Emmanuel Lewis

Emmanuel Lewis
Emmanuel Lewis in 1987
Born	Emmanuel Lewis March 9, 1971 (1971-03-09) (age 40) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Occupation	actor
Years active	1976–present

Emmanuel Lewis (born March 9, 1971) is an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the 1980s television sitcom Webster. He is 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) tall. Lewis graduated from Midwood High School in 1989 and then Clark Atlanta University in 1997. He is often compared to the late Gary Coleman, star of Diff'rent Strokes.^[1]

Early life

Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. His mother, Margaret Lewis, was a computer programmer.^[2]

Career

When Diff'rent Strokes became a hit on NBC with Gary Coleman in the starring role, ABC tried, with some success, to duplicate that show's formula of depicting a tiny African-American boy being raised in a white family. The resulting show, Webster, made Lewis a star.

Lewis was nominated for four Young Artist Awards. In 1984, he was nominated for Best Young Actor in a Comedy Series for Webster and lost to Rick Schroder of Silver Spoons. In 1985, he was nominated for the same award but it went to Billy Jayne of It's Not Easy.

In 1986, he was nominated for Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Series which Marc Price ended up winning for his performance in Family Ties. In 1987, he was nominated for Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor Starring in a Television Comedy or Drama Series which Kirk Cameron of Growing Pains won. At the same time, Lewis also was the child spokesperson for the Burger King Whopper. He is a practitioner of taekwondo.^[3]

In popular culture

He has appeared in Kickin' It Old Skool, in which he had a cameo appearance.
On 9th January 2003 he and MC Hammer appeared on the Howard Stern Radio Show to promote the show The Surreal Life. Lewis attempted to play down comparisons to Gary Coleman and questions about his height. He also spoke at length about his relationship with Michael Jackson ^[4]
In an episode of South Park his character appears as the dictionary's head editor^[5].
Lewis is mentioned in a song by The Bloodhound Gang called Fire Water Burn.

Filmography

• Webster (1983–1989) TV series
• A Christmas Dream (1984) TV special
• Lost in London (1985) (TV)
• Emmanuel Lewis: My Very Own Show (1987) (TV)
• The New Adventures of Mother Goose (1995) (TV)
• Family Matters (1997) episodes "Odd Man In" and "Beauty and the Beast"
• Moesha (1998) (TV)
• Malcolm & Eddie (1999) (TV)
• The Surreal Life (2003) (TV)
• Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)
• My Super Sweet Sixteen (2005) (TV)
• One on One (2005) (TV)
• Kickin' It Old Skool (2007) (Film)
• The Surreal Life: Fame Games (2007) (TV)
• The Lil Flex Show (2008) (TV)

Discography

"City Connection", a song performed by Lewis, was very popular in Japan in 1981 reaching number 2 on the Oricon chart.

• "City Connection" (シティコネクション, Shite Konekushon) (1981 July 5)
  • B side: City Connection (English Version)
  • Lyrics: Sugar Mickey Composer: Long Danny (pseudonym of Nagato Yuki Hiroshi), Arranger: Michel SHIMIN, Sato Yuka
• "Love is DANDAN" (恋はダンダン) (1981 October 5)
  • Lyrics: Junko Swan, composer: Nagato Yuki Hiroshi, Arranger: Masao Nakajimo

References

1. ^ "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search". Associated Press. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ziQxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=enADAAAAIBAJ&dq=emmanuel-lewis%20gary%20coleman%20-wikipedia&pg=6777%2C3681625. Retrieved 2010-02-04. 
2. ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/86/Emmanuel-Lewis.html
3. ^ http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20104500,00.html
4. ^ http://www.marksfriggin.com/news03/1-6.htm
5. ^ Isler, Ramsey (November 5, 2009). "South Park: "The F Word" Review". IGN. http://tv.ign.com/articles/104/1042445p1.html. Retrieved December 11, 2010. 

External links

• Emmanuel Lewis at the Internet Movie Database
• Music video "City Connection"
• Information on City Connection in Japanese

Persondata
Name	Lewis, Emmanuel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 9, 1971
Place of birth	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.
Date of death
Place of death