{{Short description|American actor (1928–2013)}} {{other people|Leonard Jackson}} {{Infobox person | name = Leonard Jackson | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = February 7, 1928 | birth_place = Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. | education = Fisk University | death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|12|22|1928|2|7}} | death_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S. | resting_place = Calverton National Cemetery | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} --> | other_names = L. Errol Jaye | known_for = | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1936&ndash;1997 | spouse = {{marriage|Ada Edward|1958}} }}

'''Leonard Jackson''' (February 7, 1928 &ndash; December 22, 2013) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He had roles in several PBS television series for children, including ''Shining Time Station'' and ''Sesame Street'', and also acted in several films, including ''The Brother from Another Planet'', ''Car Wash'', and ''The Color Purple''.

==Early years and stage career== Jackson, in his early years known as '''L. Errol Jaye''', was born February 7, 1928, in Jacksonville, Florida.<ref name="willis"/> He served in the United States Navy during World War II. After attending Fisk University, his professional acting debut was on the stage, in New York Shakespeare Festival's 1965 off-Broadway production of ''Troilus and Cressida''.<ref name="willis">{{cite book |editor1-last=Willis |editor1-first=John |editor1-link=John A. Willis |title=John Willis' Theatre World 1971-1972 Season Volume 28 | date=1973 |publisher=Crown Publishers |page=241 |isbn=978-0-517-50096-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/theatreworld197100john/page/240/mode/2up |access-date=2021-04-26}}</ref> In March 1968, he played Mr. Carpentier, the title character, in ''The Electronic Nigger'', part of a trio of one-act plays by Ed Bullins, during The American Place Theatre production of the play's premiere.<ref>{{cite magazine |date= September 1968 |title= The Electronic Nigger: Controversy Over Play's Title Fails to Cloud Author's Acclaim |url={{GBurl|ndsDAAAAMBAJ|p=97}} |magazine=Ebony |volume= 23 |issue=11 |page= 97 |last= Bailey |first= Peter |author-link= A. Peter Bailey | publisher= Johnson Publishing |issn= 0012-9011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Electronic Nigger and Others |url= http://www.lortel.org/lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=3736 |publisher=Lortel Archives |access-date=2010-08-20 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121011144844/http://www.lortel.org/lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=3736 |archive-date=2012-10-11 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He played a pastor in the Broadway premiere of ''The Great White Hope'', which ran for over 500 performances at the Alvin Theatre during 1968–1970.<ref>[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3417 The Great White Hope] from the Internet Broadway Database</ref>

As Leonard Jackson, he returned to Broadway two years later, first in the premiere of Conor Cruise O'Brien's ''Murderous Angels'' and after its short run, to a Broadway revival of the Kurt Weill musical ''Lost in the Stars'' at the Imperial Theatre.<ref name="ibdbbio">{{IBDB name|76630|Leonard Jackson}}</ref>

A dozen years later, Jackson returned to Broadway for the premiere of ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'', which ran for 276 performances and was chosen "Best Play" by the New York Drama Critics Circle.<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/news/article/77715-Ma-Raineys-Black-Bottom-with-Goldberg-and-Dutton-Opens-Feb-6 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, with Goldberg and Dutton, Opens Feb. 6] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017160740/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/77715-Ma-Raineys-Black-Bottom-with-Goldberg-and-Dutton-Opens-Feb-6 |date=2012-10-17 }}, a February 6, 2003 article from ''Playbill''</ref> In 1991, Jackson was part of the cast for the Broadway premiere of ''Mule Bone'', an unfinished play written by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.<ref name="ibdbbio"/> The production, mounted for the first time sixty years after it was written, received a negative review by Frank Rich, who said the "three principal performers ... are at best likably amateurish, [though] their efforts are balanced by the assured center-stage turns of such old pros as Leonard Jackson, as a fuming man of the cloth, and Theresa Merritt."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/15/theater/review-theater-a-difficult-birth-for-mule-bone.html?pagewanted=all A Difficult Birth For ''Mule Bone''], a February 15, 1991 review by Frank Rich of ''The New York Times''</ref>

==Children's series and guest roles== On television, he had a recurring role on several PBS television series for children, including ''Sesame Street'' as Mr. Hanford, ''Shining Time Station'', as First Class Engineer Henry "Harry" Cupper and ''Square One TV''/Mathnet.<ref name="imdbbio"/> He has also been featured in episodes of dramas such as ''Law & Order'', ''Homicide: Life on the Street'', and ''Spenser: For Hire'', and comedies such as ''Amen'', ''The Cosby Show'', and ''The Jeffersons''.<ref name="tvcom">[https://archive.today/20130205002650/http://www.tv.com/leonard-jackson/person/10464/appearances.html Leonard Jackson Credits] from TV.com</ref>

His made-for-television films include ''Separate but Equal'' (1991) and ''Rage of Angels'', the 1983 adaptation of the Sidney Sheldon novel.<ref name="tvcom"/>

==Death== Jackson died on December 22, 2013, in Manhattan, New York at age 85<ref name = ibdbbio/> of Alzheimer's disease.{{citation needed|date = December 2023}} He was survived by his wife, Ada Jackson.

==Television and film career== His film roles include:<ref name="imdbbio">{{IMDb name|0413778|Leonard Jackson}}</ref> *''Uptight'' (1968) .... Mr. Oakley (uncredited) *''Together for Days'' (1972) .... Phil *''Ganja & Hess'' (1973) .... Archie *''Five on the Black Hand Side'' (1973) .... John Henry Brooks *''Super Spook'' (1975) .... Super Spook *''Car Wash'' (1976) .... Earl *''The Baron'' (1977) .... Gus *''King of the Gypsies'' (1978) .... (uncredited) *''The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984) .... Smokey *''The Color Purple'' (1985) .... Pa Harris *''Eddie Murphy Raw'' (1987, Documentary) .... Uncle Gus *''Second Sight'' (1989) .... Doorman *''Basket Case 2'' (1990) .... Police Commissioner *''A Rage in Harlem'' (1991) .... Mr. Clay *''Boomerang'' (1992) .... Lloyd the Chemist *''Palookaville'' (1995) .... Bus Driver *''Basquiat'' (1996) .... Jean Michel's Father *''Conspiracy Theory'' (1997) .... Old Man in Bookstore (final film role)

== References == {{reflist|2}}

==External links== * {{IMDb name|0413778|Leonard Jackson}} * {{tcmdb name|id=93201|name=Leonard Jackson}} * {{IBDB name|76630|Leonard Jackson}} * {{IBDB name|96965|L. Errol Jaye}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20121011144849/http://www.lortel.org/lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&first=Leonard&middle=&last=Jackson Leonard Jackson] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20121011144859/http://www.lortel.org/lla_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&first=L.&middle=Errol&last=Jaye L. Errol Jaye] at Lortel Archives * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719223252/http://www.yalerep.org/press/r_05/rep6/index2.html Press Photos] from Yale Repertory Theatre, including two from 1984 that feature Jackson in ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom''

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Leonard}} Category:1928 births Category:Male actors from Jacksonville, Florida Category:American male film actors Category:American male stage actors Category:Fisk University alumni Category:American male television actors Category:2013 deaths Category:20th-century American male actors Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in New York (state) Category:20th-century African-American male actors Category:21st-century African-American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:Burials at Calverton National Cemetery