend is an American actor, director, comedian, and writer. Townsend is most known for directing the films Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Eddie Murphy Raw (1987), The Meteor Man (1993), The Five Heartbeats (1991), and a number of other films and stand-up specials.
Robert Townsend Age
Robert Townsend Height
Robert stands at a height of 5′ 11″ (1.80 m).
Robert Townsend Family- Parents
Shirley and Ed Townsend have four children, Robert being the second of whom was born in Chicago. His mother eventually raised him and his three siblings as a single parent. Growing up on the city’s west side, Townsend attended Austin High School and graduated in 1975.
Robert Townsend Wife- Daughter
Townsend and Cheri Jones were married from September 15, 1990 to August 9, 2001. They have three children, including Skye Townsend.
Robert Townsend Career
He is most known for his depiction of Robert Peterson, the main character on The WB’s sitcom The Parent ‘Hood, which he wrote and directed select episodes of from 1995 to 1999. Townsend is well recognized for his performance as Donald “Duck” Matthews in the 1991 film The Five Heartbeats. He later wrote, directed, and produced Making the Five Heartbeats (2018), a documentary on the film’s production process and behind-the-scenes insights.[Citation needed] Townsend is also recognized for his production firm, Townsend Entertainment, which has produced films such as Playin’ for Love, In the Hive, and more. Townsend rose to national prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s because to his stand-up comedy routines and performances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
He had an interest in performing as a teenager. During a high school reading of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Townsend piqued the interest of Chicago’s X Bag Theatre and The Experimental Black Actors Guild. Townsend later auditioned for roles at Chicago’s Experimental Black Actors’ Guild and appeared in local plays while training at the renowned Second City comedy program for improvisation in 1974. Townsend auditioned for Saturday Night Live’s 1980-1981 cast but was turned down in favor of Eddie Murphy. In 1982, Townsend played one of the main characters in Kentucky Educational Television’s PBS series Another Page, which taught adults literacy through serialized storytelling.
Townsend then starred in minor roles in films such as A Soldier’s Story (1984), directed by Norman Jewison, and, following its success, in films such as The Mighty Quinn (1989), starring Denzel Washington. In 1987, Townsend wrote, directed, and produced Hollywood Shuffle, a satire on the problems and obstacles that black actors face in the film industry. The success of his initial endeavor helped him get recognition in the industry. Another of his films was The Five Heartbeats, which focused on 1960s R&B male ensembles and the trials of the music industry. Townsend created and produced two television variety shows: HBO’s CableACE-winning Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime and Fox Television’s Townsend Television (1993).
He also produced and acted in the WB Network’s sitcom The Parent ‘Hood, which aired from January 1995 until July 1999. In 2018, Townsend directed two episodes of the B.E.T. series American Soul, which premiered in 2019. The show focuses on Don Cornelius and Soul Train. Townsend was as programming director for the Black Family Channel, which closed in 2007. Townsend founded The Robert Townsend Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to introducing and assisting young unregistered filmmakers. Townsend directed the 2001 television film Livin’ for Love: The Natalie Cole Story, which earned Cole the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series, or Dramatic Special. Townsend also directed two television movies between 2001 and 2002.
Robert Townsend Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of 5 million dollars.
Robert Townsend Movies and TV Shows
Up, Up and Away 2000
Little Richard 2000
Holiday Heart 2000
Carmen: A Hip Hopera 2001
Livin’ for Love: The Natalie Cole Story 2001
10,000 Black Men Named George 2002
I Was a Teenage Faust 2002
Black Listed 2003
Of Boys and Men 2008
Phantom Punch 2009
In the Hive 2012
Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire 2012
Bill Cosby 77 2014
Playin’ for Love 2015
Making The Five Heartbeats 2018
Black Lightning 2019
American Soul 2019
The Wonder Years 2021
Kaleidoscope 2023
The Bear 2023
Power Book IV: Force 2023