This handsome, compact African-American character lead of TV since the late 1970s made his acting debut at age 19 in the acclaimed landmark TV miniseries "Roots" (ABC, 1977). With his large expressive eyes and full lips, LeVar Burton convincingly conveyed the terror and rage of enslavement in his stirring portrayal of Kunta Kinte, an African youth captured by slavers after he leaves his village to find some wood to make a drum. The young actor had previously spent four years in a Catholic seminary after deciding to study for the priesthood at age 13.Burton became a frequent TV presence during
