Clifton Davis Biography

Clifton Duncan Davis (born October 4, 1945) is an American actor, songwriter, singer, and pastor. Davis starred on the television shows That's My Mama and Amen. Davis also wrote several hits for The Jackson 5, including "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Lookin' Through the Windows."

Early life

Davis was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Thelma van Putten Langhorn, a nurse, and Toussaint L'Ouverture Davis, a Baptist minister. He was raised in Mastic, New York. In a piece he wrote for Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, he described the racism he suffered growing up during the pre-Civil Rights Act era.

Career

Before finding fame in acting, Davis worked as a songwriter, most famously penning The Jackson 5's No. 2 hit "Never Can Say Goodbye." He appeared on Broadway as Valentine in Galt MacDermot and John Guare's musical Two Gentlemen of Verona, based on the Shakespeare comedy of that name. He starred as barber Clifton Curtis in the mid-1970s television show That's My Mama with Theresa Merritt, Theodore Wilson and Ted Lange.

Davis' romantic interest with songstress and Broadway performer Melba Moore led to his co-starring role on her musical variety television show. Later he made a guest appearance on the third episode of the first season of The Bobby Vinton Show in September 1975, singing "I've Got The Music In Me" and "Never Can Say Goodbye." He successfully sang the Polish lyrics with Vinton to the show's "My Melody of Love" theme song.

A triple heart bypass survivor, he participated in the "superstars" celebrity TV sports competitions of the seventies, in addition to making several appearances on the popular celebrity game show Match Game. He also appeared in the film Scott Joplin in 1977. He also made numerous appearances on several incarnations of Pyramid from the early 1970s to the early 1990s.

From 1986 to 1991, he co-starred with Sherman Hemsley, as the Reverend Ruben Gregory, in the NBC sitcom Amen, which ran for five seasons. Davis released one acclaimed (and now hard to find) studio recording in 1991 on Benson Records titled Say Amen. He also played the mayor of Miami in the 1999 film Any Given Sunday. Davis has continued his stage work, starring in Toronto and on Broadway in Aladdin, playing the Sultan of Agrabah.

Ministry

Davis holds a BA in Theology from Oakwood University and a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University. From 1987 to 1989, he was an Associate Pastor of the Loma Linda University SDA Church in southern California. For the last 25 years he has been an active part of Youthville, USA a children's services organization. He served as co-founder and co-pastor of Welcome Christian Center in Huntington Beach, California. Davis is a licensed minister by St. Luke Baptist Church, New York, New York. He has had an interdenominational ministry for over 30 years. He has served as National Spokesperson and Advisory Board Chairman. He is the emcee and host of The Most Soulful Sound, an annual gospel choir competition in Raleigh, North Carolina. He also hosts an annual celebrity golf tournament in Elizabeth City, NC at Elizabeth City State University, where he served as Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement. Since the end of 2005 Davis has held the position of Executive Director for Welcome America, a non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that produces the largest Fourth of July celebration each year in the nation. Davis is a frequent guest host on Trinity Broadcasting Network. Davis also hosted the Gospel Superfest TV show from 2000 to 2008, which is syndicated by United Television. Davis is the author of an autobiographical essay entitled "A Mason Dixon Memory" in which he recounts his experiences as an eighth grader dealing with prejudice on a trip to a southern state.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	A World Apart	Matt Hampton	1 episode
1972	The Melba Moore-Clifton Davis Show	Co-host	Series
1973	Love Story	James Monroe	Episode "A Glow of Dying Embers"
1973 1977	Police Story	Mark Randolph Ed Webber	"The Ho Chi Minh Trail" "The Malflores"
1974-1975	That's My Mama	Clifton Curtis	Main role (39 episodes)
1977	Scott Joplin	Louis Chauvin	Movie
1977	Superdome	P.K. Jackson	Movie
1977	Vega$	Leon Hazlett	Episode: "The Eleventh Event"
1978	Cindy	Captain Joe Prince	Movie
1980	The Love Boat	Mr. Reeves	Episode: "Invisible Maniac"
1980	The Littlest Hobo	Phil McLean	Episode: "Licence to Steal"
1980	Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige	Cool Papa Bell	Movie
1980	The Night the City Screamed	Arnold Clements	Movie
1986-1991	Amen	Reverend Reuben Gregory	Main role (110 episodes)
1990-1994	Stellar Gospel Music Awards	Co-host	Specials
1993	The John Larroquette Show	Con Artist	Episode: "Pros and Cons"
1996	The Jamie Foxx Show	Charles	Episode: "Seems Like Old Times"
1997	Living Single	Harrison Cushmore	Episode: "Mother Inferior"
1997	Sparks	Pastor Alexander	Episode: "It's the Gospel"
1997	Malcolm & Eddie	Leonard Larson	Episode: "Club Story"
1997	Party of Five	Martin Wilcox	Episode: "Point of No Return"
1997	Grace Under Fire	Dr. Swanson	Episode: "Sam's Dad"
1997	The Sentinel	President Lemec	Episode: "Fool Me Twice"
1997	The Gregory Hines Show	Pauley's Father	Episode: "Three's Not Company"
1998	Any Day Now	Councilman Lyle Hammond	Episode: "No Comment"
1999	In the House	Ted Miller	2 episodes
2000	City of Angels	Dr. Langston Ellis	Episode: "Bride and Prejudice"
2000-2008	Gospel Superfest	Host
2001	Lifestyle Magazine	Host	Series
2002	American Dreams	Alvin Lewis	Episode: "The Home Front"
2004	Half & Half	Pastor David Adams	Episode: "The Big Practice What You Preach Episode"
2012	Political Animals	Reporter	Miniseries; episode: "Pilot"
2012	Mr. Box Office	Judge	Episode: "Pilot"
2013	The First Family	Clayton	Episode: "The First Triangle"
2015-present	Madam Secretary	Ephraim Ware, Director of National Intelligence	Recurring role
2017	Iron Fist	Lawrence Wilkins	Recurring role

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	Together for Days	Gus
1974	Lost in the Stars	Absalom
1999	Any Given Sunday	Mayor Tyrone Smalls
2001	Kingdom Come	Charles Winslow
2001	Max Keeble's Big Move	Supt. Bobby 'Crazy Legs' Knebworth
2001	The Painting	Thomas Ayers
2004	Halloweentown High	Principal Phil Flannagan
2006	The Engagement: My Phamily BBQ 2	Uncle Joe
2007	Cover	D.A. Simmons
2012	What My Husband Doesn't Know	Franklin
2013	God's Amazing Grace... Is Just A Prayer Away	Wilbert Richardson