Kene Holliday

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Kene Holliday
Kene Holliday Carter Country 1977.JPG
Holliday as Curtis Baker in Carter Country in 1977
Born
Kenneth Earl Holliday

(1949-06-25) June 25, 1949 (age 75)
Other namesKene Holiday
Occupation Actor
Years active1971–present
Spouses
  • Janifer Baker Holloway
  • Darlene Collins
  • Linda Copling
Children2 sons, Kendall Holliday, Collinns Holliday

Kenneth Earl Holliday (born June 25, 1949) is an American actor of stage, film, and television. He is known for his role as Ben Matlock's original private investigator, Tyler Hudson, on Matlock , and as Sgt. Curtis Baker on Carter Country from 1977 until 1979. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film Great World of Sound .

Contents

Biography

Holliday, a product of the Copiague area of Long Island, New York, was raised in a Christian home, born into a Baptist family. At age 12, he lost his father. With the encouragement of his mother, he participated in track at Copiague High School where he was part of the Fantastic Four Relay Team and was the star of his football team. He was nicknamed as Mr. Hotshot and was known as a "scoring machine" on and off the football field. He graduated in 1967 and attended University of Maryland on a full scholarship. As he recalled, times were turbulent, and the football team was preparing to go on strike against the NCAA over a change in coaches.

He was "jazzed" by a class he took related to the history of theater and acting became his new passion. In 1969, as an undergraduate he played Yank in The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill. He was the first black person to perform in a leading role on the college's "main stage."

After graduation from college his first work was with the Inaugural Theater Group at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. There, he conducted workshops as a founding member of the D.C. Black Repertory Company. In 1975, he was fired from his job because of his continued problems with drugs and alcohol. His chemical abuse continued for the next 14 years. However, despite those problems he starred in the role of Carlyle in David Rabe's Vietnam War–era play Streamers at the Lincoln Theatre. [1]

That play led him to Los Angeles in 1976 where he guest-starred on several shows such as Kojak ; What's Happening!! ; The Incredible Hulk ; Quincy, M.E. ; Lou Grant ; Soap and its spin-off series, Benson ; The Jeffersons ; The Fall Guy ; Hart to Hart and Doogie Howser, M.D. He guest starred on many other shows. His first "featuring" television series was Carter Country where he co-starred with Victor French as Sgt. Curtis Baker from 1977 until 1979. He also was featured in Roots: The Next Generations and starred in a series of pilots which failed to make it to the air as regular series. Kene provided the voice of the character Roadblock in the 1980s cartoon series, G.I. Joe and 1987's G.I. Joe: The Movie. In 1985, he appeared in the TV film Badge of the Assassin.

In early 1986, while providing the voice of Roadblock, he received a phone call from producers Fred Silverman and Dean Hargrove. He was their first choice to play Matlock's private investigator Tyler Hudson on the Matlock series opposite TV veteran Andy Griffith. Holliday said in a 2012 interview with Blake Radio that when he was 11 years old he occasionally watched The Andy Griffith Show ; he had recognized all the characters from his mentor's show and won the Matlock role. [2] He was eventually fired from the series due to ongoing concerns around his substance abuse. [3]

Other TV work and personal life

He has numerous television and movie appearances to his credit, including roles in G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987), CBS’s made-for-television movie Miracle on the Mountain (2000), Hope & Faith (2004), and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2005).

He published a book of poetry in 1998 entitled The Book of K-III: The Contemporary Poetics of Kene Holliday.

Holliday became a traveling evangelist,[ when? ] and he and his wife spent the next decade preaching in gospel musicals.[ citation needed ]

In 2002, Holliday became the round-the-clock caregiver for his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and subsequently became a member of the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. [3]

While taking care of his mother, he accepted the lead role in the movie Great World of Sound in 2007. [4]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1976 Kojak Assistant D.A. DunnEpisode: "A Shield For Murder" (parts 1 and 2)
1977–79 Carter Country Sergeant Curtis Baker44 episodes
1978 Incredible Hulk PaulEpisode: "Earthquakes Happen"
1978 Battle of the Network Stars HimselfEpisode: "Battle of the Network Stars IV"
1978 What's Happening!!'The Gong Show Judge HimselfEpisode: "Going, Going, Gong"
1979 Quincy M.E. Father Tony HamiltonEpisode: "Never a Child"
1979 Roots: The Next Generations DetroitMiniseries
Part III
1980 Soap Eddie DawsonEpisode 60
1980 Benson JakeEpisode: "Takin' It to the Streets"
1981 See China and Die Sgt. Alvin SykesTelevision film
1982 Hart to Hart William DeanEpisode: "Hart and Sole" as William Dean
1982 Chicago Story Dr. Jeff House
1984 Benson Earl (Benson's brother)Episode: "The Reunion"
1984 The Philadelphia Experiment Major Clark
1984 No Small Affair Walt Cronin
1985 Badge of the Assassin Albert WashingtonTelevision film
1985–86 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Roadblock (voice)36 episodes
1986 Diary of a Perfect Murder Tyler HudsonTelevision film
1986 The Fall Guy Lt. Joe BuddEpisode: "In His Shadow"
1986–90 Matlock Tyler Hudson seasons 1–3; appeared in episode 4 & 14 in season 4
1987 G.I. Joe: The Movie Roadblock (voice)Direct-to-video
1987If It's Tuesday, It Still Must Be BelgiumBon SperlingTelevision film
1990Perry Mason: Case of the Silenced SingerJoe Dillon
1991 The Josephine Baker Story Sidney Bechet Television film
1991 Doogie Howser, M.D. Raymond's Old MentorEpisode: "Truth and Consequences"
1992 Jake and the Fatman Montgomery DuboisEpisode: "Ain't Misbehavin'"
1996: Diagnosis Murder Burke's ProducerEpisode: "FMurder"
2005 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Coach VenezianoEpisode: "Ripped"
2007 Great World of Sound Clarence
2008 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Cold Case DetectiveEpisode: "Last Rites"
2009 Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Theodore the Saxophone PlayerVideogame

Accolades

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References

  1. Balogun, Oyin (October 17, 2021). "Kene Holliday AKA Tyler Hudson in 'Matlock' Lived a Dark Life in Conjunction with Filming". Amo Mama. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  2. "Topically Yours - Actor Kene Holliday". BlogTalkRadio.com. August 4, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Fischler, Marcelle S. (September 2, 2007). "An Actor's Seesaw Life Jolts Upward Again" . The New York Times .
  4. Ebert, Roger (October 5, 2007). "American Idle". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved March 2, 2022 via RogerEbert.com.