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25 Famous Black Actors From the 60鈥檚

Actors are important people in the entertainment industry. Try to imagine a life without Netflix and chill. It could be so boring right? The world has witnessed so many talented black actors from the 60s and it is had to choose the best.

In this article, we have discussed 25 famous black actors from the 60’s in no particular order. It is important to note the list is long, these a just some of them. Walk with us as we discuss the amazing work, awards, and when these actors gained prominence among other things.

The following are the  25 Famous Black Actors From the 60鈥檚;

1. Morgan Freeman

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Morgan Freeman is an American actor born in 1937. He is also a producer and narrator. Morgan started acting back in 1964 and he is still active.

Freeman is famously known for his deep voice which makes him star in all films he features on. Throughout his career, Morgan has been lucky to win several awards such as Golden Globe Award, Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, etc.

2. James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones is one of the actors who were famous back in the 鈥�60s. He is an American actor who joined the entertainment industry in 1953 and is still active to date.

He worked steadily in theater and in 1968, he won his first Tony Award for his role in The Great White Hope film which made him popular among many.

Look at the 45 Most Famous Black Actors Over 50 Years In 2023.

3. Sidney Poitier

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Sidney Poitier was a well-known Bahamian and American actor, diplomat, and film director. He was born in 1927 and died in 2022. Sidney was in the acting industry for 6 decades.

Back in 1964, Poitier was lucky to be the first black actor as well as the first Bahamian to win an Academy Award for Best Actor. In 1963, after starring in Lilies of the Field film she won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in 1964.

4. Ossie Davis

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Ossie Davis was one of the most famous actors in America. He was also a well-known director, activist, and writer. He was an active actor from 1939 to 2005 when he died.

Ossie Davis is remembered as one of the famous actors of the 1960s. He featured in many successful films back then such as Gone Are the Days! in 1963, The Cardinal in 1963, Shock Treatment in 1964, etc.

5. Gail Fisher

Gail Fisher was an American actor and one of the first black women actresses to play substantive roles in American television.

Gail gained fame after starring in a television detective series known as Mannix from 1968 to 1975. The series won her two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award making her the first African-American woman to win this awards.

6. Flip Wilson

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Flip Wilson was an actor who gained more popularity in the 1960s and 1970s by appearing on television. Flip was also a comedian and he released several comedy albums in the 1960s and 1970s and was lucky to win a Grammy Award for his album The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress of 1970. 

7. Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong is one of the black famous actors who did great work back in the ’60s. Louis joined the entertainment industry back in 1919.

The actor accomplished several notable works before he died. In 1965, Louis received a Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal Performance after featuring in Hello, Dolly. Other successful films he starred in back in the 60s include A Man Called Adam (1966), and 麻豆APP Blues (1961) among others.

Here are the 25 Most Famous Black Actors From the 80s.

8. Ivan Dixon

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Ivan Dixon was born on April 6, 1931, and died on March 16, 2008. He was one of the famous black actors back in the 60s from the United States of America. Apart from acting he was also a director and producer.

Ivan gained prominence for his 1960s sitcom Hogan’s Heroes, as well as his roles in films such as Nothing but a Man in 1964 and The Final War of Olly Winter in 1967.

9. Clarence Williams III

Clarence Williams III an American actor was born in 1939 on August 21, and died in 2021 on June 4. Clarence played in one of the successful television series The Mod Squad from 1968 to 1973. Other films he featured in the 1960s include The Cool World.

11. Fred Williamson

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Fred Williamson is an actor who gained popularity in the 1960s. He is commonly referred to as 鈥楾he Hammer鈥�. Fred was known for his roles in films such as Star Trek: The Original Series in 1969 and The Bold Ones: The Protectors in 1969 among others.

12. Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr. was a popular actor in America as well as a singer, dancer, and comedian. In the 1960s, the actor released several notable films such as Ocean’s 11 in 1960, Sergeants 3 in 1962, Convicts 4 in 1962, Robin and the 7 Hoods in 1964, Nightmare in the Sun, etc.

13. Bill Cosby

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Bill Cosby is one of the black actors who gained fame in the 1960s. He appeared in a starring role in a show known as I Spy from 1965 -1968 together with Robert Culp.

In 1966, Cosby broke the records by winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and became the first African-American to earn the Award.

Find also the 20 Most Famous Black Actors of the 鈥�90s.

14. Diahann Carroll

Diahann Carroll is one of the remembered actors from America. She was also a model, singer, and model. Before she died, Carroll had done great work in the acting field which is remembered to date.

She gained prominence in the 1960s, and 1962, she received a Tony Award as well as a Golden Globe Award in 1968. The actress featured in many notable films in 60鈥檚 such as 麻豆APP Blues in 1961 and The Split in 1968.

15. Cicely Tyson

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Cicely Tyson was a famous African-American actress. She began acting back in 1948 and took a break in 2020 few months before her death on January 28, 2021.

Throughout her career, Tyson has received several awards such as the Honorary Academy Award, Emmy Award, Tony Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award among others.

In 1962, Cicely received a Vernon Rice Award for her appearance in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl a play of 1957 which gained him fame.

16. Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee was an American actress born on October 27, 1922, and died on June 11, 2014. Ruby gained popularity in 1961 after starring drama film A Raisin in the Sun.

Some of the other notable films she featured in include Do the Right Thing in 1989 and The Jackie Robinson Story in 1950 among others.

17. Brock Peters

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Brock Peters is one of the famous actors known from the 1960s. The actor gained fame in 1962 after starring in the film To Kill a Mockingbird and in the 1964 film The Pawnbroker.

Other of his notable film roles include Soylent Green in 1973, and Ghosts of Mississippi in 1996 among others.

18. Jim Brown

Jim Brown started his acting career in 1964 and played in Rio Conchos film. In 1968, Brown secured himself a first lead role in The Split film which he was paid a good sum of money, a total of $125,000.

After this, he starred in other hit films in the 60s such as Riot in 1969, and Ice Station Zera in 1968, which made him be credited as the first black action star by Mike Freeman.

19. Calvin Lockhart

Calvin Lockhart was an actor born in Nassau, Bahamas. He began his acting career in 1960. Calvin’s best-known role was in the drama film Joanna in 1968 directed by Michael Sarne which made him popular.

20. Roscoe Lee Browne

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Roscoe Lee Browne gained popularity in both the 1960s and 1970s. He starred in many successful and noted films back then such as Pie in the Sky in 1964, Black Like Me in 1964, and Up Tight! In 1968, and Topaz in 1969 among others.

21. Greg Morris

Greg Morris was an actor from the United States of America. He gained fame back in the 1960s. During the 1960s, the actors did so many notable works such as   Sam Benedict, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The New Interns, The Dick Van Dyke Show, etc.

22. Godfrey Cambridge

Godfrey Cambridge was an American actor as well as a stand-up comic. In 1965, Time acclaimed Godfrey as 鈥渙ne of the country鈥檚 foremost celebrated Negro Comedians.鈥�

He was one of the most successful actors back in the ’60s, he was awarded an Obie award for amazing performance for his role in The Blacks play in 1961.

23. Raymond St. Jacques

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Raymond St. Jacques was born in 1930 and died in 1990. He is one of the oldest actors of all time. When we talk of the popular actors of the 60s, Raymond is one of them.

He was listed as the first African-American actor to feature in a regular role on the western series Rawhide from 1965-1966. Other 60s films he appeared in include The Comedians, The Green Berets, etc.

24. Melvin Van Peebles

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Melvin Van Peebles was a famous talented actor, composer, and writer. His first public appearance was in the film The Story of a Three-Day Pass in 1967. The film was successful and won him an Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Van gained fame through this film and gained his interest to continue in the Hollywood field.

25. Percy Rodrigues

Percy Rodrigues was a Canadian actor who featured in many films and television dramas from the 1950s to 1980s.

Back in the 1930s, Percy was already in the entertainment industry. He is remembered as one of the most successful actors in the 1960s. Some of the films he featured in the 60s include A Carol for Another Christmas in 1964, The Plainsman in 1966, and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter in 1968 among others.

Actors are important individuals in the entertainment industry. We should always appreciate them for their great work and the sacrifices they make to entertain us.