Five things you may not know about LeVar Burton, according to IMDb.com and Encyclopedia.com:
1. To Generation Xers and older, Burton will always be remembered for his breakout role as Kunte Kinte in the record-breaking miniseries “Roots,” which traced the kidnapping of hundreds of thousands of Africans, the Middle Passage and eventual slavery in America. “Roots” went on to win multiple Emmy Awards as well as a Golden Globe.
2. To the Gen-Y and millennials, Burton is best known for being the host and executive producer of the “Reading Rainbow” PBS series. It was an educational show for children that ran from 1983 until 2006 and won a phenomenal 26 Emmys and a Peabody Award.
3. Burton was also a major component on another long-running marquee show, “Star Trek,” where he played Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge from 1987 to 1994.
4. Burton was just a fresh-faced 19-year-old student at the elite University of Southern California when he received the call about “Roots,” which changed his life.
5. The creator of the “LeVar Burton Reads” podcast is a married father of two. He and Stephanie Cozart Burton were wed in 1992, and they have a 27-year-old daughter, actress Michaela “Mica” Jean Burton. He also has a son, Eian Burton, 41, from a previous relationship.
