Oakland University welcomes Emmy and Golden Globe nominated Actor Anthony Anderson as the keynote speaker

(Black PR Wire) Oakland University will welcome Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor Anthony Anderson to campus as the keynote speaker for its 30th annual Keeper of the Dream Scholarship Awards Celebration.

Event Date: January 17, 2022
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. (Doors open at 10:30 a.m.)
Location: Oakland University O'Rena

Reserve your tickets here. 

Biography

Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor, Anthony Anderson is the star and executive producer of ABC’s multi-award nominated sitcom “black-ish.” He portrays Andre “Dre” Johnson, a family man who struggles to gain a sense of cultural identity while raising his kids in a predominantly white, upper-middle class neighborhood.  The show began its seventh season this fall.

Anderson is currently hosting his sixth season of the ABC game show “To Tell the Truth,” a popular primetime re-imagination of the beloved classic game show of the same name. He is also producing “grown-ish” for Freeform and “mixed-ish” for ABC, both “black-ish” spin offs. Anderson is also executive producing “Road Trippin’” with Rickey Thompson and Denzel Dion which airs on SnapChat.

Anderson appeared in the Emmy award winning pair of ABC live television specials, “Live in Front of a Studio Audience.” He first appeared as Henry Jefferson in “Live in Front of a Studio Audience : Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons’”, and then as himself in the second special, “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘All in the Family’ and ‘Good Times,” performing the opening song with Patti LaBelle. Anderson is currently developing the film FOOTBALL OR ME, a romantic comedy by AGC Studios, inspired by the Argentinian comedy “Futbol y Yo.”  

Anderson has become familiar to audiences through roles in such prominent films as the Michael Bay blockbuster TRANSFORMERS, Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning feature THE DEPARTED alongside a stellar cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson, and the all-star comedy THE BIG YEAR.  Anderson first gained attention as one of Jim Carrey’s sons in ME, MYSELF, AND IRENE and has since appeared in such films as the BARBERSHOP franchise, SCARY MOVIE 3, KANGAROO JACK, EXIT WOUNDS, CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE, TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME, MALIBU’S MOST WANTED, MY BABY’S DADDY, AGENT CODY BANKS 2, HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE, SMALL TOWN CRIME, THE STAR AND the Academy Award nominated FERDINAND. Most recently, Anderson starred in and was the executive producer of Netflix’s film BEATS, alongside Uzo Aduba and newcomer Khalil Everage.

On the small screen, Anderson brought his talent and humor to his own WB sitcom “All About the Andersons” which was loosely based on his life. Anderson also starred in Fox’s “K-Ville” opposite Cole Hauser and had a recurring role in the police-drama television series, “The Shield,” opposite Michael Chiklis and Glenn Close and in NBC’s “Guys with Kids”. He went on to star as Kevin Bernard in “Law & Order.” Anderson has hosted several culinary focused shows on the Food Network including “Eating America, with Anthony Anderson” and “Carnival Cravings with Anthony Anderson,” as well as served as a regular judge on “Iron Chef America." For the past two years, Anderson has hosted “Dear Mama: An Event to Honor Moms,” which is VH1's annual Mother's Day celebration to salute moms everywhere.  In addition, he’s been a frequent guest host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Anderson has received seven consecutive Emmy nominations for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series”, two Golden Globe nominations and three Critics Choice nominations for his popular role in “black-ish.” Additionally, in 2021, he won his seventh individual Image Award in the category of “Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series,” adding to his 16 total Image Award nominations in his career. He has been nominated for four Screen Actors Guild awards, BET Awards, and Teen Choice awards as well as one People’s Choice Awards and one Kids’ Choice Awards.  Anderson has also hosted the NAACP Image Awards for the past eight years. In 2020 he was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Active in his community as an advocate and philanthropist, Anderson will host his fourth annual Anthony Anderson Celebrity Golf Classic next year, benefiting the American Diabetes Association, Los Angeles Mission and Boys & Girls Club of America.  He also proudly serves on the GOOD+ Foundation’s Fatherhood Leadership Council and was inducted into the Class of 2017 Boys & Girls Club of America National Alumni Hall of Fame.  Anderson has Type 2 diabetes and is an advocate for diabetes awareness and a spokesperson for the “Getting Real About Diabetes” campaign. Anderson has always been a supporter of his hometown, Compton, California.  He has partnered with the City of Compton in holiday food giveaways in the city where they provided food to over 1,000 residents. Last year, he emceed the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Ground-Breaking Event to support local youths. In the battle against Covid-19, Anderson joined Mayor Garcetti at a South L.A. clinic to urge communities of color to seek COVID-19 testing.  He also co-hosted the “Saving Our Selves: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort” special, to support African Americans impacted by coronavirus. And in lieu of participating in the Veteran’s Day Parade due to Covid-19, he co-hosted “The 2020 National Memorial Day Parade: America Stands Tall” television special.

Born in 1970, Anderson pursued his acting career as he continued his education by attending Hollywood High School for the Performing Arts, where he earned first place in the NAACP's ACTSO Awards with his performance of the classic monologue from "The Great White Hope." That performance, along with his dedication to his craft, earned him an arts scholarship to Howard University.

Anderson currently lives in Los Angeles.