nPosted on February 16, 2020
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nWhat does the 1977 mini-series Roots…
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n…sci-fi series Star Trek: The Next Generation…
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n…and children’s program Reading Rainbow all have in common?
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nOf course, I am sure you already know – today’s famous birthday, LeVar Burton!
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nLeVar Burton was born on this date in 1957 in West Germany, where his father, a photographer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps, was stationed. However, his family soon moved back to the U.S.; he grew up in Sacramento, CA, and he went to USC, a prestigious California university.
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Burton had a shockingly quick rise to fame when he went to his very first professional audition – and won the role, at age 20, of Kunta Kinte, an African man who is kidnapped, enslaved, and shipped off to colonial America. The plot involves attempted mutiny and horrific treatment and learning. The mini-series captured really high ratings (the finale is still the third-highest-rated episode for any type of TV series and the second-highest-rated series finale in U.S. television history! It also captured 37 Emmy Award nominations (!), 9 Emmys, and other awards as well. Two sequels and a related movie followed (Burton starred in the sequels), and the original Roots was rebooted by the History channel a couple of years ago!
Burton had a shockingly quick rise to fame when he went to his very first professional audition – and won the role, at age 20, of Kunta Kinte, an African man who is kidnapped, enslaved, and shipped off to colonial America. The plot involves attempted mutiny and horrific treatment and learning. The mini-series captured really high ratings (the finale is still the third-highest-rated episode for any type of TV series and the second-highest-rated series finale in U.S. television history! It also captured 37 Emmy Award nominations (!), 9 Emmys, and other awards as well. Two sequels and a related movie followed (Burton starred in the sequels), and the original Roots was rebooted by the History channel a couple of years ago!n
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nBurton has done a lot of other acting jobs in his long career, including a blind Starfleet Lieutenant in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Because of his role in this geeky fave show, Burton has had the opportunity to play a humorous version of himself on shows such as Community and The Big Bang Theory.
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Burton’s most award-winning show is the one he not only hosted but also served as executive producer: the PBS children’s show Reading Rainbow. This series ran for 23 seasons – one of the longest-running children’s shows on the network – and accumulated more than 200 awards, including 26 Emmys. Burton, who was nominated for Best Actor in the mini-series Roots, but didn’t win, won 12 Emmy awards as host and producer of Reading Rainbow!
Burton’s most award-winning show is the one he not only hosted but also served as executive producer: the PBS children’s show Reading Rainbow. This series ran for 23 seasons – one of the longest-running children’s shows on the network – and accumulated more than 200 awards, including 26 Emmys. Burton, who was nominated for Best Actor in the mini-series Roots, but didn’t win, won 12 Emmy awards as host and producer of Reading Rainbow!n
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nBurton is also a director and author and podcaster and philanthropist. Very cool, LeVar, very cool!
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nCheck out some LeVar Burton wisdom:
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nAlso on this date:
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nAnniversary of the patent for nylon
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nBrigadier General Anna Mae Hays’s birthday
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nAnniversary of the opening of King Tut’s burial chamber
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nLithuania’s Independence Day
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nAnniversary of the first Esperanto club in the U.S.
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First 9-1-1 Call
First 9-1-1 Call
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nBirthday of chess champion Vera Menchik
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nPlan ahead:
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nCheck out my Pinterest boards for:
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nFebruary birthdays
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nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:
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