LeVar Burton
Born February 16, 1957 (Age: 69)
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Landstuhl, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany
Biography
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host. He played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), and was the host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for 23 years (1983–2006). Burton received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow. His other 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, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton 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, Burton created and hosted the podcast LeVar Burton Reads, often described as "Reading Rainbow for adults". In October 2024, Burton appeared as the host of the Trivial Pursuit television game show broadcast on The CW network and streaming online.
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host. He played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), and was the host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for 23 years (1983–2006). Burton received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow.
His other 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, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton 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, Burton created and hosted the podcast LeVar Burton Reads, often described as "Reading Rainbow for adults". In October 2024, Burton appeared as the host of the Trivial Pursuit television game show broadcast on The CW network and streaming online.
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Filmography
No Image
One Night Only
2026
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as
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Age: 69
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
2012
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as Self
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Age: 55
No Image
Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation
2012
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as Self
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Age: 55
40 Years of Star Trek
2006
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as Self
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Age: 48
Star Trek: Nemesis
2002
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as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
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Age: 45
Remembering Roots
2002
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as Self
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Age: 44
Ali
2001
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as Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Age: 44
Star Trek: Insurrection
1998
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as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
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Age: 41
Trekkies
1997
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as Self
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Age: 40
Star Trek: First Contact
1996
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as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
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Age: 39
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
1996
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as Self
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Age: 39
Yesterday's Target
1996
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as Winstrom
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Age: 39
Star Trek: Generations
1994
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as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
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Age: 37
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
1994
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as Self
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Age: 37
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Descent
1993
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as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
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Age: 36
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birthright
1993
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as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
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Age: 36
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
1993
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as Fire Chief J. Allan Mather
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Age: 35
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
1993
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as Geordi La Forge
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Age: 35
Star Trek: Federation Science
1992
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as
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Age: 34
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
1991
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as Self
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Age: 34
Central Park
1990
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as Self
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Age: 33
Roots: The Gift
1988
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as Kunta Kinte
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Age: 31
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
1988
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as Self
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Age: 31
A Special Friendship
1987
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as Ben Sumner
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Age: 30
The Midnight Hour
1985
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as Vinnie Davis
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Age: 28
And the Children Shall Lead
1985
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as Glenn Scott
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Age: 27
No Image
Grambling's White Tiger
1981
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as Charles 'Tank' Smith
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Age: 24
The Acorn People
1981
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as Rodney
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Age: 24
The Hunter
1980
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as Tommy Price
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Age: 23
Mickey's 50
1978
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as Self
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Age: 21
Battered
1978
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as Andrew Sinclair
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Age: 21
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
1978
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as Ron LeFlore
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Age: 21
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
1977
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as Cap Jackson
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Age: 20
US Against the World
1977
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as Self
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Age: 20