LeVar Burton
Acting
- Born:
- 1957-02-16
- Place of birth:
- Landstuhl, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany
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.
Known For
Filmography
One Night Only
Strip Law
Weather Hunters
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
Trivial Pursuit
Butterfly in the Sky
Carol & the End of the World
100 Years of Warner Bros.
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
The Right to Read
Tom Swift
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
The Shuttlepod Show
The Legend of Vox Machina
The Problem with Jon Stewart
NCIS: Hawaiʻi
Leverage: Redemption
INVINCIBLE
Beyond the Spotlight
Definition Please
Star Trek: Picard
The Tamron Hall Show
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Weird City
The Ready Room
Brentwood
Explained
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
School of the Future
Roots
Lennon or McCartney
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
NCIS: New Orleans
Scorpion
PBS News Weekend
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
Rise of the Zombies
Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Perception
The Eric Andre Show
Finding Your Roots
Transformers: Rescue Bots
And They're Off
The Jensen Project
Adventure Time
Taken in Broad Daylight
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Community
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Shatner's Raw Nerve
Reach for Me
The Big Bang Theory
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
40 Years of Star Trek
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
Hell's Kitchen