While a student at\u00a0New York’s\u00a0High School of Art and Design, Orman made his theatrical debut in the 1962 topical revue “If We Grow Up.” He was an early member of the\u00a0Free Southern Theater\u00a0for two years in the mid-1960s and a founding member of\u00a0Harlem, New York’s New Lafayette Theatre, where he acted in and directed numerous plays. His many other stage appearances have included roles in “Julius Caesar” and “Coriolanus” at Joseph Papp’s\u00a0Public Theater, the Broadway production of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Fences”, and Matt Robison’s one-man play “The Confessions of\u00a0Stepin Fetchit” at the American Place Theatre. Orman is the recipient of an Audelco Theatre Award and a five-time nominee.<\/p>\n
He made his feature film debut in the title role of\u00a0Universal Studios’ 1974 drama,\u00a0Willie Dynamite\u00a0and has also appeared in such films as\u00a0F\/X,\u00a0Striking Distance,\u00a0New Jersey Drive,\u00a0Follow That Bird,\u00a0Twilight’s Last Gleaming,The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, and “Jeremy Fink And The Meaning of Life”. His television credits include work on such shows as\u00a0All My Children,\u00a0Kojak,\u00a0Sanford and Son,\u00a0Cosby,\u00a0Sex and the City,\u00a0The Wire, andLaw & Order. He most recently appeared on episode 5 of the Garry Trudeau\/Amazon streaming production\u00a0Alpha House. In June 2006, Orman’s memoir\u00a0Sesame Street Dad: Evolution of An Actor\u00a0was released. In September 2007, his children’s book\u00a0Ricky and Mobo\u00a0was released. On October 8, 2008, he became the Chief Storyteller of AudibleKids.com (a service of Audible.com), a website for parents, teachers, and children to connect with one another and download and listen to\u00a0audiobooks\u00a0oniPods,\u00a0MP3\u00a0players, and computers. In his role as Chief Storyteller, Orman narrates audiobooks and communicates with children, parents and teachers online and at community, literacy and library events, lectures and conferences, and via other media to encourage the use of audiobooks to help build an interest in reading and develop literacy skills. He commented on being Chief Storyteller on October 8, 2008: \u201cWhen\u00a0Sesame Streetbegan, television was a new and even controversial medium. But we showed how that technology, if used correctly, could become a powerful learning tool…I see the same kind of opportunity emerging today as parents and educators increasingly view iPods with skepticism. With AudibleKids.com, I believe we can help turn these players into magnificent storytellers, tools for learning, and a way to promote a lifelong love of stories and language.\u201d<\/p>\n
His new role was announced at a community event at The Educational Alliance Boys & Girls Club in New York City, where Mayor\u00a0Michael Bloomberg\u2019s\u00a0office commended Orman\u2019s life work and willingness to embrace new technology to help encourage children to read books, by naming October 8, 2008 AudibleKids Day in\u00a0New York City. Orman is a resident of\u00a0New Jersey. He has four children, Rasheda, Solana, Miles, and Cheyenne. His son,\u00a0Miles Orman, was on\u00a0Sesame Street\u00a0playing Gordon and Susan’s adopted son\u00a0Miles Robinson\u00a0from the mid-1980s into the early 1990s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
While a student at\u00a0New York’s\u00a0High School of Art and Design, Orman made his theatrical debut in the 1962 topical revue “If We Grow Up.” He was an early member of the\u00a0Free Southern Theater\u00a0for two years in the mid-1960s and a founding member of\u00a0Harlem, New York’s New Lafayette Theatre, where he acted in and directed numerous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-4974","movie_engine_person","type-movie_engine_person","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n