DENNIS HAYSBERT

'Dennis Dexter Haysbert' (born June 2, 1954) is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for portraying baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the ''Major League'' film trilogy, President David Palmer on the American television series ''24'' and Sergeant Major Jonas Blane in ''The Unit''.

Contents

Biography

Personal life

Career

Filmography

References

External links

Biography

Personal life

Haysbert was born in San Mateo, California to Charles Haysbert, Sr., a deputy sheriff, and Gladys (Minor), a homemaker.^[1] He is the eighth of nine children, having two sisters and six brothers.^[2] After high school, measuring 6 feet 4.5 inches (1.94 m) tall, Haysbert was offered various athletic scholarships, but instead chose to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Haysbert is a divorced father of two. He is close friends with former ''24'' co-stars Glenn Morshower and Gregory Itzin. His younger brother, Adam, starred as a football wide receiver at Brigham Young University in the early 1980s.
Haysbert has paid a deposit on a Tesla Roadster from Tesla Motors. It is a battery electric sportscar with a 250 mile range. He will be among the first hundred owners.^[3]

Career

Haysbert has been acting in film and television since 1979, starting with a guest role in ''The White Shadow''. His television guest starring roles include ''Lou Grant'', ''Laverne & Shirley'', ''The A-Team'', ''Dallas'', ''Magnum, P.I.'', ''Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' and ''Duckman''.
On film, Haysbert has appeared in ''Absolute Power'', ''Random Hearts'' and ''Far From Heaven'' among others. In 1989, Haysbert portrayed Pedro Cerrano, a voodoo-practicing Cuban refugee baseball player in the movie ''Major League'', in which he uttered the memorable line: "It is very bad to steal Jobu's rum. Very bad". In 1992, Haysbert co-starred with Michelle Pfeiffer in ''Love Field'', a film about a series of events occurring contemporaneously with the assassination and funeral of President John F. Kennedy. In 1999, Haysbert starred with Eric Close in ''Now and Again'', which was cancelled after its first season.
In 2000, Haysbert had a small role on Boy Meets World as Angela's father.
In 2001, Haysbert became better known when he was cast in ''24'' playing U.S. Senator David Palmer, who served as America's first Black President (in the context of the show) during the second and third seasons. He also returned as a guest star in the last six episodes of season 4 and the first episode of season 5. He stated in an interview for the show that the three men he admired most -- Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Colin Powell -- would collectively embody his idea of what a President should be.^[4] In addition to television and film acting, Haysbert has also done voice work for various video games, most notably as Irving Lambert in the second installment of ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series'' and narrator of ''.
Haysbert is the official spokesman for the Allstate Insurance Company. His commercials typically end with one of two the Allstate Corporation's official slogans, either ''Are you in good hands?'' or ''That's Allstate's stand.'' More recently however his commericals have combined the two with "That's Allstate's stand. Are you in good hands?". Haysbert also voices the Military Channel's commercials with their official slogan: ''"The Military Channel -- Go Behind the Lines."'' He also is the lead character in the CBS action-drama ''The Unit'', portraying Jonas Blane.
On March 4, 2006, Haysbert guest starred on the Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Natalie Portman as the host of a live action/animated TV Funhouse cartoon called ''Belated Black History Moment'' where he shows clips of short-lived Saturday morning cartoons from the 1990s featuring African-American characters. He is billed as playing Nelson Mandela in ''Goodbye Bafana'' (2007).

Filmography

★ ''227'' (1986)

★ ''The A-Team'' (1987)

★ ''Major League'' (1989)

★ ''Navy SEALs'' (1990)

★ ''Mr. Baseball'' (1992)

★ ''Love Field'' (1992)

★ ''Suture'' (1993)

★ ''Major League II'' (1994)

★ ''Heat'' (1995)

★ ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995)

★ ''Absolute Power'' (1997)

★ ''How to Make the Cruelest Month'' (1998)

★ '' (1998)

★ ''Now & Again'' (1999-2001)

★ ''The Minus Man'' (1999)

★ ''Random Hearts'' (1999)

★ ''The 13th Floor'' (1999)

★ ''Love & Basketball'' (2000)

★ ''24'' (2001-2006)

★ ''Far from Heaven'' (2002)

★ ''Jarhead'' (2005)

★ ''The Unit'' (2006-present)

★ ''Goodbye Bafana'' (2006)

★ ''Breach (2007)

References

1. http://www.tvguide.com/detail/celebrity.aspx?tvobjectid=147081&more=ucCelebInfo
2. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n8_v48/ai_13923128
3. http://www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=29
4. "''24'' Exposed (Part 1)" featurette, ''24'' season 2 bonus DVD.

External links

★

★ Dennis Haysbert Bio at CBS - The Unit

★ Dennis Haysbert's bio at The Unit Headquarters