Bill Duke


William Henry Duke Jr. is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke works primarily in the action and crime drama genres, but occasionally appears in comedy. Frequently a character actor, he has starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando and Predator, and has appeared in films like American Gigolo, No Man's Land, Bird on a Wire, Menace II Society, Exit Wounds, Payback, and Mandy; he often plays characters related to law enforcement.
As a director, he has helmed episodes of numerous television series including Cagney & Lacey, Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, The Twilight Zone, and American Playhouse, and the crime films Deep Cover and A Rage in Harlem, for which he was nominated for a Palme d'Or. He was director of the movie starring Whoopi Goldberg and Lauryn Hill. He directed episodes of several noteworthy 1980s television series, including Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice.

Early life and education

Duke was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of Ethel Louise and William Henry Duke Sr. He attended Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park and later received his first instruction in the performing arts and in creative writing at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie. After graduation from Dutchess he went on to Boston University for further instruction in drama and for his B.A. After studying at New York University's Tisch School of Arts and the AFI Conservatory, he appeared on Broadway in the 1971 Melvin Van Peebles musical Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death.

Career

Film roles

Standing at an imposing 6 feet 4½ inches and with a closely shaved head, Duke first became a familiar face to moviegoers in Car Wash, where he portrayed fierce young Black Muslim revolutionary Abdullah Mohammed Akbar. He expanded his repertoire with American Gigolo, where he played a gay pimp.
As the action-film-oriented genre became more popular, Duke's presence was perfect to portray a string of "tough guy" roles. He notably worked opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in both Commando and Predator, followed by a role as a police chief in the 1988 Carl Weathers vehicle Action Jackson. Duke appeared uncredited as a DEA officer in The Limey, as well as a police chief opposite Steven Seagal in Exit Wounds. He played a detective investigating a murder in Menace II Society, in which he delivered the often-quoted line, "You done fucked up, you know that, don't you?" He played a corrupt law enforcement agent in two films opposite Mel Gibson—Bird on a Wire and Payback. Duke appears in ' as Trask, Washington in National Security, Levar in Get Rich or Die Tryin, Nokes in Bad Country and Caruthers in Mandy''.

Directing career

Duke directed the TV movie The Killing Floor in 1984. He began directing theatrical films in the 1990s with crime dramas A Rage in Harlem, Deep Cover and Hoodlum. He also directed The Cemetery Club and ', starring Whoopi Goldberg. For television, Duke directed the A&E Network original film, '. In 2007 he directed the reenactments in the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary Prince Among Slaves, produced by Unity Productions Foundation. Duke also directed episode for TV shows including Dallas, Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice and Starman.
Duke teamed with screenwriter Bayard Johnson to co-produce Cover, a 2007 film which explores the HIV epidemic.
He is set to direct The Power of One: The Diane Latiker Story, a film based on Chicago activist Diane Latiker.

Television appearances

Duke made an early appearance on Kojak as Sylk in the episode "Bad Dude", in the third season of the series. He guest-starred in the fourth episode of Lost in its third season as Warden Harris, in the episode "Every Man for Himself". He also guest-starred in Battlestar Galactica in the season two episode "Black Market".
Duke had a starring role in the short-lived TV series Palmerstown, U.S.A., produced by Norman Lear and ' author, Alex Hailey. Although the series was critically acclaimed and won an Emmy, it ran for only 17 episodes in the 1980–81 television season.
Duke was cast as recurring character Capt. Parish in the action television series/crime drama Fastlane. He made a guest appearance on Baisden After Dark in the episode broadcast on July 18, 2008 and guest-starred on Cold Case as Grover Boone, a corrupt politician, in the 2008 episode "Street Money". Duke voiced a detective in the episode "Thank You for Not Snitching" of the animated television series The Boondocks. The character and his entire scene were references to Menace II Society. Duke appears in Busta Rhymes' music video "Dangerous". Duke also appears in an episode of ' as a lawyer. In May 2017, Duke appeared on episode 6 of the first season of the Outdoor Channel show Hollywood Weapons: Fact or Fiction?. Duke discussed with host Terry Schappert his time filming Predator, his character Sgt. Mac Elliot, and what it was like to fire an M134 Minigun.
In 2018, Duke joined the second season of The CW superhero drama series Black Lightning as recurring character Agent Percy Odell, a dedicated A.S.A. government official.

Other work

He has served on the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute, as a member of the California Film Commission board, in the Time Warner Endowed Chair in the Department of Radio Television and Film at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and as a member of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Duke is also the founder of the Duke Media Foundation that helps prepare young people for a career in all aspects of film, video and TV production. Duke became a teacher of Transcendental Meditation in Ethiopia in 1973 under the guidance of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Personal life

, Duke resides in Los Angeles.
Duke is an honorary member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Filmography

Acting roles

Films directed