Joe Seneca
Biography
Joe Seneca was an American actor, singer, and songwriter who sang with the R&B group The Three Riffs from the late 1940s until the mid 1970s and wrote songs including Talk to Me and Break It to Me Gently. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he moved into acting in the early 1970s through regional theater at the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and made his Broadway debut in Of Mice and Men in 1974. He later appeared on Broadway in The Little Foxes in 1981 and in August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom in 1984, learning trombone for the role of Cutler. His films included The Verdict (1982), Crossroads (1986), where he played Willie Brown, The Blob (1988) as Dr. Meddows, and Spike Lee's School Daze (1988). On television he appeared in over twenty series, among them The Cosby Show, and in the TV film Wilma (1977). He died in 1996.
77years old at death
- Born Cleveland
- Died Roosevelt Island
- Star sign: CapricornThe sign runs December 22 to January 19
Movie Career
- Films
- 10
- Career span
- 16 years1977 to 1993
Genres
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Getting ready for a role
Seneca learned to play the trombone specifically for his role as the old blues trombonist Cutler in the 1984 Broadway production of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, even though he already played piano.
Behind the camera
Seneca wrote the song "Break It to Me Gently," which became a smash hit for Brenda Lee in 1962 and for Juice Newton in 1982.
A change of course
Seneca transitioned into acting in the early 1970s, starting in regional theater at the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference in Waterford, Connecticut, before his Broadway debut.
Joe Seneca movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Worked with
Joe Seneca shares two films with Denzel Washington, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Denzel Washington's page
Samuel L. Jackson's page
Danny Glover's page
Laurence Fishburne's page
Charles Bronson's page
Ving Rhames's page
Robert BentonDirector, 1 film, 1979
All films by Robert Benton
All films by Sidney Lumet
All films by Chuck Russell
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.