When I got the invitation to come and audition for AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’…
Click play to hear André describe his audition, and the wisdom of casting uneven numbers to add dramatic conflict. Audio recorded in conversation with PAL Master Fellow Shawn Shafner for The Actors Fund.
Top 6 photos, programs from andre’s personal collection. Obie Voices photo by Steve Kagan
Playbill images used by Permission. All rights reserved, Playbill Inc.
In the Studio with AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’
AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ Prime Time
NBC TV Special, producer Alvin Cooperman (deceased), Miami Herald TV, illustration by Steve McCracken, Television Times / Los Angeles Times Weekly Listings, article by James Brown
André invited friends to come over and watch the special with the postcard below. Click play below to hear him describe the scene, then click here to watch the NBC – TV Special on YouTube. Audio recorded in conversation with PAL Master Fellow Shawn Shafner for The Actors Fund.
Twin Emmys
Photos by The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ On the Road
As the Viper, André’s big number was “The Reefer Song.” Every night, he’d go out into the audience for some planned interaction – that didn’t always go as planned. Click below to hear André tell the story of what happened in Los Angeles, as recorded in conversation with PAL Master Fellow Shawn Shafner for The Actors Fund.
photographer unknown, hired by Alaska Repertory Theatre, from André’s collection, poster concept and design by CREAC,page features photos by Martha Swope and Merry Alpern/Lynn Goldsmith, page features photo by Jeffrey Tennyson, page features photo by Peter Cunningham
Image used by Permission. All rights reserved, Playbill Inc.
In a career spanning forty-seven years, André De Shields has distinguished himself as an unparalleled actor, director, choreographer and educator. Mr. De Shields is an esteemed alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWM), where in 1970 he earned a BA in English. In May of 2004 the UWM bestowed upon him an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, followed by a second honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from SUNY-Buffalo State in September of that same year. Mr. De Shields completed his graduate work at New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where in 1991 he received his MA in African American Studies. His numerous accolades also include the 2007 Village Voice OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance, the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival's Living Legend Award, a 2012 Fox Foundation Fellowship in Distinguished Achievement, Florida Atlantic University's 2014 Making Waves Award, the Theatre School at DePaul University 2015 Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Riant Theatre's 2016 Pioneer of the Arts Award, three Chicago Joseph Jefferson Awards and nine AUDELCO Awards. A multiple Tony Award nominee, Mr. De Shields is best known for his show stopping performances in six legendary Broadway productions: Impressionism (costarring with Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen-2009); the world premiere of Mark Medoff's Prymate (Drama Desk nomination-2004); The Full Monty, for which he received Tony, Drama Desk and Astaire Award nominations, in addition to both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Award-2001; Play On! (Tony nomination-1997); Ain't Misbehavin' (Drama Desk nomination-1978) and The Wiz (title role-1975). In 1982, he won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Performance for the NBC TV Special based on Ain't Misbehavin'. Mr. De Shields is the ninth of eleven children born and reared in Baltimore, Maryland.
