Ben Vereen
Biography
Ben Vereen is an American actor, dancer, and singer who trained at the High School of Performing Arts. Born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, and raised in Brooklyn, he made his New York stage debut in The Prodigal Son, then toured with Bob Fosse's production of Sweet Charity. He played Claude in Hair on Broadway and appeared as a dancer in the film Sweet Charity (1969). His Broadway work in Jesus Christ Superstar earned a Tony nomination, and Pippin brought him the 1973 Tony for best actor in a musical. On television, he was nominated for an Emmy for Roots in 1977. He later played the Wizard in Wicked and became co-artistic director of the Broadway Theatre Project. The American Theatre Hall of Fame inducted him in 2011.
80years old
Turns 81 on October 10in 334 days
- Born Laurinburg
- Star sign: LibraThe sign runs September 23 to October 22
- Also credited as Benjamin Augustus Vereen and Benjamin A. Vereen
Movie Career
- Films
- 15
- Career span
- 56 years1969 to 2025
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A first
In 1975, Vereen became the first simultaneous winner of the American Guild of Variety Artists "Entertainer of the Year", "Rising Star", and "Song and Dance Star" awards.
Early training
Vereen enrolled at the High School of Performing Arts when he was 14. There he studied with the world-renowned choreographers Martha Graham, George Balanchine, and Jerome Robbins.
Big break
After working with Sammy Davis Jr. on the Sweet Charity film, Vereen was cast as his understudy in Golden Boy, which toured England and closed at the Palladium Theatre in London's West End.
Beyond film
Vereen performed a tribute to Bert Williams on a 1978 Boston Pops TV special, wearing period makeup and attire and reproducing Williams' high-kick dance steps.
Ben Vereen movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again2016as Dr. Scott
IMDb rating 4.28.3K votes
- Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.1970as Carlos
IMDb rating 4.21.9K votes
Most often with
Bob Fosse directed two of these films. Chita Rivera appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Chita Rivera's page
Cicely Tyson's page
Sammy Davis Jr.'s page
Paula Jai Parker's page
All films by Bob Fosse
Box office
What Ben Vereen's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$130 million
7 of the 15 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 15 films: 7 worldwide figure; 1 us gross only; 5 never in cinemas; 2 figure not found.
- 7Worldwide figure
- 1US gross only
- 5Never in cinemas
- 2Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The seven biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$40M30.9% of the total
- 2$38M29.2% of the total
- 3$20M15.4% of the total
- 4$13M9.7% of the total
- 5$12M9.6% of the total
- 6$6.6M5.1% of the total
- 7$167K0.1% of the total
Awards
Two awards and honors from 1972 to 1973, one of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Awards | |||
| 1973 | Best Actor in a Musical | Won | |
| Other honors | |||
| 1972 | Theatre World Award | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.