LeVar Burton
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LeVar Burton

Acting

Biography

Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host. He played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), and was the host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for 23 years (1983–2006). Burton received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow.

His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his accomplishments in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

From 2017 until 2024, Burton created and hosted the podcast LeVar Burton Reads, often described as "Reading Rainbow for adults". In October 2024, Burton appeared as the host of the Trivial Pursuit television game show broadcast on The CW network and streaming online.

Films Featuring LeVar Burton

Star Trek: Generations

19946.5

Star Trek: Nemesis

20026.3

Star Trek: First Contact

19967.3

Star Trek: Insurrection

19986.5

Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation

Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation

20125.5

The Hunter

19805.9

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

20097.1

The Midnight Hour

19855.9

I Love Liberty

1982

Secrets of Sacred Architecture

20227.0

The Jensen Project

20105.5

Looking for Mr. Goodbar

19776.3

Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event

20237.8

Trekkies

19976.3

Butterfly in the Sky

20248.3

The Supernaturals

19864.2

Taken in Broad Daylight

20095.2

Reach for Me

20082.8

Star Trek: Federation Science

19921.0

Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation

19947.0

Roots: The Gift

19887.3

US Against the World

1977

Rise of the Zombies

20124.2

Our Friend, Martin

19997.1

The Jesse Owens Story

19848.1

One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story

19786.1

Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid

19778.0

Dummy

19798.8

The Acorn People

19813.7

Emergency Room

19839.0

Yesterday's Target

19964.0

Parallel Lives

19945.7

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes

19934.0

Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool

20055.9

Almos' a Man

197610.0

A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con

20142.0

Booker

Booker

19848.0

Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland

19935.3

Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond

19965.6

Lennon or McCartney

20145.3

Ali

20016.7

Grambling's White Tiger

Grambling's White Tiger

19817.0

Battered

19789.0

A Special Friendship

19879.0

School of the Future

20167.0

Central Park

19907.5

Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special

19915.9

40 Years of Star Trek

20063.8

And the Children Shall Lead

19859.0

Brentwood

20188.0

Mickey's 50

19789.0

Blizzard

20036.0

The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next

19882.5

Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family

201710.0

Liberty

19866.0

Definition Please

20203.2

Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds

20137.4

Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation

20127.0

The Muppets Go Hollywood

19796.2

To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager

202410.0

And They're Off

20114.1

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command

2014

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification

2013

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption

2013

One Night Only

20266.8

Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...

2014

Remembering Roots

2002

Make-Up Man: The Michael Westmore Documentary

Make-Up Man: The Michael Westmore Documentary