Joseph C. Phillips

Joseph was born and raised in Denver, Colorado the only son of four children. After graduation from George Washington High School he attended the University of the Pacific in central California as a communications major. Having been bitten by the theatre bug early on, Mr. Phillips decided on an acting career and transferred to the acting conservatory at New York University where he graduated with a BFA in Acting in 1983.

<Joseph’s many theatrical credits include starring roles in the Broadway production of Six Degrees of Separation, the Kennedy Center and American Playhouse productions of A Raisin in the Sun, starring Danny Glover and Esther Rolle, and the off- Broadway production of Coriolanus with Christopher Walken and Irene Worth. Mr. Phillips also had the honor of creating the title role in Dreaming Emmett, Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison’s only theatrical play. Joseph’s solo performance piece, Professor Lombooza Lomboo was a featured production at the 12th annual National Black Theatre Festival and the 2001 Minnesota Fringe Festival.

Strictly Business, Let’s Talk About Sex and Midnight Blue. On television he starred on the hit series The Cosby Show and was a three time NAACP Image Award Nominee for his portrayal of Attorney Justus Ward on the Daytime Drama General Hospital. For two seasons he appeared as Mayor Morgan Douglas on the CBS series The District and most recently recurs as Marcus Johnson on the hit CBS series Without A Trace. He has had guest starring roles on Las Vegas, Jack and Bobby, The King of Queens, Judging Amy, Family Law, Martin, The Larry Sanders Show, City of Angeles, Any Day Now, The Parkers, Popular, V.I.P. and Living Single among others.

Newsweek, Los Angeles Daily News, Essence Magazine, Upscale, USA Today, Turning Point, College Digest, BET.com and the Indianapolis Recorder. His column "The Way I see It" appears weekly in The Columbus Post, The Los Angeles Wave, Akron Reporter, The Michigan Chronicle, The Michigan Front Page, The Chicago Defender, the New Pittsburgh Courier, The Tri-State Defender, Long Beach Times, The Atlanta Daily World, Miami Times, Tempo News and the web daily’s Blackamericatoday.com, Blacknews.com, EURweb.com, attackmachine.com, Netlistings.com, Michaellwilliams.com, JewishWorldReview.com, BlackAmericasWeb.com and PoliticalVanguard.com Joseph has also contributed commentary to BET Tonight, BET Nightly News, The Dennis Miller Show, America’s Black Forum, American Urban Radio Networks, was for 3 years a regular commentator on National Public Radio’s the Tavis Smiley Show and currently appears as a regular commentator on NPR’s News and Notes with Ed Gordon. His first book, HE TALK LIKE A WHITE BOY, will be released in the spring of 2006 from Running Press, a division of Perseus Books.

California Pro-Life, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Black America’s Political Action Committee, Council for African-American Republican Leadership, Colorado Sickle Cell Foundation, Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, The United States Post Office, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Youngstown University, California State University At Northridge, Towson State University, Pepperdine University, The Green Chimney’s Foundation, Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club, Fullerton College, The Chicago Black Expo the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Mountain View Community Church Elections forum and at elementary and primary schools across the country.

National Black Theatre Festival, The College of William and Mary, California State University Long Beach, Louisiana State University, Delta State College, Canoga Park High School and The Lutheran School.

Soap Opera Digest, Essence Magazine and the best selling cookbook, Cooking with Regis And Kathy Lee, and is the Celebrity Chairman for Real Men Cook, Los Angeles.

However, his greatest passion is Nicole, his wife of 11 years, and their three children, Connor, 7, Ellis, 5 and 3 year-old Samuel.

Photo credit: Brad Buckman

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