Haywood Nelson

Haywood Nelson (born March 25, 1960) is an American actor.He is best known for having portrayed Dwayne Nelson on the television series What's Happening!! from 1976–1979, and its spin-off series What's Happening Now!! 1985–1988.

Nelson, who grew up in Garden City Park, Long Island, New York, was a child star, appearing in many national commercials and in a movie, Mixed Company.From 1973 to 1974, he performed on Broadway alongside Marlo Thomas in Thieves. At the age of 14,he guest starred on Sanford and Son as Grady's grandson; at 15, he was in the cast of a spin-off of Sanford and Son called Grady (1975). The show was short-lived. The next year, in 1976, at the age of 16, he landed the role of Dwayne on What's Happening!!, the first African-American teen sitcom. As a "teenage heartthrob" on a popular television series, Nelson was one of the first African-American teen idols. In 1977, Nelson guest starred on Kojak in the episode "The Godson" as Bobby Moore.

Nelson is now a main point advisor in his wife's oil/petroleum technology corporation, Skyewood. His wife Khnadya Skye, who is Arabic Egyptian, is listed as Nelson's attorney at SAG-AFTRA and IMDb. She is directly related to the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Nelson is rarely seen in the public sector and is extremely private.