Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. Born February 16, 1957, is an American actor, director, & television host. He played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: ''The Next Generation'', 1987 to 1994, Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots, 1977, & was the host of th...
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. Born February 16, 1957, is an American actor, director, & television host. He played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: ''The Next Generation'', 1987 to 1994, Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots, 1977, & was the host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for 23 years from 1983 to 2006. He received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards & a Peabody Award as host & executive producer of Reading Rainbow. Born in Landstuhl, West Germany. His mother, Erma Gene Christian, was a social worker, administrator, & educator. He & his two sisters were raised by his mother in Sacramento, California, United States. His 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, & Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali, 2001. He 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, he created & hosted the podcast LeVar Burton Reads, often described as
