Trivia

Brother is Obba Babatundé.

He is a busy theater actor, including (but not limited to) Marley and Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol at the Dallas Theater Center, and creating an original musical, Blind Lemon, about the famous blues musician.

Spent eight years as an artist in residence at Brown University.

Both he and his brother Obba Babatundé trained at the National Black Theatre in Harlem, and within a short time were invited to join its touring company. They both were also teachers at Harriet Tubman School for a time.

Was influenced to try acting in junior high school when he saw a production of "Carousel." He went on to do a high school production (High School of Fashion Industries in New York) of "The Pajama Game".

Has been acting since the mid-'70s. He has worked extensively at such theatres as Providence, R.I.'s Trinity Repertory Company, the Alley Theatre in Houston, Florida Stage, the Dallas Theater Center, and La MaMa E.T.C. in New York.

The star of several solo pieces -- which include "Of Ebony Embers," based on the Harlem Renaissance, which he toured nationwide and in the Caribbean, and "Before the Second Set: A Visit With Satchmo." His first one-man show, "Zig-Zag," which played in Berlin in 1985, was a series of monologues from Shakespearean classics, including The Merchant of Venice" and "King Lear." His latest project, "Blind Lemon Blues," based on the famous blues singer, which is slated for a 2007 Off-Broadway run, he is the co-author (with Alan Govenar), director, musical arranger, choreographer and star.

His given name's pronunciation is "ah-keen" and his surname's pronunciation is "bah-bah-tun-day".