- Richard Cummings Jr.
Richard Cummings Jr. is an American
actor andfilm director most recognized for his acting roles in the Emmy award-winning dramas "thirtysomething" and "Northern Exposure ". He is currently working as a film and television director. Recent projects include partnering withWarner Bros. Television andDon Cornelius to produce a new series and planned film atDimension Films .Early career
Cummings Jr. was born and raised in
New York City where he played basketball in high school and thought he would continue in college.Fact|date=July 2007 However, he soon landed his first acting gig, aWheaties ’commercial . While attending college atStony Brook , he would commute to the city for auditions. After two years, he left to pursue his acting career inLos Angeles .Television commercials led to series work. He guest-starred on "
Kojak ", "The White Shadow " and "Hill Street Blues " before landing the role of account executive Mark Harriton on "thirtysomething". Then he was cast in "Northern Exposure" withJohn Corbett and did voice-over work for the Korean automaker HyundaiProducing and directing
While continuing to pursue his acting career, Cummings Jr. teamed up with
Robert Townsend to act in and produce the surprise hit feature, "Hollywood Shuffle ". At the same time, he partnered with fellow “Shuffle” producerCarl Craig to formUnderdog Films to producemusic video s showcasing emerging urban/r&b artists. Underdog Films worked with directors such asHype Williams andThe Hughes Brothers and produced videos for platinum artists such asN.W.A. ,Dr. Dre ,Ice Cube ,The Red Hot Chili Peppers andSnoop Dogg . The company won theMTV Video Music Awards for Best Rap Video in 1996 and also produced videos for the soundtracks to "Boyz N the Hood " and "House Party 3 ". In addition, Underdog produced a number of commercial spots forRock the Vote during the Clinton presidential campaign.In addition, Cummings Jr. had directed multiple videos for platinum recording artist
Candyman and Jazz artistGeorge Howard , among others. He produced and directed theindependent film "Thicker Than Water" with Ice Cube,Fat Joe andMack 10 and most recently produced another independent film, “Playas Ball,” financed by NBA player Dale Davis of the Golden State Warriors.Current projects
Cummings Jr. is producing the Usher project with Jonathan Prince for Dimension Films. The movie is an updated version of "Jailhouse Rock" in which Usher will both act and sing. He is also developing a one hour drama with Prince, Warner Bros and Don Cornelius Productions for Fox Television.Fact|date=July 2007
External links
*imdb name|id=0191836|name= Richard Cummings Jr.
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