Leon Robinson

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Leon as J.T. Matthews in The Five Heartbeats (1991).
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Leon as J.T. Matthews in The Five Heartbeats (1991).

Leon Preston Robinson, IV (born March 8, 1963 in Manhattan, New York) is an American actor and singer.

Robinson, usually credited as simply Leon, made his professional debut on the CBS Afternoon Playhouse production "Journey to Survival" in 1981. He became a part of popular music history when he was cast as the martyred Southern black saint in Madonna's controversial 1989 music video "Like a Prayer". Leon first made an impression on movie audiences as Derice Bannock, the exuberant captain of the Jamaican bobsled team in Cool Runnings in 1993.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and film career

Leon was born in Manhattan, but raised in the middle class suburb of Mount Vernon. The only son of a transit authority executive and a teacher, Leon migrated to Los Angeles to play basketball for Loyola Marymount University before moving into acting. Early roles included a football teammate of Tom Cruise in All the Right Moves (1983) and as Fortune Smith, the Notre Dame-bound basketball playing co-worker of Matt Dillon, in The Flamingo Kid (1984). It was only after his exposure in the Madonna video that Leon's roles became more substantial. He was a member of a singing group trying to give up his womanizing ways while his brother becomes distant in Robert Townsend's The Five Heartbeats (1991). In 1993, he co-starred as John Lithgow's British henchman out to get Sylvester Stallone in Renny Harlin's Cliffhanger and followed with a turn as a disillusioned ex-jock in Above the Rim (1994). Leon was also memorable as Lela Rochon's married lover in Waiting to Exhale (1996) and co-produced as well as co-starred in the romantic drama The Price of Kissing (1997).

[edit] Television career

Before striking it on the big screen, Leon amassed numerous small screen credits, notably in a 1989 episode of the NBC series Midnight Caller in which he played an athlete who falls victim to crack cocaine. He also co-starred in the 1989 ABC miniseries The Women of Brewster Place, as the ghetto boyfriend of a suburbanite (played by Robin Givens). Leon has received critical acclaim for his portrayal of two legendary singers in made-for-TV movies: David Ruffin in the 1998 NBC miniseries The Temptations and Little Richard in the self-titled 2000 NBC movie based on the life of the rock-and-roll pioneer. He received an Emmy Award nomination for his performance as Little Richard. Leon has also had recurring roles on television series such as Oz and Resurrection Blvd. and briefly hosted his own late-night talk show, "The L-Bow Room", on BET.

[edit] Music career

Leon, who is also a professional singer, is the lead vocalist of his own band, Leon and the Peoples.

He recently performed at The Canal Room in New York City with The Peoples.

The track listing of the album "The Road Less Traveled" can be found here Track Listing

[edit] Filmography

[edit] External links

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