Quick Facts
Biography
Lou Leabengula Myers (September 26, 1935 – February 19, 2013) was an American actor.
Myers was born in Cabin Creek, West Virginia, the son of Dorothy Jeffries (née Brown).
He was typically typecast as a grumpy old man, but he appeared in many movies, stage plays television sitcoms, and dramas. He got his first break as an understudy in the Broadway play, The First Breeze of Summer as Reverend Mosley. He is perhaps best known as the feisty Mr. Vernon Gaines in the sitcom A Different World. Myers was also an accomplished pianist.
Myers died at the Charleston Area Medical Center in West Virginia after battling pneumonia for several months.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Missing Pieces | Attendant | |
| 1994 | Cobb | Willie | |
| 1995 | The Piano Lesson | Wining Boy | |
| 1995 | The Passion of Darkly Noon | Quincy | |
| 1996 | Tin Cup | Clint | |
| 1997 | Volcano | Pastor Lake | |
| 1998 | Goodbye Lover | Police Captain | |
| Bulworth | Uncle Tyrone | ||
| Mama Flora's Family | Albie | ||
| How Stella Got Her Groove Back | Uncle Ollie | ||
| 1999 | The Big Confession | Tommy | |
| The Stand-In | Half-Step Wilson | ||
| 2000 | Everything's Jake | Abe | |
| 2001 | All About You | Toomie | |
| The Wedding Planner | Burt Weinberg | ||
| 2003 | Nobody Knows Anything! | Blue Smoke Jones | |
| The Fighting Temptations | Homer T. | ||
| 2004 | Team Player | Coach Lou | |
| 2007 | Kings of the Evening | Counter Man | |
| 2013 | DREAMS 2013" | Mr. Harlan |
Awards
Myers won an NAACP Image Award for his role as the Stool Pigeon in the August Wilson play, King Hedley II. He also won the Off-Broadway AUDELCO Award for his role in the play, Fat Tuesday.
In 2005 the Appalachian Education Initiative listed Myers as one of 50 "Outstanding Creative Artists" from the State of West Virginia and featured him in their coffeetable book Art & Soul.