Bill Duke is an American actor, director, founder and CEO of Duke Media (formerly) Yagya Productions – the organization which, under his leadership, has been successfully producing film and television series for over 30 years.

Bill Duke Bio

Bill was born William Henry Duke Jr. in the beautiful town of Poughkeepsie, New York on February 26, 1943, to William Henry Duke Sr. and his beautiful wife Ethel Louise ( née Douglas).

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Bill attended Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, New York, where he received his early education in performing arts and creative writing at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie.

After graduating from Dutchess, he went on to Boston University for acting classes and for his BA Bill also studied at New York University Tisch School of Arts and AFI Conservatory.

Known for his imposing physique, Duke’s work often resides in the action, crime, and drama film genre, but also includes comedy. He often plays characters related to law enforcement.

He appeared on Broadway in Melvin Van Peebles’ musical Amin’t Supposed to Die A Natural Death in 1971.

Bill Duke made his first TV movie The Killer Floor in 1985.

He directed episodes of several notable 1980s television series, including Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice

In 1991 he directed his first feature A Rage in Harlem – a crime drama, then in 1992 Laurence Fishbourne-Helmed, Deep Cover

He was the executive producer/director of the 1997 film, Thug.

During his career, he was appointed to the National Endowment of Humanities by President Bill Clinton, a member of the board of directors of the California State Film Commission by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He served on the Board of the American Film Institute and also served as the Time Warner Endowed Chair in the Department of Radio Television and Film at Howard University.

Duke won an NAACP Special Achievement Award in 1991 and, in 2014, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America.

In 2008, Bill Duke established The Duke MediaFoundation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. The Duke Media Foundation provides media education for elementary and secondary school children in conjunction with the nonprofit learning center Educating Young Minds.

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Bill is also actively involved in the United Nations UNAIDS mission to eliminate AIDS worldwide.

Bill Duke Family

As mentioned above, Bill’s parents are Ethel Louise Douglas and William Henry Duke Sr. He is married to Sheila Moses but no children have been related to him.

Bill Duke Wife

Bill Duke is married to an American writer SheliaP. Moses – whose subjects include comedian Dick Gregory and The Legend of Buddy Bush. In 2004, she was nominated for the National Book Award and was named Coretta Scott King Honoree for ‘The Legend of Buddy Bush’. In 2009, his novel “Joseph” was nominated for the NAACP Image Award.

Bill Duke Siblings

Bill Duke has a sister Yvonne Duke Hampton. Bill has no brothers.

Bill Duke net worth

Bill Duke is currently worth $2 million.

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Bill Duke Facts

With a height of 6′ 5, Bill is one of the tallest men in Hollywood.

Bill admitted in an interview that his height was one of the obstacles he faced early in his career.

He said, “Well, at that time being 6ft 5in, dark skinned and a black man, they thought you were a bad guy from the start for the most part. You have been branded as a dark, dangerous and threatening criminal. It wasn’t easy to get roles in that climate, so I always made sure to do things and do roles to show my humanity and not my restrictions. »

Bill is active on Twitter with 19,800 followers and also on Facebook.

Asked in an interview about something about him that his fans might not know, Bill replied, “I’ve been meditating for almost 40 years now. I used to be a drug addict in the early 70’s on the streets of New York and a friend introduced me to Transcendental Meditation which saved my life. I meditate every day and it is a blessing. Meditation saved my life. “