What is the net worth of Keith David?
Keith David is an American actor, voice artist, and producer who has a net worth of $5 million. Keith David is known for starring in movies like ‘Armageddon’, ‘Barbershop’, ‘The Chronicles of Riddick’ and ‘Cloud Atlas’. Keith is also a prolific voice actor and narrator, providing the voices of many beloved film characters.
Youth
David was born on June 4, 1956 in Harlem, New York City and raised in Queens. His father, Lester Williams, worked as a director of payroll operations for a company, while his mother, Dolores, was a manager at New York Telephone.
While at school, David played the role of the Lion in a production of The Wizard of Oz and decided he wanted to pursue acting. He began studying at the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan. He then attended the prestigious Juilliard School as part of their drama division. He graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1979.
Early career
David began his career with John Houseman, The Acting Company. He toured the country with the company in 1980 and 1981, putting on productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Waiting for Godot. His film career took off soon after he starred as the character Childs in ‘The Thing’ opposite Kurt Russell in 1982. From 1983 to 1985, he appeared as Keith, the handyman, in the popular series . “Sir.” Rogers’ Neighborhood”, which appeared in a total of nine episodes.
Success
He booked a number of film and television roles in the late 1980s, including roles in ‘Platoon’, ‘Hot Pursuit’, ‘Off Limits’ and ‘They Live’. He has also appeared in ‘Roadhouse’, ‘Men at Work’ and ‘Reality Bites’. In 1995, he booked roles in ‘Dead Presidents’ and also in Spike Lee’s ‘Clockers’. He also appeared in independent films such as ‘Requiem for a Dream’ in 2004 and several big budget action films, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “Transporter 2”. All the while, David continued to appear in television episodes of shows such as “The Outer Limits,” “The Legend of Tarzan,” “The Job,” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
The 2010s continued to be successful for David. He was cast in the NBC series, “The Cape” and also booked a recurring role in the sixth season of the popular show, “Community.” In 2015, he was cast for a lead role in the drama series ‘Greenleaf’. Additionally, he has appeared in films such as Assault on Wall Street, Boiling Pot, Night School, 21 Bridges, and Most Guys Are Losers. He has also participated in several documentary films focusing on African American history. and the genre of horror films. These include “Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror” and “Seeking Darkness.”
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Theater work
In addition to films and television, David continued to appear in stage productions. In 1992, he received a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his work in “Jelly’s Last Jam.” He was also highly praised for his Central Park performances of various works by Shakespeare. In 1995, he appeared in the Apollo revival of “The Wiz” alongside Whitney Houston, Cedric the Entertainer and Samuel E. Wright. Other notable theater credits include an appearance in the Broadway musical “Hot Feet” in 2006, the revival of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” in 2013, and “Paul Robeson” in 2014. Additionally, he played the character Dolomite in the play off-broad theater, “ToasT”, which tells the story of the prisoners of Attica prison used poetic prose.
Voice acting and narration
David is also well known for his voice acting work, providing the voice for various characters in television and film, video games and even a character on a ride at the Magic Kingdom. Some of the characters he has voiced include Goliath from ‘Gargoyles’, the main character from the animated series ‘Spawn” and a recurring character from the adult animated series ‘Archer’. English dubbed version of “Princess Mononoke.” He voices characters in the video games “Fallout,” “Planescape: Torment,” and a number of games in the “Halo” series.
He has also collaborated several times with rapper Ice Cube, lending his voice to the introductions of several of Ice Cube’s projects such as “Terrorists Threats”, Cube’s solo albums “Raw Footage” and “I Am the West” and , also serving as narrator for the documentary “Beef II,” which features Ice Cube.
David has also worked several times with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. He narrated a number of Burns films, including “Jazz,” “Mark Twain,” “Unforgiveable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali,” and “The War.” For his voice work in the last two films, David won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Voiceover Performance.
He also provided the nation and voiceover for other docs such as “Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land,” “Crusades: Crescent & the Cross,” and “Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked,” among others. He has taken on the role of narrator for the A&E show, “City Confidential,” and also voices the role of a police detective in the audiobook versions of three James Patterson novels.
Personal life
David married his first wife, Margit Edwards, in 1990, although the relationship did not work out and the two quickly divorced the same year. However, they have a son together named Owen. David did not meet the woman who would become his second wife until several years later. In 2001, he married Dionne Lea Williams, a singer and actress. Together they have two daughters – Ruby and Mae Lea.
