In a career spanning 47 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 (co-starring 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 9th of 11 children born and reared in Baltimore.
Greatest Role
De Shields – OH 1 – 50:26 “Four boys were arrested…” – 55:51 “…to this very day.”
André discusses one of his most poignant roles in The Gospel According to James, one that left an indelible mark on him as an actor.
Relationships and Memory
De Shields – OH 2 – 16:40 “A whole vein of memory…” – 22:41 “…he had gone.”
André discusses going on a reunion tour of The Wiz after losing his longtime partner and how he secretly encoded his name in his bio for the program.
Profound professional moments and stardom
De Shields – OH 3 – 6:39 “Stardom, it’s a roll of the dice…” – 8:58 “…making your way as a performing artist.”
André discusses both the philosophical and socio-political aspects of stardom.
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