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Basil Wallace

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Basil Wallace
Born (1951-01-15) January 15, 1951 (age 73) [1]
Kingston, Jamaica
Occupation(s)Actor, playwright, theatre director, acting teacher
Years active1973–present
Websitewww.basilwallace.com

Basil Wallace (born January 15, 1951) is a Jamaican-American actor, playwright, theatre director, and acting teacher.

Early life

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Wallace was born in Kingston and immigrated to the United States as a child with his four siblings. His family first settled in Brooklyn, New York City. He, his parents, and his siblings then moved to Long Island, where he attended Hempstead High School.[2]

Career

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Wallace became interested in theater and, after graduating high school, entered New York University.[2] He attended NYU for two years, during which time he performed in his first Off-Off-Broadway play. He went on to work for many years as a playwright, actor, and theatre director in New York.

Early in Wallace's career, he became involved with La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in Manhattan's East Village.[2] He acted in a production, called "Short Bullins", of four Ed Bullins one-act plays at La MaMa in 1972.[3] The Jarboro Company then took those one-acts (How Do You Do?, A Minor Scene, Dialect Determinism, and It Has No Choice, along with Bullins' Clara's Old Man and Richard Wesley's Black Terror) on tour to Italy.[4] He also acted in Clifford Mason's Sister Sadie, directed by Allie Woods at La MaMa in 1972.[5]

Wallace co-wrote (with Angela Marie Lee) and directed the play Sounds of a Silent Man at La MaMa in 1973,[6] and directed Edgar Nkosi White's Lament for Rastafari at La MaMa in 1977.[7] He returned to La MaMa in 1987 to direct a work-in-progress reading of White's Tres Cepas (The Love Songs for China).[8]

Wallace taught at Lincoln Center Theater for a decade, was the drama director for School District 13 in the Bronx, and was the director of Mini-Mobile Theatre for two years. He was one of the founding members and served as artistic director for the first year of the Caribbean American Repertory Theatre.[2]

In 1990, Wallace moved to Los Angeles and auditioned for the film Marked for Death. He was cast as the lead villain, Screwface. Wallace has continued to act in film and television throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 Eddie Murphy Raw Eddie's Father
1990 Marked for Death 'Screwface'
1991 Wedlock Emerald
Grand Canyon Insurance Salesman
1992 Rapid Fire Agent Wesley
1993 Return of the Living Dead 3 Riverman
1995 Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home Reporter
1998 Caught Up Ahmad
1999 The Wood Lisa's Father
2001 Joy Ride Car Salesman
2002 Like Mike Drill Sergeant Dad
2006 Blood Diamond Benjamin Kapanay
2024 The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story Jacob

Television

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Year(s) Title Role Notes
1990 Star Trek: The Next Generation Klingon Guard #1 Episode 4.7: "Reunion"
China Beach Rashid Episode 4.9: "The Call"
1991 Quantum Leap Jazz Boone Episode 4.10: "Unchained"
1992 Afterburn Terry Worth TV film
1993 Sirens Pacnow Episode 1.7: "Strike Two"
1994 NYPD Blue Reginald Harris Episode 2.2: "For Whom the Skell Rolls"
1995 Children of the Dust TV miniseries
1996 Dark Skies Barney Hill Episode 1&2: "The Awakening"
1997 Beverly Hills, 90210 Cop #1 Episode 7.17: "Face-Off"
Bloodhounds Lt. Ron Coughlin TV film
Diagnosis: Murder William Turner Episode 4.24: "The Merry Widow Murder"
Soldier of Fortune, Inc. Episode 1.9: "Missing in Action"
1998 Born Free Josef Awaz 8 episodes
Pensacola: Wings of Gold Pres. Louis Simone Episode 1.14: "Soldiers of Misfortune"
The Practice Jerry Episode 2.21: "In Deep"
1999 ER Mr. Campbell Episode 5.17: "Sticks and Stones"
Pacific Blue Episode 5.13: "Swimming the Dead Pool"
2000 The Pretender Sheriff Bowen Episode 4.8: "Rules of Engagement"
Judging Amy Rev. Del Mueller Episode 2.3: "Instincts"
City of Angels Joe 2 episodes
2001 Any Day Now Episode 3.19: "What If?"
The Division Rupert Taylor Episode 1.14: "The Parent Trap"
2002 The West Wing McKonnen Loboko Episode 3.14: "Night Five"
Philly Marcus Herman Episode 1.22: "Mojo Rising"
The Agency Episode 2.2: "Air Lex"
Strong Medicine Ezekiel Monroe-Howard Episodes 3.12: "Blush"
2003 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Principal Episodes 4.10: "Coming of Rage"
2004 LAX Fredericks Episodes 1.7: "Out of Control"
2007 NCIS Delphin Abaka Episode 5.8: "Designated Target"
2009 Burn Notice Claude Laurent Episode 2.14: "Truth and Reconciliation"
2012 NCIS: Los Angeles Ed Gornt Episode 3.14: "Partners"
2013 Eagleheart Bunju Episode 2.11: "Bringing Down Bunju"
2021 Christmas in Harmony Deacon James TV film

References

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  1. ^ "Birth date and name reference: Basil Wallace". Retrieved April 5, 2024 – via FamilySearch.org.
  2. ^ a b c d "Basil Wallace - Biography". BasilWallace.50Webs.com. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  3. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Short Bullins (1972)". Accessed April 3, 2018. Archived July 7, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Tour: Jarboro Company in Italy (1972)". Accessed April 3, 2018.
  5. ^ "Production: Sister Sadie (1972)". La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  6. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Sounds of a Silent Man (1973)". Accessed April 3, 2018.
  7. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Lament for Rastafari (1977)". Accessed April 3, 2018.
  8. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Tres Cepas (1987)". Accessed April 3, 2018.
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