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Tituss Burgess

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Tituss Burgess
File:Tituss Burgess Headshot.jpg
Born (1979-02-21) February 21, 1979 (age 45)
Athens, Georgia, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Georgia (B.A.)
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active2005–present

Tituss Burgess (born February 21, 1979)[1] is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in numerous Broadway musicals and is known for his high tenor voice. He is best known for starring as Titus Andromedon on the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2020), for which he has received four consecutive Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations.

Personal life

Born and raised in Athens, Georgia, he attended Cedar Shoals High School where he was active in the theatre program. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a BA in music.[2][3]

He is openly gay.[4]

Career

Burgess made his great Broadway debut in the musical Good Vibrations as Eddie in 2005, and then appeared in Jersey Boys in 2005 as Hal Miller. He originated the role of "Sebastian the Crab" in the musical The Little Mermaid in 2007 and went on to the role of Nicely-Nicely Johnson, traditionally played by a white actor, in the revival of Guys and Dolls in 2009. He has also performed in several regional theater productions, including The Wiz and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Burgess performed at the "Broadway for Obama" benefit concert held at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Easton, Pennsylvania, on October 20, 2008.[5] He performed at the "Broadway After Dark" benefit concert on October 26, 2008, in New York City.[6] He performed in a solo concert at Birdland in New York City on July 27, 2009.[7]

In July 2009, he was a performer on the R Family Vacations Summer Cruise.[8] Three months later, he was featured on an episode of the popular web show The Battery's Down. He appeared in Season 5 of 30 Rock as D'Fwan, a member of Tracy Jordan's wife's entourage. He reprised the role in Season 6.[citation needed]

Tituss was cast as The Caterpillar in the 2011 Broadway musical Wonderland (musical) in October 2010. A month later, he dropped out of the project.[9]

In March 2013, Burgess performed "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising concert Broadway Backwards.[10]

Burgess was cast in the role of The Witch, a role traditionally played by a female, in Into the Woods in a 2015 production by DreamCatcher Theatre which performed in Miami's Carnival Studio Theater at the Adrienne Arsht Center.[11]

On March 6, 2015, Netflix released the first season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which stars Burgess in a main role as Titus Andromedon, Kimmy's roommate. Burgess received universal acclaim for his performance, with The New York Times stating that the role was tailor-made for him.[12][13] For his performance in the first season, he received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2015 Critics' Choice Television Awards and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2015 ceremony.[citation needed]

In June 2016, Burgess reprised his role of "Sebastian the Crab" during the Hollywood Bowl concert event of The Little Mermaid.[14]

Theatre credits

Date Title Role Venue/Location
February 2 – April 24, 2005 Good Vibrations Eddie Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway
November 6, 2005 – July 31, 2006 Jersey Boys Barry Belson/Hal Miller August Wilson Theatre, Broadway
October 2006 The Wiz La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego, CA
November 3, 2007 – December 7, 2008 The Little Mermaid Sebastian Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway
March 1 – June 14, 2009 Guys and Dolls Nicely-Nicely Johnson Nederlander Theatre, Broadway
December 8 – 30, 2012 A Wind in the Willows Christmas Mr. Toad Two River Theater, Red Bank, NJ
January 22, 2015 – February 15, 2015 Into the Woods The Witch Arsht Center, Miami, FL

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Are You Joking? Hank Trenton
2016 The Angry Birds Movie Photog (voice)
2016 Catfight John
2017 Smurfs: The Lost Village Vanity Smurf (voice)
2018 Set It Up Creepy Tim
2018 Then Came You Julian
2019 I Hate Kids The Amazing Fabular
2019 Dolemite Is My Name Theodore Toney
2019 The Addams Family Glenn (voice)
2020 Respect James Cleveland Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Schoolhouse Rock Narrator Episode: "The Rainforest" (Earth Rock series)
2009 The Battery's Down Mr. Z 2 episodes
2011 A Gifted Man Larry the Guard Episode: "In Case of Discomfort"
2011–2012 30 Rock D'Fwan 4 episodes
2012 Blue Bloods Priest Episode: "The Life We Chose"
2013 Royal Pains Kristoff Episode: "Bones to Pick"
2015–2020 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Titus Andromedon Series Regular, 52 episodes
Webby Award for Best Actor
Gold Derby TV Award for Best Comedy Supporting Actor (2015–2017)
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2015–2018)
Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2015, 2016)
Nominated—Online Film and Television Association Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominated—Gold Derby TV Award for Breakthrough Performer of the Year
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
2016 Match Game Himself Regular panelist
2016–2018 Elena of Avalor Charoca (voice) 2 episodes
2017 Julie's Greenroom Himself Episode: "Costumer Service"
2017 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Himself (Guest Judge) Episode: "Pop Art Ball"
2019 Miracle Workers God's brother Episode: "1 Day"
2019 The Good Fight Wade V. Episode: "The One with the Celebrity Divorce"
2020 Dishmantled Himself (host) 10 episodes
2020 Central Park Cole Tillerman (voice) Series regular

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Grand Theft Auto V Bob Mulét Credited under "The Local Population." Notable voice appearance in WCTR program, "Chakra Attack," as the "Potato Water Guy" in the coconut water discussion.

Discography

  • Jersey Boys (2005) Original Cast Recording
  • Here's To You (2006) Studio Album
  • Here's To You (2006) debut solo album, available on iTunes
  • Disney's The Little Mermaid (2008) Original Cast Recording
  • Keys (2008) Scott Alan
  • Thirteen Stories Down (2010) Jonathan Reid Gealt
  • Comfortable (2012) Studio Album
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2018) Audiobook, Narrator
  • Saint Tituss (2019)

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref(s)
2008 Broadway.com Audience Award Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical The Little Mermaid Nominated
2015 Webby Award Best Actor Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Won
2015 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Nominated
2015 Gold Derby TV Award Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Won
2015 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Nominated
2015 Dorian Award TV Performance of the Year, Actor Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Nominated
2016 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Nominated [15]
2017 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Nominated
2018 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Nominated
2018 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Tituss Burgess". Playbill Vault. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  2. ^ "Alumni Spotlight: Tituss Burgess (AB '01)". UGA Alumni Association. February 13, 2015.
  3. ^ "Bullseye With Jesse Thorn: Titus Burgess". Bullseye With Jesse Thorn: Titus Burgess. February 1, 2019.
  4. ^ Davies, Hannah J. (May 15, 2020). "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Tituss Burgess: 'I'm the most boring of the rainbow of gay men'." The Guardian. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  5. ^ Gans, Andrew (October 8, 2008). "Broadway for Obama Concert to Feature Lopez, Burgess, Hicks, Dixon and More". playbill.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015.
  6. ^ Gans, Andrew (October 26, 2008). "Broadway After Dark Features Braxton, Burgess, Dandridge, Sengbloh and More Oct. 26". playbill.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012.
  7. ^ Gans, Andrew (June 19, 2009). "Guys and Dolls' Burgess to Play Birdland in July". playbill.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012.
  8. ^ Gans, Andrew (July 11, 2009). "All Aboard!: R Family Vacations Summer Cruise, with McArdle, Burgess, Jackson, Departs July 11". playbill.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012.
  9. ^ "Caterpillar Change-Up in Wonderland: E. Clayton Cornelious Replaces Tituss Burgess in New Musical". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  10. ^ "And I Am Telling You..." Tituss Burgess – 2013 Broadway Backwards. YouTube. March 26, 2013.
  11. ^ "Tituss Burgess Will Be The Witch in Miami Into the Woods; Sondheim Gives Blessing". Playbill. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  12. ^ Drumming, Neil (March 20, 2015). "Tituss Burgess on a Role Tailor-Made for Him on 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Martin, Michael (March 4, 2015). "Why Tituss Burgess Makes Tina Fey Laugh". Out. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  14. ^ LEASE EVENT: Disney's The Little Mermaid in Concert, hollywoodbowl.com; accessed December 1, 2016.
  15. ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 12, 2016). "'Carol' Earns Multiple Mentions as Dorian Award Nominees Are Unveiled". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
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