Ben Vereen

Vereen was born Benjamin Augustus Middleton on October 10, 1946, in Laurinburg, North Carolina.[2][3][4] While still an infant, Vereen and his family relocated to the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City. He was adopted by James Vereen, a paint-factory worker, and his wife, Pauline, who worked as a maid and theatre wardrobe mistress.[5] He discovered he was adopted when he applied for a passport to join Sammy Davis Jr. on a tour of "Golden Boy" to London when he was 25.[6] He was raised Pentecostal.[7]

During his pre-teen years, he exhibited an innate talent for drama and dance and often performed in local variety shows. At the age of 14, Vereen enrolled at the High School of Performing Arts, where he studied under world-renowned choreographers Martha Graham, George Balanchine, and Jerome Robbins. Upon his graduation, he struggled to find suitable stage work and was often forced to take odd jobs to supplement his income.

Vereen has appeared as a public speaker and humanitarian speaking on such topics as black history, overcoming adversity, and the importance of continuing education.

In 2007, he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and has a website in which he shares his personal story along with advice from medical experts.

According to the 'Fayetteville Observer' of April 29, 2006, Vereen learned while applying for a passport in the late 1960s that he was adopted. His birth certificate revealed that his birth name was Benjamin Augustus Middleton, that he was the son of Essie Middleton, and that he was born in Laurinburg, N.C. In April 2006, Vereen visited Scotland County with a genealogist on a search for family members and learned that his mother's name was Essie May Pearson. The Laurinburg Exchange reported: "Vereen, an adoptee who learned that he was born in Laurinburg and made a celebrated trip to Scotland County in 2006 to reconnect with family. While on the trip he learned his mother had died 24 years before, but that several relatives still lived in the area." According to her acquaintances, Essie had gone on a trip when Vereen was a child, and had left her baby in someone's care. When she returned, the child was gone. In the April 28, 2006, interview with the 'Laurinburg Exchange', Vereen said that his visit "has just all been so overwhelming ... I've finally found my family".[11] In May 2006, he met his mother's daughter, (his sister), Gloria Walker, of Derby, Connecticut.[12][13][14] He also has a brother, James Middleton, who lives in Tucson, Arizona.

In the early 1980s, Vereen moved with his family to Saddle River, New Jersey.[15] via Associated Press.

His 16-year-old daughter, Naja, was killed in an auto accident in 1987,[16] on the New Jersey Turnpike when a truck overturned on her car.

In 1992, Vereen suffered three accidents in one day, when his car hit a tree causing him to hit his head on the roof of his car, then he suffered a stroke while he was walking on a Malibu highway, apparently veering into the road where he was struck by a car driven by record producer David Foster. His critical injuries (including a broken leg) required him to undergo arduous physical rehabilitation in the ensuing months.[17][18]

Vereen is the godfather of R&B superstar Usher and is also the first cousin once removed of New York Giants running back Shane Vereen. Vereen was the keynote speaker for the Boys & Girls Clubs in St. Petersburg, Florida annual alumni tribute gala held in October 2007.

In August 2011, Vereen was named Co-Artistic Director of Tampa's Broadway Theatre Project.[19]

In September 2012, Vereen filed for divorce from his wife Nancy Bruner Vereen of 36 years, citing irreconcilable differences.[20]

He is an active Democrat.[21]

Vereen was inducted as an honorary member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity on April 9, 2019.[22]

The handprints of Ben Vereen in front of Theater of the Stars at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park

Theater

Television

Honors

The Community Mental Health Council awarded Vereen with their 2004 Lifeline Celebration Achievement Award. For his humanitarian contributions, he has received a number of awards including Israel's Cultural and Humanitarian Awards, three NAACP Image Awards, an Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award and a Victory Award. He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Arizona, Emerson College, St. Francis College, and Columbia College in Chicago. In 2001, Medgar Evers College created the Ben Vereen Scholarship for the Performing Arts, and in 2004, he received an Achievement in Excellence Award from his alma mater, the High School of the Performing Arts.

He was the first simultaneous winner of the "Entertainer of the Year," “Rising Star," and "Song and Dance Star" awards from the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA). He also earned a coveted spot in the Casino Legends Hall of Fame.

Vereen was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for his performance in the Hallmark movie An Accidental Friendship. In 2004, Vereen was nominated for a "Career Achievement Award" by the Le Prix International Film Star Awards Organization.

In 2011, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.[27]

In 2012, Vereen was inducted into the National Museum of Dance's Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ben Vereen.

• Ben Vereen at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ben Vereen at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Ben Vereen on IMDb
• http://www.lycos.com/info/ben-vereen--sweet-charity.html%5B%5D
• https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/vereen_b.html
• Ben Vereen Interviewed on XNDTV.com
• Angels of Love Spiritual Center (Rev. Ben Vereen, Spiritual Director)
• Official website