
Glynn Turman
Department: Acting
Biography
Glynn Russell Turman, born on January 31, 1947, in New York City, is a revered American stage, television, and film actor as well as a writer, whose career spans decades. He gained early recognition for his role as Leroy "Preach" Jackson in the 1975 film "Cooley High." Turman's talent shone on Broadway, earning a Tony Award for "The Great White Hope." He's renowned for TV work in "The Wire," math professor and retired Army colonel Bradford Taylor on the NBC sitcom "A Different World," fictional Baltimore mayor Clarence Royce on the HBO drama series "The Wire" and "House of Lies." His filmography includes impactful roles in "Gremlins" and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." With a captivating presence, Turman continues to enthrall audiences, showcasing remarkable versatility and depth in his performances.
Known For

Ceremonies in Dark Old Men
1975

80 for Brady
2023

Freedom Song
2000

Sahara
2005

The Killing Floor
2017

Men of Honor
2000

Outlaw Johnny Black
2023

How Stella Got Her Groove Back
1998

Rustin
2023

Cooley High
1975

Burlesque
2010

Super 8
2011

J.D.'s Revenge
1976

Out of Bounds
1986

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2
2024

Light It Up
1999

John Dies at the End
2013

The River Niger
1976

The Legend of Glynn Turman
2022

The Inkwell
1994

A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich
1977

Preaching To The Pastor
2009

The Devil You Know
2022

Kings of the Evening
2008

Secrets of a Married Man
1984

Murder 101: The Locked Room Mystery
2008

Buffalo Soldiers
1997

Fire & Ice
2001

The Pastor's Secret
2012

Thomasine & Bushrod
1974

Someone Else's Child
1994

Charlotte Forten's Mission: Experiment in Freedom
1985

Is That Black Enough for You?!?
2022

Subterfuge
1996

The Seat Filler
2004

The Blue Knight
1975

Act Like You Love Me
2013

Five on the Black Hand Side
1973

Minstrel Man
1977

A Hero's Journey: The Making of Percy Jackson and the Olympians
2024

Deep Cover
1992

Honky
1971

Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
1996

The Richard Pryor Special?
1977

Carter's Army
1975

Together Brothers
1974

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat
1974

City Teacher
2012

Race
2016

Takers
2010

The Obama Effect
2012

Thornwell
1981

The Serpent's Egg
1977

Attica
1980

Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart
2017

August 28: A Day in the Life of a People
2017

Penitentiary II
1982

Gremlins
1984

Bumblebee
2018

Solace
2018

Ask Max
1986

Windows on the World
2019

The Visit
2001

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2020

Sextuplets
2019

The Way Back
2020

Justine
2019

AWOL
1972

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Legacy Brought to Screen
2020

Air Rage
2001

The Tapestry
1976

Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
2021

In Search of America
1971

Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold
1978

Uncle P
2007

STRAW
2025

Dakota's Summer
2014

The Grand Baby
1983

A Different World
1987

Touched by an Angel
1994

The Twilight Zone
1985

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999

Room 222
1969

Millennium
1996

In Treatment
2008

Law & Order: Criminal Intent
2001

Hail to the Chief
1985

The Paper Chase
1978

The Tony Randall Show
1976

Women of the Movement
2022

House of Lies
2012

Revolution
2012

Power Book II: Ghost
2020

The Wire
2002

FlashForward
2009

Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
2022

FBI: Most Wanted
2020

Centennial
1978

Suits
2011

Percy Jackson and the Olympians
2023

How to Get Away with Murder
2014

The Red Line
2019

Alcatraz
2012

Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities
2022

The Big Cigar
2024

Criminal Minds
2005

T. J. Hooker
1982

The Bernie Mac Show
2001

Mr. Mercedes
2017

black-ish
2014

American Gods
2017

Murder, She Wrote
1984

Murder, She Wrote
1984

Fargo
2014

Murder, She Wrote
1984

The Defenders
2010

ER
1994

The Neighborhood
2018

NCIS: Los Angeles
2009

Paradise
2025

The Magnificent Seven
1998

Freddy's Nightmares
1988

Hot Pursuit
1984

Graves
2016

Matlock
1986

Percy Jackson and the Olympians
2023

Scrubs
2001