A Different World, yes. Most definitely. But people shouldn't forget his masterful turns as Wining Boy( The Piano Lesson) and Stool Pigeon ( King Hedley the II). On TV he was so charismatic as a comic griot, but on stage he reminded me of what Sisqueros said of Hart Crane, that he " could not paint his eyes open, for that there was too much suffering in them"
Wining Boy is one of the great ensemble characters in the history of theater. He is an faded recording star, a boozer, and a soul overwhelmed by all the stories in his head, and the way it pours out on stage (in inference and not exposition )makes it all the more palpable to watch. But he also survives. There is blues in his life, but there is humanity, kindness, and the way that he shows it points to two of the most powerful themes in Wilson's work: that black men suffered in this century, and that if we wallow in it, we will die. What an actor. What a life. Far thee well, sir
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