Shavar Ross
Encyclopedia
Shavar Malik Ross is an American actor, film director
, screenwriter
, film producer
, editor, photographer, author, and entrepreneur
. He is known for his recurring television roles as Dudley Ramsey on the NBC
sitcom Diff'rent Strokes
, and as Weasel on the ABC
sitcom Family Matters.
, New York
. His parents separated when he was 6 years old. His mother took Shavar and his sister to Macon, Georgia
, while his father went to Los Angeles
to pursue an acting career.
In 1979, while visiting his father in California during his school's Christmas vacation, Shavar was discovered by top children's agent Evelyn Shultz. In 1980, Ross landed his first recurring television role on NBC's Diff'rent Strokes
as "Dudley Ramsey", the best friend of Gary Coleman
's character, "Arnold Jackson". Also in 1980, Shavar appeared in the TV film Scout's Honor
, also with Gary Coleman. Two years later, Ross became a voice actor for Hanna-Barbera
. He also appeared in the television show Benson
, as part of a "big brother/little brother"-type charity imposition that the governor made the employees participate in (season 2 ep. 11). Ross had a recurring role as T.C.'s son on the detective drama Magnum, P.I.
. Another recurring role was on the series Family Matters
as "Weasel". Ross has appeared in over 100 film and episodic television projects throughout his career, including such films as the fifth installment of the Friday the 13th movie series Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
in 1985 as "Reggie".
Additionally, in 1996, after completing four years of Bible School at The Ministry Training Institute; an auxiliary of Crenshaw Christian Center
, Ross founded The Alive Church, a non-denominational Christian church
in Los Angeles, and was its pastor for four years.
Shavar is a film director and operates his own film and television production company, Tri-Seven Entertainment. His first short film, Soul to Take (2003), garnered him an Internet distribution deal with Russell Simmons
' media company Simmons/Lathan Media Group. His second short film, A Taste of Us (2004), dealt with the civil unrest of the 1960's segregation in the south and was originally made as a pilot presentation for the TV One Network. Lord Help Us (released nationally in May 2007), an inspirational urban romantic comedy starring American Idol‘s Nadia Turner
, Oscar nominee Margaret Avery
(The Color Purple), Debra Wilson
(MADtv, Scary Movie 4), comedian Joe Clair
(BET
's Rap City, Take the Cake), Grammy-Award winning singer Al Jarreau
and many others marked his feature film directorial debut.
Shavar is also the founder and editor-in-chief of ShavarRoss.com, a new infotainment blog established in July of 2009. The site is personal, humorous, and informative, covering a plethora of topics with hopes of inspiring its readers to bring out the best in their own personal lives.
Shavar resides in Los Angeles and has been married since 1992 and has a son named Seven Shavar Ross (born August 24, 1993) and a daughter, Chelsea Lynn Ross (born February 26, 2005).
In May 2006, Ross appeared on an E!
Child Stars Special, Geeks, Freaks, and Sidekicks, where he revealed that during the taping of the very special episode
of Diff'rent Strokes
in which he was molested
, he was going through a similar experience in real life; he was being "touched" by a family friend inappropriately while he was asleep.
In 2008, he played a "prosperity preacher" on David Alan Grier
's show Chocolate News
on Comedy Central
.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, editor, photographer, author, and entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
. He is known for his recurring television roles as Dudley Ramsey on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
, and as Weasel on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom Family Matters.
Biography
Ross was born in the South BronxSouth Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His parents separated when he was 6 years old. His mother took Shavar and his sister to Macon, Georgia
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
, while his father went to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to pursue an acting career.
In 1979, while visiting his father in California during his school's Christmas vacation, Shavar was discovered by top children's agent Evelyn Shultz. In 1980, Ross landed his first recurring television role on NBC's Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
as "Dudley Ramsey", the best friend of Gary Coleman
Gary Coleman
Gary Wayne Coleman was an American actor, known for his childhood role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and for his small stature as an adult. He was described in the 1980s as "one of television's most promising stars". After a successful childhood acting career, Coleman...
's character, "Arnold Jackson". Also in 1980, Shavar appeared in the TV film Scout's Honor
Scout's Honor (TV film)
-Plot Summary:Joey, The clever but lonely orphan, is determined to be the best cub scout ever. A hard-working executive who dislikes children takes on a troop of cub scouts and becomes a den mother to save her job. on an outing, she takes her den to a nearby park, where the boys discover a cave and...
, also with Gary Coleman. Two years later, Ross became a voice actor for Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
. He also appeared in the television show Benson
Benson (TV series)
Benson 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 ; however, Benson discarded the...
, as part of a "big brother/little brother"-type charity imposition that the governor made the employees participate in (season 2 ep. 11). Ross had a recurring role as T.C.'s son on the detective drama Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
. Another recurring role was on the series Family Matters
Family Matters (TV series)
Family Matters is an American sitcom about a middle-class African-American family living in Chicago, Illinois, which ran on national television for nine full seasons. The series was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers, but revolves around the Winslow family...
as "Weasel". Ross has appeared in over 100 film and episodic television projects throughout his career, including such films as the fifth installment of the Friday the 13th movie series Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning is a 1985 slasher film. It was released on March 22, 1985. It is the fifth film in the Friday the 13th film series...
in 1985 as "Reggie".
Additionally, in 1996, after completing four years of Bible School at The Ministry Training Institute; an auxiliary of Crenshaw Christian Center
Crenshaw Christian Center
The Crenshaw Christian Center is a ministry in South Los Angeles, California, founded by pastor Frederick K. C. Price. It is located on the site of the old Pepperdine University campus, which was sold to Crenshaw Christian Center. Price, oversaw construction of the "FaithDome" on the site, the...
, Ross founded The Alive Church, a non-denominational Christian church
Non-denominational Christianity
In Christianity, nondenominational institutions or churches are those not formally aligned with an established denomination, or that remain otherwise officially autonomous. This, however, does not preclude an identifiable standard among such congregations...
in Los Angeles, and was its pastor for four years.
Shavar is a film director and operates his own film and television production company, Tri-Seven Entertainment. His first short film, Soul to Take (2003), garnered him an Internet distribution deal with Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
' media company Simmons/Lathan Media Group. His second short film, A Taste of Us (2004), dealt with the civil unrest of the 1960's segregation in the south and was originally made as a pilot presentation for the TV One Network. Lord Help Us (released nationally in May 2007), an inspirational urban romantic comedy starring American Idol‘s Nadia Turner
Nadia Turner
Nadia Turner Nadia Turner Nadia Turner (born January 11, 1977 is an American singer, songwriter, actress and radio/television personality, best known as the 8th place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol.-Before Idol:...
, Oscar nominee Margaret Avery
Margaret Avery
Margaret Avery is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Shug in The Color Purple .-Early life:...
(The Color Purple), Debra Wilson
Debra Wilson
Debra Wilson Skelton , professionally known as Debra Wilson or Debra Wilzon, is an American comedienne and actress. Wilson is likely most famous for being the second longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series MADtv, having appeared for the show's first eight seasons...
(MADtv, Scary Movie 4), comedian Joe Clair
Joe Clair
Joe Clair, also known by the nickname "Joe Cleezy", is an American stand-up comedian, radio DJ, and VJ. A native of the Seat Pleasant, Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., Clair is best known as the former host of BET's Rap City from 1994 to 1999....
(BET
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
's Rap City, Take the Cake), Grammy-Award winning singer Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau
Alwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
and many others marked his feature film directorial debut.
Shavar is also the founder and editor-in-chief of ShavarRoss.com, a new infotainment blog established in July of 2009. The site is personal, humorous, and informative, covering a plethora of topics with hopes of inspiring its readers to bring out the best in their own personal lives.
Shavar resides in Los Angeles and has been married since 1992 and has a son named Seven Shavar Ross (born August 24, 1993) and a daughter, Chelsea Lynn Ross (born February 26, 2005).
In May 2006, Ross appeared on an E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
Child Stars Special, Geeks, Freaks, and Sidekicks, where he revealed that during the taping of the very special episode
Very special episode
"Very special episode" is an advertising term originally used in American television commercials to refer to an episode of a sitcom or television drama that deals with a serious or controversial social issue...
of Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
in which he was molested
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
, he was going through a similar experience in real life; he was being "touched" by a family friend inappropriately while he was asleep.
In 2008, he played a "prosperity preacher" on David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier , also known as "D.A.G." , is an American actor and comedian known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.-Early life:...
's show Chocolate News
Chocolate News
Chocolate News is a satirical news show hosted and head written by David Alan Grier with an emphasis on African American culture. The show aired on Wednesday nights at 10:30 PM on Comedy Central as a lead-in to their other news satire programs, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert...
on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
.