Keith David will receive the 2,847th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on June 4, his 70th birthday, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced. The ceremony takes place at 11:30 a.m. PT at 6225 Hollywood Boulevard, next to the Pantages Theatre, and will be streamed live at walkoffame.com.
Actress and producer Ryan Michelle Bathe will serve as emcee. Guest speakers include Mayor Karen Bass, Lynn Whitfield, director John Carpenter and actor John C. McGinley. David will receive his star in the category of Motion Pictures, placed next to the star of Nat King Cole, an artist he once portrayed on stage.
“Keith David has brought unforgettable characters to life throughout his extraordinary career, and it feels especially fitting that his Hollywood Walk of Fame star sits beside Nat King Cole’s,” said Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “It’s a beautiful full-circle moment honoring two legendary talents.”
Born and raised in New York City, David is a classically trained graduate of the High School of Performing Arts and the Juilliard School. His work has earned him three Emmy Awards, an NAACP Image Award, and nominations for both the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Tony. He received his Tony nomination for his role as Chimney Man in “Jelly’s Last Jam” and has starred as Floyd Barton in “Seven Guitars” and toured in “Too Marvelous for Words,” playing Nat King Cole.
On screen, David’s credits span decades and genres, from “Platoon,” “They Live” and “The Thing” to “There’s Something About Mary,” “Nope” and the Oscar-winning “American Fiction.” He completed five seasons as Bishop James Greenleaf in “Greenleaf” and currently co-stars in the FX series “The Lowdown” with Ethan Hawke. He has also appeared in “Abbott Elementary” and “Community.”
David is a frequent collaborator of documentarian Ken Burns, earning his three Emmys for voiceover work in “Jackie Robinson,” “The War” and “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.” He also lent his voice to Burns’ “Muhammad Ali” and “Leonardo da Vinci,” with the forthcoming “Crime and Punishment in America” still ahead. His animated work includes “The Princess and the Frog,” “Gargoyles,” “Hazbin Hotel” and “Rick and Morty.” In February, he released a jazz album, fulfilling what he has described as a lifelong dream.
His philanthropic work includes support for the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, the Black Theatre Network, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Harvest Home L.A. and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.