Moses Gunn

Moses Gunn (October 2, 1929 – December 16, 1993) was an American actor of stage and screen. An Obie Award-winning stage player, he is an alumnus of the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC).

His 1962 off-Broadway debut was in Jean Genet's The Blacks, and his Broadway debut was in A Hand Is on the Gate, an evening of African-American poetry. He won an Obie Award for his portrayal of Aaron in Titus Andronicus in 1968, he was nominated for the 1976 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in The Poison Tree, and he also played Othello on Broadway in 1970.

For his screen performances, Gunn is best known for his roles as Clotho in WUSA (1970), Bumpy Jonas in Shaft (1971) and Joe Kagan on Little House on the Prairie (1977–1981). His final acting role was in Homicide: Life on the Street (1993), portraying murder suspect Risley Tucker in the episode "Three Men and Adena".

Early life, family and education

Gunn was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Mary and George Gunn, a laborer, and was one of seven siblings. After his mother died, his family separated. Moses left home and rode the railroad at just 12 years old. He returned to St. Louis and attended school while living at the home of Jewel Richie, his English teacher.

He graduated from Tennessee State University, where he became a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity Rho Psi chapter. After serving in the United States Army, he attended graduate school at the University of Kansas, earning a master's degree. He taught briefly at Grambling College before attempting an acting career in New York City.

Career A character actor of film and television, Gunn also enjoyed a successful career on stage. He made his New York City stage debut in the original off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's The Blacks (1962).

Gunn won a second Obie for his work in the NEC produced First Breeze of Summer, which moved to Broadway. In 1977, he narrated the film Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution, produced by US Information Agency.

In 1991, he toured in a production of Athol Fugard's "My Children! My Africa!" the role of Mr. M, which included a run at Baltimore's Center Stage Theater.

He may be best remembered in film for his portrayal of mobster Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Jonas in the first two Shaft movies, Booker T. Washington in the 1981 movie Ragtime, a performance which won him an NAACP Image Award, and as Cairon, the Childlike Empress's imperial physician, in the 1984 film The NeverEnding Story.

He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 1977 for the role of Kintango in the television mini-series Roots. He also co-starred with Avery Brooks on the television series A Man Called Hawk. Gunn appeared as atheist shop owner Carl Dixon in six episodes of Good Times, as boxer-turned-farmer Joe Kagan on Little House on the Prairie, and as Moses Gage in Father Murphy. In 1989, Gunn appeared in two episodes of The Cosby Show as two different characters. His final acting role was in 1993 as murder suspect Risley Tucker in "Three Men and Adena", an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street.

Film and television

1964: Nothing But a Man as Mill Hand 1968: What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (uncredited) 1970: Carter's Army (TV Movie) as Private Doc Hayes 1970: WUSA as Clotho 1970: The Great White Hope as Scipio 1971: Wild Rovers as Ben 1971: Shaft as Bumpy Jonas 1971: The Sheriff (ABC Movie of the Week) as Cliff Wilder 1971: Hawaii Five-O (TV Series) as Willy Stone 1972: Eagle in a Cage as General Gourgaud 1972: The Hot Rock as Dr. Amusa 1972: Shaft's Big Score as Bumpy Jonas 1972: Haunts of the Very Rich (ABC Movie of the Week) as Seacrist 1973: Kung Fu (TV Series) as Isaac Montoya 1973: The Iceman Cometh as Joe Mott 1974: Amazing Grace as Welton J. Waters 1975: The Jeffersons (TV Series) as Monk Davis 1975: Cornbread, Earl and Me as Benjamin Blackwell 1975: Rollerball as Cletus 1975: Movin' On (TV Series) as Otis Andrews 1975: Aaron Loves Angela as Ike 1975: The Secret of the Pond (Disney TV Movie) as Sharbee 1977: Good Times (TV Series) as Carl Dixon 1977: Roots (TV Mini-Series) as Kintango 1977–1981: Little House on the Prairie (TV Series) as Joe Kagan 1977: Quincy M.E. (TV Series) as Ben McDade 1978: Remember My Name (1978) as Pike 1978: Vega$ (TV Series) as Domo 1980: The Ninth Configuration as Major Nammack 1981: Ragtime as Booker T. Washington 1982: Amityville II: The Possession as Detective Turner 1984: The NeverEnding Story as Cairon 1984: Firestarter as Dr. Herman Pynchot 1985: Certain Fury (1985) as Dr. Lewis Freeman 1985: Highway to Heaven (TV Series) as Ted Tilley 1986: Heartbreak Ridge as Staff Sergeant Webster 1987: Bates Motel (TV Movie) as Henry Watson 1987: Leonard Part 6 as Giorgio Francozzi 1988: Dixie Lanes as Isaac 1989: The Luckiest Man in the World (voice) 1989: A Man Called Hawk (TV Series) as "Old Man" 1989: Amen (TV Series) as Benjamin Tillman 1989: The Cosby Show (TV Series) as Joe Kendall / Dr. Lotus 1989: The Women of Brewster Place (TV Series) as Ben 1990: Tales From The Crypt (TV Series) as Uncle Ezra 1991: Perfect Harmony (TV Movie) as Zeke 1991: Brother Future (TV Movie) as Isaac 1993–1996: Homicide: Life on the Street (TV Series) as Risley Tucker (final appearance)