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Mel Stewart
in the opening credits for Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Born	Milton Stewart October 19, 1929(1929-10-19) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	February 24, 2002 (aged 72) Pacifica, California, U.S.
Other name(s)	Melvin Stewart Melvin Stuart
Occupation	Actor, television director, musician
Years active	1959 – 1993
Spouse(s)	Annie Dong (m. 1976–2002) «start: (1976)–end+1: (2003)»"Marriage: Annie Dong to Mel Stewart" Location: (linkback:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Stewart) (his death)

Milton "Mel" Stewart (September 19, 1929 – February 24, 2002) was an American character actor, television director, and musician who appeared in numerous films and television shows from the 1960s to the 1990s. He is best known for playing Henry Jefferson on the popular television series All in the Family. Stewart is sometimes credited as Melvin Stewart or Melvin Stuart.

Career

Mel Stewart began his career in 1959 with bit parts in tv and films. In the early 1960s, Stewart also appeared in the Broadway shows Purlie Victorious, The Hostage, The Cool World, and Simply Heavenly.^[1] In 1961, Stewart recorded an album of Langston Hughes' poetry on Folkways Records - Langston Hughes' The Best of Simple.^[2]

Stewart went on to land roles in various television series including That Girl, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Bob Newhart Show, Good Times, and Harry O. One of his most memorable roles was as Henry Jefferson on the series All in the Family. In 1973, he co-starred in the short-lived series Roll Out. The following year, Stewart directed two episodes of yet another short-lived series Get Christie Love!, before co-starring in On the Rocks. After On the Rocks was canceled in 1976, Stewart portrayed the role of Marvin Decker in the Bewitched spin-off series Tabitha from 1977 to 1978.

In the 1980s, Stewart continued guest starring in both television and films. He also had a recurring role on Scarecrow and Mrs. King as Billy Melrose during the show's four year run. His last on screen appearance came in the 1993 film Made in America, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson.

Side projects

In addition to acting and directing, Stewart was an accomplished jazz saxophonist. A longtime resident of San Francisco, he also taught acting at San Francisco State University.^[1] His students included actor Danny Glover.^[3] He established the theater group Black Actors Now Through Unity (BANTU) and directed plays at the Center for African and African-American Art and Culture in San Francisco and the Black Repertory Theater in Berkeley, California.^[1]

A third degree black belt in aikido, Stewart opened a dojo for inner-city youths in the Bayview district of San Francisco.^[1]

Personal life and death

On July 11, 1976, Stewart married Annie Dong. The couple had one child together, a daughter.^[1] On February 24, 2002, Mel Stewart died of Alzheimer's disease.^[4]

Selected filmography

References

External links

• Mel Stewart at the Internet Broadway Database
• Mel Stewart at the Internet Movie Database
• Mel Stewart at TV.com
• Mel Stewart at Find a Grave