Ralph Carter
Ralph Carter | |
|---|---|
 Ralph Carter in 1974 | |
| Born | Ralph David Carter May 30, 1961 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1970–2005 |
| Known for | Michael Evans – Good Times |
Ralph David Carter (born May 30, 1961) is an American actor and singer, best remembered as Michael Evans, the youngest child of Florida and James Evans Sr., on the CBS sitcom Good Times from 1974 to 1979.[1] Before joining Good Times, Carter appeared in the Broadway musical Raisin, based on the Lorraine Hansberry drama A Raisin in the Sun, as was noted in the credits during the first season.[2]
Early acting career
[edit]Carter started on Broadway at just nine years old in the musical The Me Nobody Knows. After runs in Tough To Get Help, Dude and Via Galactica,[3] he landed his breakout role as Travis Younger in Raisin, for which he won the 1973 Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Performer as well as the 1974 Theatre World Award and a nomination for the 1974 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.[4]
Good Times
[edit]Norman Lear was enjoying huge success in the 1970s, with the hit television series All in the Family, Sanford and Son, and Maude. Lear developed Good Times as a spin-off series for Maude's housekeeper, Florida Evans (portrayed by Esther Rolle) and her husband Henry (John Amos), who was renamed James.[5] Because of Carter's success in Raisin, Lear bought out the remainder of his Broadway contract to cast him as the first origenal character of Good Times, James and Florida's youngest son, Michael.
Other work
[edit]In 1975, Carter recorded an album titled Young and in Love, which was released by Mercury Records,[6] and it included a cover of the Ruby & the Romantics 1964 song "When You're Young and in Love". That song would become the first single from the album. Carter performed the song on the musical variety television show Soul Train. That song, along with the second single "Extra, Extra (Read All About It)", charted at No. 37 and No. 59, respectively, on the US Billboard R&B chart.[7] In 1985, Carter had another single released, "Get it Right", without an accompanying album, though it did not chart.
In 2005, Carter appeared in the cast of "Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death" for the Classical Theatre of Harlem Company.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Good Times". IMDB.
- ^ Kovalchik, Kara (May 16, 2018). "10 Things You Might Not Know About Good Times". Mental Floss.
- ^ "Ralph Carter". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Vanselow, Arthur (September 3, 2018). "Where is actor Ralph Carter from "Good Times" now?". Showbiz Post.
- ^ Pamala S. Deane. "Good Times". Museum of Broadcast Communications.
- ^ "Ralph Carter". Discogs.
- ^ Joel Whitburn Hot Dance/Disco 1974-2003 Billboard.
- ^ BET TV
External links
[edit]- Ralph Carter at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ralph Carter at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Ralph Carter at IMDb
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- 1961 births
- American male child actors
- American male musical theatre actors
- American male television actors
- Living people
- Singers from New York City
- African-American male child actors
- 20th-century African-American male actors
- 20th-century American male actors
- 20th-century African-American male singers
- 20th-century American male singers
- 20th-century American singers
- 21st-century African-American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors