Moses Gunn

Moses Gunn (October 2, 1929 – December 16, 1993) was an American actor born in St. Louis, Missouri, whose career spanned stage, film, and television across four decades. He was the son of Mary and George Gunn, a laborer, and one of seven siblings. After his mother's death, the family separated, and Gunn left home at age twelve, riding the railroad before eventually returning to St. Louis. He lived with his English teacher, Jewel Richie, while completing his schooling. Gunn went on to graduate from Tennessee State University, where he joined the Rho Psi chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Following service in the United States Army, he earned a master's degree from the University of Kansas and taught briefly at Grambling College before pursuing an acting career in New York City.

Gunn made his New York stage debut in the original off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's The Blacks in 1962. His Broadway debut came in A Hand Is on the Gate, an evening of African-American poetry. He became an alumnus of the Negro Ensemble Company and performed extensively in Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park, earning an Obie Award for his portrayal of Aaron in Titus Andronicus. A second Obie followed for his work in the NEC production of The First Breeze of Summer, which subsequently transferred to Broadway. His performance as Othello at the Stratford, Connecticut Shakespeare Festival also moved to Broadway in 1970.

Gunn appeared on Broadway from 1966 to 1976, with credits including Twelfth Night, Othello, I Have a Dream, The First Breeze of Summer, and The Poison Tree. His role in The Poison Tree earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play in 1976.

On screen, Gunn built a substantial body of work in film and television. He portrayed mobster Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Jonas in the first two Shaft films, beginning with the original 1971 release. His role as Booker T. Washington in the 1981 film Ragtime earned him an NAACP Image Award. He also appeared as Cairon, the imperial physician to the Childlike Empress, in the 1984 film The NeverEnding Story, and as Clotho in WUSA in 1970. In 1977, he narrated the film Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution, produced by the US Information Agency. Gunn received an Emmy Award nomination in 1977 for his performance in the television miniseries Roots. His television credits included the role of boxer-turned-farmer Joe Kagan on Little House on the Prairie from 1977 to 1981, atheist shop owner Carl Dixon in six episodes of Good Times, Moses Gage in Father Murphy, and a co-starring role with Avery Brooks on A Man Called Hawk. In 1989, he appeared in two episodes of The Cosby Show, playing two different characters. His final acting role was as murder suspect Risley Tucker in the Homicide: Life on the Street episode "Three Men and Adena." In 1991, he toured in a production of Athol Fugard's My Children! My Africa!, playing Mr. M, with a run at Baltimore's Center Stage Theater.

Gunn married Gwendolyn Mumma Landes in 1966, becoming stepfather to her daughter Kirsten Sarah Landes. The couple had a son, Justin, born in 1970, who became a musician and composer with the Copenhagen-based band The Reverend Shine Snake Oil Co. Gunn died from complications of asthma in Guilford, Connecticut on December 16, 1993, at the age of 64.