Charles "Chuck" Cissel is an American singer, dancer, director, choreographer and producer. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

 and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts

Bachelor of Fine Arts

In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...

 from the University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

, and was one of the first African Americans to graduate from the university's fine arts school. He was the CEO of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame from 2000–2009 and is now the Artistic Director of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, which is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In his early 20's Chuck performed on Broadway in Hello Dolly

Hello, Dolly! (musical)

Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....

 with Pearl Bailey

Pearl Bailey

Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...

 and Cab Calloway

Cab Calloway

Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....

, Purlie

Purlie

Purlie is a musical with a book by Ossie Davis, Philip Rose, and Peter Udell, lyrics by Udell, and music by Gary Geld. It is based on Davis' 1961 play Purlie Victorious, which was later made into the 1963 film Gone Are the Days! and which included all of the original Broadway cast, including Ruby...

, Lost in the Stars

Lost in the Stars

Lost in the Stars is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton...

, Via Galactica

Via Galactica

Via Galactica is a rock musical with a book by Christopher Gore and Judith Ross, lyrics by Gore, and music by Galt MacDermot. It marked the Broadway debut of actor Mark Baker....

, Don’t Bother Me I Can’t Cope

Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope

Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope is a musical revue with music and lyrics by Micki Grant. It was originally produced by Edward Padula.The all-singing, all-dancing show focuses on the African American experience with songs on such topics as tenements, slumlords, ghetto life, student protests, black...

 and as an original member of the Broadway musical A Chorus Line

A Chorus Line

A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....

, back when Broadway was starting to open up its doors to African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 performers. While in A Chorus Line, Chuck recorded his first record, Swept Away, produced by the late Michael Bennett, producer, director, and choreographer of A Chorus Line. Chuck then went on to record solo albums with Arista Records

Arista Records

Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...

 which were called Just for You, featuring the hard-hitting international dance hit, Cisselin’ Hot and If I Had The Chance. Chuck Cissel is also the brother of former Oklahoma State Senator Maxine Horner

Maxine Horner

Maxine Horner was one of the first African American women to serve in the Oklahoma State Senate, serving from 1987 to 2005, along with Vicki Miles-LaGrange. Horner held the position of Democratic Caucus Chair, as well as Chair of Business and Labor and Government Operations, and Vice-Chair of Adult...

who along with Oklahoma State Senator Penny Williams is a co-founder of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.

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