Actor Courtney Vance and his wife, actress Angela Bassett, celebrate at his Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony Dec. 16. Vance’s star on Hollywood Boulevard is across the street from Bassett’s.
Photo by Lorenzo Gomez
Wave Wire Services
HOLLYWOOD — A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Dec. 16 honoring Courtney B. Vance for an acting career that has brought him two Emmys.
Vance was joined at the ceremony at 7007 Hollywood Blvd., between Orange and Sycamore avenues, by his wife, Angela Bassett, and their 19-year-old twins, Bronwyn and Slater, who also attended the 2008 ceremony when Bassett received her star. John Landgraf, chairman of FX Networks, also was in attendance.
“To receive this incredible honor, this incredible award, to hear nice things said about me by John Landgraf, Angela and Bronwyn, in front of my peers, my family and friends — I’m just very, very full and grateful,” Vance said. “I saw this honor bestowed upon my wife, March 20, 2008, when our children were almost 2 and I remember how huge a day it was for both our families.
“And to return to this hallowed place directly across the street from where she was honored and have that same honor bestowed upon me is really more happiness than I emotionally can bear,” he said.
Vance received his first Emmy in 2016 for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie for his portrayal of attorney Johnnie Cochran in “The People v O.J. Simpson,” the first season of the FX biographical crime drama anthology series “American Crime Story.”
Born March 12, 1960, in Detroit, Vance received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard and a master’s degree from the Yale School of Drama, where he met Bassett.
Vance made his television debut as “Male Student #2” in CBS’ 1983 made-for-television movie “First Affair” about a Harvard freshman (Melissa Sue Anderson) who has an affair with the husband (Joel Higgins) of her literature professor (Loretta Swit).
After appearing in an extensive list of other made-for-television movies, Vance’s first role as a series cast member came in 2001 as prosecutor Ron Carver in “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” He remained with the NBC crime and legal drama through 2006.
Vance also was a cast member of the 2009-10 ABC science fiction series, “FlashForward.”
Vance received his second Emmy nomination and victory in 2021 for outstanding guest actor in a drama series for the episode of the HBO horror series “Lovecraft Country,” in which his character is killed.
Vance’s feature film debut came in the 1987 war film “Hamburger Hill” about the 1969 assault during the Vietnam War. His other film credits include “The Hunt for Red October,” “The Preacher’s Wife,” “The Adventures of Huck Finn” and “Lilo & Stitch,” which was released in May.
Vance has received Tony Award nominations for each of the three plays he has appeared in on Broadway. He was nominated in 1987 for best featured actor in a play for his portrayal of Cory, the teenage son of a trash collector (James Earl Jones), a role he had earlier played in its Yale Repertory Theatre production.
Vance was nominated for best actor in a play in 1991 for “Six Degrees of Separation” for his performance as a con artist who first tries to victimize a wealthy couple (Stockard Channing and John Cunningham) then a young couple recently arrived in New York City (Robert Duncan McNeill and Mari Nelson).
He received the Tony for best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play in 2013 for playing New York Daily News editor James “Hap” Hairston in “Lucky Guy” about the 1980s New York City tabloid wars.
