| LeVar Burton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. |
| Born: | February 16, 1957 |
| Birth Hometown: | Landstuhl, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany |
| Occupation: | Host, Actor |
| Years active: | 1976-present |
| Known for: | Hosting Reading Rainbow, starring in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Roots |
| Website/URL: | His Official Website |
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born 16 February 1957 from Landstuhl, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany) is an American actor, presenter, director, and author. His first major part was the role of a young Kunta Kinte in the 1977 ABC television miniseries Roots, a role he reprised in the 1988 television film Roots: The Gift. In 1983 he became the host of the long-running PBS children's series Reading Rainbow, and again performed a lead role in 1987 as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (from which he took Reading Rainbow viewers on a behind-the-scenes look). He has also directed several television episodes for various iterations of Star Trek, among other programs.
In 2021, he was one of the guest hosts on Jeopardy!. Recently, he was chosen the host & executive producer for a new version of Trivial Pursuit.[1] It currently airs on The CW, with a planned first season run of 12 episodes.[2]
He hosted the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Shows hosted[]
Shows appeared[]
- Hollywood Squares
- Jeopardy!
- The Weakest Link
- The $10,000 Pyramid
- The $25,000 Pyramid
- The $100,000 Pyramid
- Shoot for the Stars
- Capital One College Bowl