Duane L. Jones (February 2, 1936 – July 22, 1988) was an American actor, best known for his role in the 1968 horror film Night of the Living Dead.
A graduate of the Sorbonne, Jones studied acting in New York City. His role in Night of the Living Dead marked the first time a black actor was cast as a non-ethnic lead in a major motion picture in America, and the first time a black actor had a starring role in a horror film. He taught acting at the ...
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Duane L. Jones (February 2, 1936 – July 22, 1988) was an American actor, best known for his role in the 1968 horror film Night of the Living Dead.
A graduate of the Sorbonne, Jones studied acting in New York City. His role in Night of the Living Dead marked the first time a black actor was cast as a non-ethnic lead in a major motion picture in America, and the first time a black actor had a starring role in a horror film. He taught acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. As executive director of the Richard Allen Center for Culture and Art (RACCA), he promoted African-American theater. After leaving the American Academy of Dramatic Arts he taught a select group of students privately in Manhattan, by invitation only. His hand-selected students were of diverse ethnic backgrounds.
He spent his later years as a professor of theatre at the State University of New York at Old Westbury, where the Duane L. Jones Recital Hall is named for him.
He died of cardiopulmonary arrest in 1988...
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