:Wolfe Perry
{{short description|American actor and basketball player}}
{{Infobox person
|image=
|othername=L. Wolfe Perry, Jr.
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1957|1|22}}
|birth_place=New Orleans, Louisiana
|occupation=Television actor,
basketball player
| module =
{{Infobox basketball biography
| embed = Yes
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb =
| high_school =
- St. Elizabeth
(Oakland, California) - Oakland Technical
(Oakland, California)
| college = Stanford (1975–1979)
| draft_year = 1979
| draft_round = 5
| draft_pick = 89
| draft_team = Utah Jazz
| career_position = Guard
| career_number = 21
| highlights =
- Second-team All-Pac-10 (1979)
}}
}}
Lieutenant Wolfe Perry Jr.{{cite news|first=Reid|last=English|title=Cards could win this war with very own Lieutenant|date=January 25, 1979|newspaper=the Oregon Statesman|page=D-1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67830671/|accessdate=January 18, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} (born January 22, 1957) is an American actor and former basketball player. He played college basketball for Stanford University.{{cite news |first=Ray|last=Ratto|title=Stanford's Perry has act together|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/460609130/ |access-date=January 17, 2021 |newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner |date=December 6, 1978|page=57|via=Newspapers.com}}
Life and career
Perry was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} He attended St. Elizabeth High in Oakland, California, before transferring after two years to Oakland Technical High School, where he was a top student and basketball player.{{cite news|title='Shadow' hires a ringer|date=February 15, 1981|newspaper=The Daily Oklahoman|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67841969/|at=sec. TV News, pp. 26–[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67842008/ 27]|accessdate=January 17, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}}
Basketball career
Perry was a standout basketball player at Stanford University and graduated in 1979 with a degree in drama. Perry, who stands 6'2", was a four-year letterman and starting guard for the Cardinal. In his first year, he was one of only four freshman in the Pacific-8 Conference to earn a starting role.{{cite news|title=Cardinals' Super Soph Is Back To Haunt 'Bows|date=January 19, 1977|newspaper=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|page=D-1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67934452/|access-date=January 18, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} He led the Cardinal in scoring average his senior season, 1978–79, with 18.3 points per game, and he was a second-team All-Pac-10 selection. He scored a career-high 34 points in an upset win that season against national powerhouse UCLA.{{cite news|last=Weiskopf|first=Herman|page=38|url= https://vault.si.com/vault/70812#&gid=ci0258be371007278a&pid=70812---040---image|title=Player of the Week|work=Sports Illustrated|date=January 8, 1979|accessdate=January 17, 2021}}{{dead link|date=December 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} For his college career, Perry scored 1,287 points (18th all time at Stanford) with 258 assists (12th) and 112 steals (9th).
Perry was a favorite of the basketball fans at Stanford, many of whom expected him to be drafted into the NBA. He was drafted in the fifth round of 1979 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. However, he quit during training camp to pursue an acting career.{{cite news|title=Perry Quits Jazz Camp|date=September 19, 1979|newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune|page=2-D|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67844661/|access-date=January 17, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} Perry said that his "knees fell apart" and that his "heart wasn't in [basketball] anymore."{{cite news|first=John M.|last=Wilson|title=A Brand New Game Plan For 'Shadow'|date=January 25, 1981|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|at=sec. Calendar, p. 26|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67845264/|access-date=January 17, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}}
Acting career
As an actor, Perry is primarily known for his role as Teddy Rutherford, one of Coach Ken Reeves' new players in the third season of the CBS TV series The White Shadow.{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Taylor|title=Ex-athlete enjoys White Shadow role|date=March 6, 1981|newspaper=Journal and Courier|page=B-3|agency=Gannett News Service|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67831407/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=January 17, 2021}} He wore the uniform number 21 in his role, which is the same number he wore at Stanford.
In 1980, Perry was a cast member of the PBS series Up and Coming,{{cite news |first=Mike|last=Palmer|title='Up and Coming' and other projects |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67839686/ |access-date=January 17, 2021 |work=The San Francisco Examiner |date=October 12, 1980|at=sec. Datebook p. 49|via=Newspapers.com}} which was the first weekly American TV drama centered on an African American family. Additionally, he appeared in the 1986 film Soul Man.
He also made an appearance in the 1980s detective show Riptide.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} In 1982, he appeared in an episode of Hill Street Blues.{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Weintraub|title=A Viewing Guide to the Greatest Fictional Basketball Scene Ever Filmed|date=May 14, 2014|work=Grantland|url=https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/hill-street-blues-basketball-scene-personal-foul-michael-warren-ucla-david-caruso/|access-date=January 17, 2021}}
Later life
Perry coached boys basketball for two seasons (2006–2008) at John Swett High School in Crockett, California, before becoming the coach at St. Elizabeth High, his former high school, in 2008.McCulloch, Will. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/20/SP5910P0RJ.DTL "Carlmont junior has humble approach to winning"], San Francisco Chronicle, May 20, 2008.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0675362|Wolfe Perry}}
- [https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/wolfe-perry-1.html College statistics] at Sports Reference
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Wolfe}}
Category:Stanford Cardinal men's basketball players
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:American male television actors
Category:African-American male actors
Category:Utah Jazz draft picks
Category:21st-century African-American people