Does Clifton Davis look familiar to you? If you watched the shows That’s My Mama and Amen back in the day, he should. Davis has been all over TV over the years, as well as on stage, and in music, dating all the way back to the early ’70s. And while we watched him on such classic comedies, we couldn’t help but notice that he was quite the looker! In honor of Black History Month and our weekly task of showing love to the good-looking brothas from back in the day, we’re showing love to Mr. Davis, his talents, and his killer afro from back in the day.
I learned about That’s My Mama later than most folks, but I always found it quite comical. And as Clifton Curtis, a young barber who has inherited his late father’s shop and has to deal with an opinionated but lovable mother (Theresa Merritt), he stood out with his quick wit and good looks.
As for his back-story, Davis was born in Chicago, Ill., back in 1945 to a nurse and Baptist minister. The minister’s kid would later do like his father and preach the word of God, but decided to do this much later in life as a Seventh Day Adventist minister.
Because he grew up before the Civil Right’s Movement era, Davis has opened up in the past about the racism he experienced as a young man. He even wrote about it in a piece for Chicken Soup For The Teenage Soul. Who didn’t love those books?
Before succeeding in acting, bet you didn’t know that Davis also succeeded in songwriting. He wrote the classic Jackson 5 song, “Never Can Say Goodbye.” As often as people sing that song or it appears in movies and on TV, you know Davis is getting broke off, as he owns the rights to the track.
Davis and George Maharis
Sorry, I have nothing deep to say about his life for this slide. I just think he looks dreamy in this picture. And check out that shirt! Fashions from the ’70s were not about keeping it simple ladies (and possible gents).
On top of songwriting, Davis could actually sing too. And another fact you might not know about him is that he a triple bypass survivor.
Davis also knew how to strike a mean pose! He does so here with actress and singer Melba Moore. The two had such chemistry (and he was her boyfriend for a while) that they ended up working together on her musical variety TV show back in 1972. The show was cancelled once the two broke up.
But Davis would return to television. In 1986 he started working on the NBC comedy, Amen, with Sherman Hemsley. The show ran for four seasons and had one of the most awesome theme songs: “Shine On You.”
As I said before, following in the steps of his father and even his character Reverend Reuben Gregory on Amen, Davis joined the church. Not Baptist though. Davis became an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister and has a Bachelor’s in theology, as well as a Master’s degree in divinity.
WENN
To this day, the 68-year-old actor stays busy. He’s been in a few movies here (Any Given Sunday, Kingdom Come, etc.) and appeared on a few TV shows there (“Half and Half,” “The First Family,” “Mr. Box Office,” etc.). He’s also appeared on stage, doing the play What My Husband Doesn’t Know, and in different TV movies. He’s also the host of an annual gospel choir competition called The Most Soulful Sound, and after all these years, he still looks great. Right?
