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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
February 16, 1957
Place of Birth
Landstuhl, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany
Also Known As
- Levar Burton
- Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr.
LeVar Burton
1.0 Popularity
Biography
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host. He played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), and was the host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for 23 years (1983–2006). Burton received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow. His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his accomplishments in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. From 2017 until 2024, Burton created and hosted the podcast LeVar Burton Reads, often described as "Reading Rainbow for adults". In October 2024, Burton appeared as the host of the Trivial Pursuit television game show broadcast on The CW network and streaming online.
Known For
🎬
0.0
One Night Only
2026
0.0
Self
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
2024
6.0
Self - Host
Trivial Pursuit
2024
8.2
Self
Butterfly in the Sky
2024
7.4
(voice)
Carol & the End of the World
2023
7.7
Self
100 Years of Warner Bros.
2023
7.7
Commodore Geordi La Forge
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
2023
4.0
Barclay (voice)
Tom Swift
2022
7.0
Narrator (voice)
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
2022
10.0
Self
The Shuttlepod Show
2022
Credits
🎬
One Night Only
2026
0.0
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
as Self
2024
0.0
Trivial Pursuit
as Self - Host
2024
6.0
Butterfly in the Sky
as Self
2024
8.2
Carol & the End of the World
as (voice)
2023
7.4
100 Years of Warner Bros.
as Self
2023
7.7
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
as Commodore Geordi La Forge
2023
7.7
Tom Swift
as Barclay (voice)
2022
4.0
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
as Narrator (voice)
2022
7.0
The Shuttlepod Show
as Self
2022
10.0
The Legend of Vox Machina
as Undead Thordak (voice)
2022
8.2
The Problem with Jon Stewart
as Self
2021
7.2
Leverage: Redemption
as Mr. Blanche
2021
7.4
Beyond the Spotlight
2020
0.0
Definition Please
as LeVar Burton
2020
3.2
Star Trek: Picard
as Commodore Geordi La Forge
2020
7.3
The Kelly Clarkson Show
as Self
2019
6.3
Tamron Hall
as Self - Guest
2019
4.9
Weird City
as Dr. Negari
2019
6.1
The Ready Room
as Self
2019
4.0
Brentwood
as LeVar Burton
2018
8.0
Explained
as Narrator (voice)
2018
7.5
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
as Kwame
2017
8.0
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
2017
10.0
School of the Future
2016
7.0
Roots
as Ephraim
2016
6.9
Lennon or McCartney
as Self
2014
5.2
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
as Self
2014
0.0
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
2014
0.0
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
2013
0.0
PBS News Weekend
as Himself (voice)
2013
5.0
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
2013
9.0
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge (archive footage)
2013
7.1
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Self
2012
7.0
Rise of the Zombies
as Dr. Dan Halpern
2012
4.3
🎬
Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Self
2012
5.5
Perception
as Paul Haley
2012
7.2
The Eric Andre Show
as Self
2012
7.9
Finding Your Roots
2012
6.4
Transformers: Rescue Bots
as Doc Green (voice)
2012
7.3
And They're Off
as Self
2011
4.1
The Jensen Project
as Kendrick
2010
5.5
Adventure Time
as Bubble (voice)
2010
8.5
Taken in Broad Daylight
as Mike Timbrook
2009
5.0
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
as Black Lightning (voice)
2009
7.1
Community
as LeVar Burton
2009
8.0
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest
2009
5.1
Shatner's Raw Nerve
as Self
2008
4.0
Reach for Me
as Nathanial
2008
2.8
The Big Bang Theory
as LeVar Burton
2007
7.9
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
as Self
2007
7.4
40 Years of Star Trek
as Self
2006
4.3
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
as Self
2005
5.5
Hell's Kitchen
as Self - Restaurant Patron
2005
6.8
Blizzard
as Night Watchman Elf (uncredited)
2003
5.9
Star Trek: Nemesis
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
2002
6.3
Boomtown
as Marvin Lloyd
2002
6.2
Ali
as Martin Luther King, Jr.
2001
6.8
Futurama
as Unlicensed Hologram of LeVar Burton (voice)
1999
8.4
Family Guy
as Vern (voice)
1999
7.4
Family Guy
as LeVar Burton (voice)
1999
7.4
Our Friend, Martin
as Martin at Age 26 (voice) (as Levar Burton)
1999
6.9
Star Trek: Insurrection
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
1998
6.4
Becker
as Mr. Haller
1998
7.1
Trekkies
as Self
1997
6.4
The View
as Self - Guest
1997
4.3
Star Trek: First Contact
as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
1996
7.3
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
as Self
1996
5.8
The Daily Show
as Self
1996
6.4
Yesterday's Target
as Winstrom
1996
3.9
MADtv
as Self
1995
7.0
Deadly Games
as Mr. Metcalf
1995
8.3
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as The Monk (voice)
1995
6.0
Star Trek: Voyager
as Captain Geordi La Forge
1995
7.8
Star Trek: Generations
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
1994
6.5
Gargoyles
as Anansi/Poacher 2 (voice)
1994
8.1
Parallel Lives
as Dr. Franklin Carter
1994
5.0
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Self
1994
6.9
Christy
as Daniel Scott
1994
8.1
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
as Fire Chief J. Allan Mather
1993
4.5
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
as Geordi La Forge
1993
1.0
Batman: The Animated Series
as Hayden Sloane (voice)
1992
8.6
Star Trek: Federation Science
1992
1.0
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
as Self
1991
5.9
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
as Kwame (voice)
1990
6.8
Central Park
as Self
1990
7.4
Roots: The Gift
as Kunta Kinte
1988
6.8
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
as Self
1988
2.6
Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Geordi La Forge
1987
8.4
A Special Friendship
as Ben Sumner
1987
0.0
Houston Knights
as Jason Evans
1987
4.3
Liberty
as Robert Johnson
1986
5.0
The Supernaturals
as Pvt. Michael Osgood
1986
4.1
The Midnight Hour
as Vinnie Davis
1985
5.9
And the Children Shall Lead
as Glenn Scott
1985
10.0
🎬
Booker
as Davis
1984
7.0
Murder, She Wrote
as Reporter Dave Robinson
1984
7.5
Jeopardy!
as Self - Host
1984
6.9
Jeopardy!
as Self
1984
6.9
The Jesse Owens Story
as Professor Preston
1984
7.9
Emergency Room
as Ray Walden
1983
0.0
Reading Rainbow
as Self - Host
1983
8.3
I Love Liberty
as Self
1982
0.0
🎬
Grambling's White Tiger
as Charles 'Tank' Smith
1981
0.0
The Acorn People
as Rodney
1981
2.0
The Hunter
as Tommy Price
1980
5.9
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
as Richard Jefferson
1980
7.2
Trapper John, M.D.
1979
6.5
Dummy
as Donald Lang
1979
8.5
The Muppets Go Hollywood
as Self
1979
6.2
Mickey's 50
as Self
1978
0.0
Battered
as Andrew Sinclair
1978
0.0
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
as Ron LeFlore
1978
5.5
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
as Cap Jackson
1977
6.3
The Love Boat
as Darnell Hall
1977
6.3
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
as Billy Peoples
1977
0.0
US Against the World
as Self
1977
0.0
Roots
as Kunta Kinte
1977
7.4
The Captain and Tennille
as Self
1976
5.5
Almos' a Man
as Dave
1976
0.0
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
7.5
Scripps National Spelling Bee
as Self - Host
N/A
0.0