A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is set to be unveiled Thursday honoring actor and filmmaker Bill Duke on his 83rd birthday.
Actor Glynn Thurman, Jeff Friday, CEO and a co-founder of the American Black Film Festival, and Nathalie Duke, Duke’s daughter and president of his film and television production company Duke Entertainment, are set to join him in speaking at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony in front of the Eastown apartment complex at 6201 Hollywood Blvd.
All Walk of Fame ceremonies are streamed on walkoffame.com, and can later be seen on YouTube.com/@HwdWalkofFame.
Born Feb. 26, 1943, in Poughkeepsie, New York, Duke received his first instruction in the performing arts and in creative writing at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie.
Duke worked menial jobs seven days a week to cover his living expenses and intended to halt his education until James Hall, the president of the community college, gave Duke a personal check to cover room, board and books for his next three years at Boston University, where Duke had secured an academic-based scholarship, intending to pursue medical school after graduation to please his parents.
Duke later switched to English education and then instruction in dance and drama for the completion of his bachelor’s degree.
After graduating, he studied at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He made his professional debut in the 1971 Broadway musical, “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,” which ran for 325 performances. The opening-night cast also included future original “Saturday Night Live” cast member Garrett Morris.
Duke made his television debut in a 1971 “ABC Afterschool Special” titled “Santiago’s Ark.” His first prime-time television appearance came in a 1976 episode of the CBS crime drama “Kojak.”
Duke’s movie debut came in the 1976 comedy “Car Wash” as Abdullah Mohammed Akbar, a Black revolutionary and recent convert to Islam.
He appeared in two films with Arnold Schwarzenegger, “Commando” and “Predator.” The latter’s cast also included another future governor, Minnesota’s Jesse Ventura.
Schwarzenegger appointed Duke to the California Film Commission in 2004. The commission supports film, television and commercial productions of all sizes and budgets by providing one-stop support services including location and troubleshooting assistance, permits for filming at state-owned facilities, and access to resources including an extensive digital location library.
Duke’s other film credits include “Black Lightning” and “Get Rich or Die Tryiin.”
Duke was a cast member of the 1980-81 CBS period drama, “Palmerstown, U.S.A.” whose executive producers included Norman Lear and Alex Haley. He was also a cast member of the 2003-04 ABC crime drama, “Karen Sisco.”
Duke accidentally began his directing career in 1982 due to a secretarial or clerical error at AFI Conservatory when he was hired to direct an episode of “Knots Landing.” However, the producers were pleased with his work and he would be hired to direct nine more episodes of the CBS prime-time soap opera.
Duke also directed episodes of “Dallas,” “Miami Vice” and the original “Matlock.” His film directing credits include “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit,” which he also appeared in.
His star is the 2,837th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.