Milton "Mel" Stewart (September 19, 1929 – February 24, 2002) was an American
character actorA character actor is one who predominantly plays a particular type of role rather than leading ones. Character actor roles can range from bit parts to secondary leads...
,
television directorA television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or filmed/taped .In both types of productions, the director is responsible for supervising the placement of cameras ,...
, and
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
who appeared in numerous films and television shows from the 1960s to the 1990s. He is best known for playing
Henry JeffersonHenry Jefferson is a fictional character, the brother of George Jefferson from the TV series All in the Family. He lived with George, his sister-in-law Louise, their son Lionel, and Lionel's aunt , who was referenced in one episode but never seen. He was thus a neighbor to Archie Bunker...
on the popular television series
All in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, the show was revamped, and given a new title, Archie Bunker's Place...
. Stewart is sometimes credited as Melvin Stewart or Melvin Stuart.
Mel Stewart began his career in 1959 with bit parts in tv and films. In the early 1960s, Stewart also appeared in the
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
shows
Purlie Victorious,
The Hostage,
The Cool World, and
Simply Heavenly.
Milton "Mel" Stewart (September 19, 1929 – February 24, 2002) was an American
character actorA character actor is one who predominantly plays a particular type of role rather than leading ones. Character actor roles can range from bit parts to secondary leads...
,
television directorA television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or filmed/taped .In both types of productions, the director is responsible for supervising the placement of cameras ,...
, and
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
who appeared in numerous films and television shows from the 1960s to the 1990s. He is best known for playing
Henry JeffersonHenry Jefferson is a fictional character, the brother of George Jefferson from the TV series All in the Family. He lived with George, his sister-in-law Louise, their son Lionel, and Lionel's aunt , who was referenced in one episode but never seen. He was thus a neighbor to Archie Bunker...
on the popular television series
All in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, the show was revamped, and given a new title, Archie Bunker's Place...
. Stewart is sometimes credited as Melvin Stewart or Melvin Stuart.
Career
Mel Stewart began his career in 1959 with bit parts in tv and films. In the early 1960s, Stewart also appeared in the
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
shows
Purlie Victorious,
The Hostage,
The Cool World, and
Simply Heavenly. In 1961, Stewart recorded an album of
Langston HughesJames Mercer Langston Hughes, was an American poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form jazz poetry...
' poetry on
Folkways RecordsFolkways Records is a record label that documents folk and world music. It is now owned by the Smithsonian Institution.-History:The Folkways Records & Service Co. was founded by Moses Asch and Marian Distler in 1948 in New York City. Asch sought to record and document sound from the entire world....
-
Langston Hughes' The Best of Simple.
Stewart went on to land roles in various television series including
That GirlThat Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City...
,
Marcus Welby, M.D.Marcus Welby, M.D. is a medical drama that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969 to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as the title character, a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell...
,
The Bob Newhart ShowThe Bob Newhart Show is the name of two different television series, both starring comedian Bob Newhart. The better-known is a situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired on CBS from September 16, to April 1,...
,
Good TimesGood Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans and produced by Norman Lear...
, and
Harry O. One of his most memorable roles was as
Henry JeffersonHenry Jefferson is a fictional character, the brother of George Jefferson from the TV series All in the Family. He lived with George, his sister-in-law Louise, their son Lionel, and Lionel's aunt , who was referenced in one episode but never seen. He was thus a neighbor to Archie Bunker...
on the series
All in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, the show was revamped, and given a new title, Archie Bunker's Place...
. In 1973, he co-starred in the short-lived series
Roll OutRoll Out! is a sitcom that aired Friday evenings on CBS during the 1973-1974 television season. Starring Stu Gilliam and Hilly Hicks, and featuring Ed Begley, Jr...
. The following year, Stewart directed two episodes of yet another short-lived series
Get Christie Love!Get Christie Love! is a 1974 made-for-television film starring Teresa Graves as an undercover female police detective who is determined to overthrow a drug ring. This film is based on Dorothy Uhnak's crime-thriller novel, The Ledger...
, before co-starring in
On the Rocks. After
On the Rocks was canceled in 1976, Stewart portrayed the role of Marvin Decker in the
BewitchedBewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York , Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead and David White. It is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban housewife...
spin-off seriesMedia spin-off is the process of deriving new radio programs, television programs or video games or even novels from already existing ones. Spin-offs work with varying degrees of success...
TabithaTabitha is an American fantasy sitcom that aired during the 1977-1978 season on ABC. It was a spin-off of Bewitched, which had ended its run several years earlier...
from 1977 to 1978.
In the 1980s, Stewart continued guest starring in both television and films. He also has a recurring role on
Scarecrow and Mrs. KingScarecrow and Mrs. King is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to May 28, 1987 on CBS. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner.-Synopsis:...
as Billy Melrose during the show's four year run. His last on screen appearance came in the 1993 film
Made in AmericaMade in America is a 1993 comedy film released on May 28, 1993 by Warner Bros. starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson, and featuring Nia Long, Jennifer Tilly and Will Smith.-Plot:...
, starring
Whoopi GoldbergWhoopi Goldberg is an American actress, comedienne, singer-songwriter, activist, and media personality....
and
Ted DansonEdward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He is currently a regular on Larry David's HBO sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close in...
.
Side projects
In addition to acting and directing, Stewart was an accomplished jazz saxophonist. A longtime resident of San Francisco, he also taught acting at
San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California...
. His students included actor
Danny GloverDanny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is best known for his role as Mr. Albert Johnson in The Color Purple and as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise....
. He established the theater group Black Actors Now Through Unity (BANTU) and directed plays at the Center for African and African-American Art and Culture in San Francisco and the Black Repertory Theater in
Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.
A third degree
black beltThe term black belt has become widely known as a way to describe an expert in martial artswhere a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a high degree of competence, and often associated with a teaching grade...
in
aikidois a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...
, Stewart opened a
dojoA is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjō were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to conduct...
for inner-city youths in the Bayview district of San Francisco.
Personal life and death
On July 11, 1976, Stewart married Annie Dong. The couple had one child together, a daughter. On February 24, 2002, Mel Stewart died of
Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease , also called Alzheimer disease, Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of dementia. This incurable, degenerative, and terminal disease was first described by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was...
.
Selected filmography
| Film |
| Year |
Film |
Role |
Notes |
| 1959 |
Odds Against Tomorrow Odds Against Tomorrow is a 1959 film noir produced and directed by Robert Wise for HarBel Productions, a company founded by the film's star, Harry Belafonte. Belafonte selected Abraham Polonsky to write the script, which is based on a novel by William P. McGivern. As a blacklisted writer Polonsky...
|
Hotel Juno Elevator Operator |
Uncredited |
| 1964 |
Nothing But a Man Nothing But a Man is a 1964 movie about an African American man in the American South who wants to be treated as "nothing but a man", instead of a "boy". It stars Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, Julius Harris, Gloria Foster, Martin Priest, Leonard Parker, and Yaphet Kotto.The movie was written by...
|
Riddick |
| 1970 |
The Landlord The Landlord is a 1970 film directed by Hal Ashby, which was based on the novel by Kristin Hunter.-Plot:Elgar Enders , a man who lives off his parent's wealth, buys himself an inner-city tenement, planning to evict all the occupants and construct a luxury home for himself...
|
Professor Duboise |
Credited as Melvin Stewart |
| 1971 |
Cry Uncle! Cry Uncle! is a 1971 film in the Troma library. It is directed by John G. Avildsen and stars Allen Garfield. The story, based on the Michael Brett novel Lie A Little, Die A Little, follows the misadventures of a slobbish private detective who is hired by a millionaire to investigate a murder...
|
Lt. Fowler |
Alternative titles: American Oddballs
Super Dick
Credited as Melvin Stewart |
| 1972 |
Hammer Hammer is a 1972 blaxploitation film directed by Bruce Clark. The film was released following the successes of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song and Shaft, notable 1971 films that popularized black cinema....
|
Professor |
Alternative title: BJ Hammer |
| 1973 |
Steelyard Blues Steelyard Blues is a 1973 comedy crime film starring Donald Sutherland, Jane Fonda and Peter Boyle. It concerns the lives of a group of misfits trying to find a happier life against the norms of society. Sutherland plays an ex-con with a passion for demolition derbies. He has wrecked almost every...
|
Black Man in Jail |
Alternative title: The Final Crash |
| 1975 |
Let's Do It Again Let's Do It Again is a 1975 film starring Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby. Poitier also directed. The film is about blue-collar workers who decide to rig a boxing match to raise money for their fraternal lodge...
|
Ellison |
| 1981 |
Whose Life Is It Anyway? Whose Life Is It Anyway? is a play by Brian Clark adapted from his 1972 television play of the same title. The play premiered at the Mermaid Theatre in London's West End in 1978 starring Tom Conti as Ken.-Plot:...
|
Dr. Barr |
| 1988 |
Dead Heat |
Captain Mayberry |
| 1990 |
Martians Go Home Martians Go Home is a 1990 comedy film starring Randy Quaid. It was directed by David Odell and written by Charles S. Haas based on the novel by Fredric Brown....
|
Judge |
| Bride of Re-Animator Bride of Re-Animator is an American horror film released in 1991. It was directed by Brian Yuzna and was written by Yuzna, Rick Fry and Woody Keith. H. P. Lovecraft wrote the original series of stories, titled Herbert West: Reanimator, from which the characters were derived...
|
Dr. Graves |
Alternative title: Re-Animator 2 |
| Television |
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1962 |
Car 54 Where Are You? |
Officer |
1 episode |
| 1963 |
Naked CityNaked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic "semi-documentary" format.-Synopsis:...
|
Pharmacist |
1 episode |
| 1964 |
The Nurses The Nurses is a soap opera that aired on ABC from September 27, 1965 to March 31, 1967. The show was a continuation of a serialized primetime drama which aired on CBS originally called The Nurses when it premiered in 1962, later called The Doctors and the Nurses.The setting was Alden General...
|
Grand Jury Foreman |
1 episode |
| 1969 |
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour |
Mr. Harris |
1 episode |
| 1972 |
The Bold Ones: The Senator The Bold Ones: The Senator is a political television drama series that aired on NBC from 1970 through 1971, lasting for nine episodes ....
|
Dawson |
1 episode |
| 1974 |
Toma |
George Sawtelle |
1 episode |
| Lucas Tanner Lucas Tanner was an NBC television drama that aired during the 1974-75 season. The title character, played by David Hartman, was a former baseball player and sportswriter who became a teacher at the fictional Harry S. Truman High School in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis...
|
Mr. Browder |
1 episode |
| 1975 |
The Rockford FilesThe Rockford Files is an American detective television drama originally aired on the NBC television network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980; it has remained in constant syndication to the present day. The show is notable for the quality of its writing, largely from Stephen J...
|
Police Lieutenant |
1 episode |
| That's My Mama That's My Mama is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 1974 until December 1975. There are 39 episodes of this series.-Synopsis:...
|
Laforche |
1 episode |
| 1977 |
What's Happening!!What's Happening!! is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976 to April 28, 1979. The show premiered in August 1976 as a summer series. With good ratings and reviews, and after the failure of several other shows on the network, What's Happening!! returned in November 1976...
|
Spike Gibbs |
1 episode |
Sanford and SonSanford and Son was an American sitcom that premiered on the NBC television network on January 14, 1972, and was broadcast for six seasons. The final original episode aired on March 25, 1977. The show was based on the BBC sitcom Steptoe and Son....
|
Clarence |
1 episode |
| 1979 |
Roots: The Next Generations Roots: The Next Generations is a 1979 television miniseries that continues the story of the family of Alex Haley from the 1880s, and their life in Henning, Tennessee, to the 1960s, with Haley researching his family history and his travels to Africa to learn of his ancestor, Kunta Kinte...
|
Dr. Crawford |
Miniseries |
BensonBenson is an American television sitcom which aired from September 13, 1979 to April 19, 1986 on ABC. The series was a spin-off from the soap opera parody Soap...
|
Loromo |
1 episode |
| 1980 |
SoapSoap is an American sitcom that originally ran on ABC from 1977 to 1981.The show was created as a parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour long primetime comedy...
|
Walter Coleman |
1 episode |
| 1980-1983 |
The Love BoatThe Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24, 1977 until May 24, 1986. The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain, who encourages his customers to find romance...
|
Charles, Isaac's Uncle |
2 episodes |
| 1981 |
Little House: A New BeginningLittle House on the Prairie is an American one-hour dramatic television program, starring Michael Landon, about a family living on a farm in Minnesota in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was a loose adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s best-selling series of Little House on the Prairie books. It aired...
|
Hertzell Lundy |
1 episode |
| The Greatest American Hero The Greatest American Hero is an American TV series which aired for three seasons from 1981 to 1983 on ABC. It premiered as a two hour movie pilot on March 18, 1981. It starred William Katt as teacher Ralph Hinkley , Robert Culp as FBI Agent Bill Maxwell, and Connie Sellecca as lawyer Pam Davidson...
|
Sherman |
| 1984 |
CheersCheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for eleven seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Television for NBC, having been created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
|
Man |
1 episode |
| 1987 |
AmenAmen is an American television sitcom produced by Carson Productions that ran from September 27, 1986 to May 11, 1991 on NBC. Amen, starring Sherman Hemsley as the deacon of a Philadelphia church, was part of a wave of successful African American sitcoms on NBC in the 1980s which featured entirely...
|
Brother Clark |
1 episode |
| 1988 |
Frank's PlaceFrank's Place is a CBS comedy-drama series which aired for 22 episodes in 1987 and 1988. The series was created by Hugh Wilson and executive-produced by Wilson and starred Tim Reid.-Plot:...
|
Ben Coleman |
1 episode |
| 1989 |
227227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985 until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs and was produced by Embassy Television from 1985 until 1988, then ELP Communications produced the series in its final two seasons .-Origins:The series was...
|
Jack McGee |
1 episode |
MatlockMatlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986, to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The format of the show was similar to...
|
Sgt Lou Marshall |
2 episodes |
The Golden GirlsThe Golden Girls is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a Miami, Florida home...
|
Judge |
1 episode |
| 1990 |
In the Heat of the NightIn the Heat of the Night is a television series based on the motion picture and novel of the same name. The series debuted as a midseason replacement for the short-lived NBC series J.J. Starbuck, premiering on March 6, 1988. The series ran on the network until May 19, 1992...
|
Calvin Peterson |
1 episode |
External links