Talk:LeVar Burton/Archive 1

Untitled
--sorry, don't know how to do this, but he also had a pretty large role in Steve McQueen's last movie, The Hunter from 1980 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.204.88.66 (talk) 21:20, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

Website
LeVar recently aquired ownership of levarburton.com from a well known celebrity domain cyber-squatter in exchange for a Star Trek "First Contact" crew jacket.
 * The "personal website" link for LeVar in the article is broken. I've tried the levarburton.com link as above, and it's not working either. Suggest pulling it from the article until something works? CKHamel (talk) 20:56, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Under this article, it says that Levar Burton has a son with Loretta Devine, but under her article, it says that she was married to Levar Green. Fix this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tatyrone (talk • contribs) 13:02, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

Unpaid debt
Is this entry really necessary? Is it relevant? Should every and any unflattering fact that some newsrag prints be considered material for wikipedia, just because it's there? Someone with an account please remove this (if I do it, it will be restored in a matter of hours, and the article be locked due to vandalism). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.113.121.163 (talk) 23:08, 27 June 2010 (UTC)


 * Yes this is common when they have controversy in their life. WQe do not whitewash the public record. It's one of the parts of wiki being nuetral and reporting things. Hell In A Bucket (talk) 23:18, 27 June 2010 (UTC)


 * Seems like a very minor point. Should we also list his traffic violations?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.179.234.146 (talk) 14:31, 19 March 2011 (UTC)

Reading Rainbow years
I had changed the description of when Burton was on Reading Rainbow to indicate an end in 2005 because at the Reading Rainbow page it states that "The show is no longer producing anymore new episodes after 2005. It will continue to air in reruns." I have again changed it to say "2005" but if this is in error feel free to change it back, but also edit the Reading Rainbow page to reflect that the show is still in production, if that is the case. --Qirex 02:11, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

Yom changed it back to (1983 –); I had to go digging to find the change, however, because it was marked as minor. In any event, it appears the show is still filming new episodes, as per the Reading Rainbow article, so I've left the change as-is. OldDaedalus 21:59, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
 * The current wording avoids entirely the issue of whether it's still ongoing, simply saying that it started in 1983. Given that the Awards list reflect that he's received awards for it as late as 2005, readers should be able to work out that it's a really long-running show.  That, to me, would seem the only point of trying to include the parenthetical years.  The RR website, btw, has a direct question of Levar in which a kid asks him how to enter the Reading Rainbow Contest, and he says "The contest will start early in January, 2007."  He also is asked how long has he been hosting the show and he says "I've been the host for 23 years.".  The use of the continuous perfect tense is instructive, I think, as to whether the show's still ongoing.—CzechOut 20:51, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

I think Reading Rainbow almost deserves its own section. Burton created AND executive produced this show for more than 20 years, and if you do a YouTube search, you'll see he sung the Reading Rainbow theme at Diggnation in early 2009 and people instantly recognized him and the theme song. FoamParty (talk) 05:14, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

African-American?
When did "African-American" become a catch-all for English-speaking western black people? He was born in Germany and currently lives in Nova Scotia. Does going to a college in California and being black make you an "African-American Actor"?


 * He never lived in Nova Scotia - and is amused at the suggestion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.56.196.135 (talk) 19:03, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Political correctness strikes again! Yeah, I think it's pretty ridiculous, too.  I would personally suggest German-American of African descent, or black actor born in Germany. M.Neko

He was never German-- he was a U.S. military child. To set the record straight about the false claims that Burton was German-- As a child, Burton was a U.S. military brat (not a derogatory term to those of us who grew up in the military). He was born at an American military hospital while his parents were stationed in Germany. Like all U.S. military kids-- Burton was always an American, regardless of the technicalities of birth. And by the way, kids who grew up military tend to be very exceptional communicators (an adaptive skill that goes with the mobile culture of military kids).

72.16.201.2 18:54, 21 November 2006 (UTC


 * I looked at the city he was born in, and it's noted for the US army base, which is technically American soil. Perhaps he's an 'army brat' and was born on the base, in which case, he WOULD be African-American as the term is understood. (Although I do agree with you about it being inappropriate as a catch-all term.)--Stella luna 19:20, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

He and his parents are American so it isn't to do with "political correctness" he was only born in Germany because his father was posted there at the time Doc Meroe 23:25, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Military Brats, there are millions of us: That's right he was born at a U.S. military hospital. He was the child of an American military family that was stationed in Germany at the time. You know a few million American military kids were born and/or lived overseas attached to U.S. military bases while their families served their country, but somehow there are a lot of Americans who seem to be oblivious to this.


 * More to the point. Burton's parents are descendants of Africans who were enslaved in America. Those descendants were African-Americans, and he was born to them on a military installation, which makes him culturally American and genetically African which his recent DNA test traced him to the Hausa of Nigeria. There is nothing "politically correct" about this. It is history and science, period.74.229.102.208 (talk) 01:01, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

65.102.255.230 21:40, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

65.102.255.230 21:38, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Source: Military Family Circumstances
Levar Burton is listed as a U.S. military brat (child of a military family) under the "Famous Brats Section" of the Wikipedia "Military Brats subculture" article==

This is a slice of American experience that often gets overlooked. It was a part of Burton's childhood experience.

67.42.243.184 23:11, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Photographs
Though many know of LeVar primarily through his work on TNG, it was most definitely not his only role. As such, I personally do not see why the only photograph of him in the article is an in-character shot of him as Geordi, with a VISOR (which itself is not really the best style of image available, as the VISOR tends to obscur facial features). Aren't there any other fair/free use images of him somewhere that can be appended? Ourai т с 06:38, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

65.102.255.230 10:44, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Rating
This page needs some fairly heavy editing. It seems to have been written by people with a Star Trek bias. I'm not sure, precisely, how "notable" it is to list every single episode of Star Trek that he directed. The only notable thing, and it's not that notable, is that he's directed more episodes than any other ex-Star Trek actor. Say that and be done with it.

Reading this article as it was when I first encountered it, I would have left with the impression that he is mostly notable for his Star Trek experience—yet 100% of his critical acclaim comes from other work. I've begun a list of nominations and awards he's received over his career, just to balance things a little bit, but much more work needs to be done here to bring the article away from its biases, much less to actually raise it up to "B level".

I would heartily concur with Ourai, above, who suggests that the picture is massively inappropriate as the sole representation of Burton in a general biography article.CzechOut 08:28, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Not wishing to "criticize and run", I've taken a stab at trying to transform the introductory text of the site into something that at least gives a fuller accounting of his professional credentials. Hope no one minds.  I haven't removed the ST directorial credits, but I really think either a) they should go or b) everything else he's done should receive an episode-by-episode breakdown as well.  For this reason, I'm challenging the neutrality of that section of the article.—CzechOut 20:57, 30 September 2006 (UTC)


 * I do wish to "criticize and run." This article is poorly written and lazily edited, particularly in comparison to the other articles about Star Trek cast members. Any particular reason...? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.239.133.107 (talk) 07:40, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Other Appearances- Voice

 * He also did the voice over for some Intel / Pentium commercials. An interesting commnetary on how he would treat problems on the Enterprise's computers versus what we have to put up with.


 * Thanks whoever put in the note about "little fluffy clouds" because I love that song and would never have realized it's him Rebent

Death Rumors
Any truth to the rumor on AutoAdmit's law discussion board that Burton died in a car crash on June 18th, 2007? http://www.xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=646733&mc=3&forum_id=2 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.92.121.84 (talk) 19:19, 18 June 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't know about that; but, didn't LeVar Burton also appear on some of the "Christy" episodes with Kellie Martin?  I may be mixed up on this, but someone knows . .  It was a mistake for them to cover up LeVar's beautiful eyes with that headband on "Star Trek" I think . . .  He was so good in "Roots" and is also very good in the reading program now.  He seems like such a nice guy doing the jobs he enjoys at this juncture.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.7.77.165 (talk) 22:32, 4 September 2007 (UTC)


 * If and when (the geek in me wants to believe he is immortal) he dies it will most likely be immediately verifiable through a quick news search. It's not just his long and established career with Star Trek, it's also because of his work with Reading Rainbow the last two decades that will draw a fair bit of media attention.  Gh5046 05:48, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Geordi in Star Trek XI?
Theres a statement in the Next generation section that says "He is slated to play the role of Geordi in JJ Abrams' Star Trek XI." that I'm pretty sure is erroneous. The reference listed is to a youtube video tribute to Burton, and since Star Trek XI has been confirmed to be about the characters from TOS, I doubt that Burton is involved in any way with the new Trek film. Correct me if I'm wrong and there's some reliable source that I haven't seen yet... Toad of Steel (talk) 18:00, 28 November 2007 (UTC)


 * I removed that information. A fan made video of the theme song to Reading Rainbow is not a reliable source. Gh5046 (talk) 23:40, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

The Midnight Hour
I'm not sure if it usable or notable, but he had a starring role in the movie The Midnight Hour.--Rockfang (talk) 13:13, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

Catholic?
I see at the bottom of the page that he is linked as a Catholic. I have always respected this man from the R R Show and I always felt he was the best actor on S T. If it is true that he is Catholic then I am even happier but I would like to see more about it on the page. Surely this is important. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.127.251.137 (talk) 03:12, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

He attended St. Pius X in Galt, CA. Freshman year it was still a seminary but converted to college prep in 1975 in an effort to increase enrollment. Not being financially viable, it was later sold to the state of CA and is now a training facility for prison guards. He is currently a non Catholic.

Mediatech1 (talk) 01:01, 17 August 2019 (UTC)

He attended St. Pius X in Galt, CA. Freshman year it was still a seminary but converted to college prep in 1975 in an effort to increase enrollment. Not being financially viable, it was later sold to the state of CA and is now a training facility for prison guards. He is currently a non Catholic.

Mediatech1 (talk) 01:02, 17 August 2019 (UTC)

Request from LeVar himself
I see it seems the page has been semiprotected already due to action related to this request, but LeVar did request that information regarding the Science of Peace be added to his page. http://twitter.com/levarburton/status/1140123181 --Sean (talk) 21:35, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

This has already been added into the page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jroesslein (talk • contribs) 22:11, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Blogs as sources ????
the following discussion is being moved here from user talk pages

Please show me where blogs are "accaptable as reliable sources". The referall in WP:RS leads to WP:SPS which states: "Self-published work is acceptable to use in some circumstances, with limitations. For example, material may sometimes be cited which is self-published by an established expert on the topic of the article, whose work in the relevant field has previously been published by reliable third-party publications. However, caution should be exercised when using such sources: if the information in question is really worth reporting, someone else is likely to have done so. For example, a reliable self-published source on a given subject is likely to have been cited on that subject as authoritative by a reliable source." - the LeVar Burton material does not meet this criteria at all. Please revert yourself. Thanks! -- The Red Pen of Doom  01:23, 28 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I have read and understand the policy, and no where does WP:RS ban blogs outright. They are acceptable as reliable sources in the right contexts. When you're talking about extremely popular industry events that primarily are covered through established technology blogs, then that is such a context. Verification of Burton's new-found proclivity for tech cultural events organized and broadcasted online should be best accomplished with relevant sources, i.e. blogs. The Washington Post isn't going to mention this kind of thing, it's not in their scope. Steven Walling (talk) 01:33, 28 January 2009 (UTC)
 * The policy on self published sources seems to suggest caution when using blogs. It also mentioned that if the event is notable, other independent sources will probably have covered it already. Alastairward (talk) 10:39, 28 January 2009 (UTC)
 * While I agree with you that there are certain cases where we can use blogs/self published sources, those occasions would be when the particular blog in question has been identified as a source that has an established track record of reliability and fact checking. Do you have a link to somewhere within wikipedia (or to a standard Reliable Source) that identifies this blog as one that has such a reputation? (Because I disagree with what I interpret as the overall message of your response - that if a traditional relaible source does not exist for a subject that we can use other sources regardless of whether or not they have a reputation for reliability and fact checking). -- The Red Pen of Doom  19:33, 28 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Until there is shown a consensus that these particular blogs do indeed meet our standards as reliable sources, I have removed the content. WP:BURDEN. -- The Red Pen of Doom  00:50, 31 January 2009 (UTC)

Dude?
I've noticed that "Reading Rainbow dude" is a redirect to LeVar Burton. As a relatively inactive editor I'm far from familiar with all the rules and procedures that apply to this kind of thing, but I can't help but suspect that's not meant to be there. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Plasma (talk • contribs) 23:32, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

Personal Life
Levar was not illiterate, he suffered from severe dyslexia; but in fact he was a great reader, particularly of science fiction. He has stated this in numerous interviews, most recently on William Shatners "Raw Nerve". — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cbyrneiv (talk • contribs) 10:17, 21 March 2011 (UTC)


 * LeVar Burton has said on reddit "I'd like to set the record straight. Although it makes for a good story, I am not nor have I ever been dyslexic." - http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/nygl6/iama_request_levar_burton/c3czqne The reddit account is verified as his on his official twitter account here - https://twitter.com/#!/levarburton/status/85592342379249664 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.70.225.183 (talk) 21:37, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

other television appearances
It should be noted that Burton has also appeared on the show "The Big Bang Theory" — Preceding unsigned comment added by Steph6n (talk • contribs) 03:09, 11 October 2012 (UTC)

Best Known For.....
The article currently states 'Burton is best known for portraying the young Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries Roots.

According to who? I certainly 'best know' him for his appearances in Star Trek.

The articles lists155 appearances on Reading Rainbow & 178 Appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation, perhaps this would qualify as more well know?

Any thoughts on this before I edit the wording? Lukeyboyuk (talk) 03:28, 22 January 2013 (UTC)


 * I dislike seeing the phrase "best known for" in any biographical article unless it is accompanied by a footnote to some poll or other source verifying what the person is best known for. Primogen (talk) 19:33, 6 February 2013 (UTC)


 * The age brackets of "for those older/younger than...." are unnecessary and inaccurate. I'm 33 and watched Next Generation while it first aired when I was in high school, he's hardly "best known" to my generation ("younger than 35") for Reading Rainbow. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.176.126.116 (talk) 17:49, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

But I think we can all agree he is not best known as a director, which is what the current revision suggests. So I will revert to the Roots/Star Trek/Reading Rainbow version. TYLER (talk) 03:20, 4 July 2014 (UTC)

Not best section - but instead of a new section - Some know him for being the voice of "Intel Inside" commercials for Intel. Wfoj3 (talk) 21:11, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

Best known as in Roots had insane viewership. When TV miniseries are taken into the Nielsen tallies, ABC's Roots posted the second most watched series finale in U.S. history, watched on 30 January 1977, by 100 million viewers (51.1% of American households and more than 71% of the total U.S. television viewers that year), but attracted the largest viewership for any type of primetime television series in U.S. history – a record currently standing at between 130 million and 140 million. Mediatech1 (talk) 01:11, 17 August 2019 (UTC)

net worth?
Can anyone find a reliable source on his net worth? Where does he get his income? 74.69.9.224 (talk) 22:07, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

The New Spock
This article states: "The Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock"" This makes little sense - even someone who only casually watches TOS and TNG episodes would soon observe that Data bears far more similarity to Spock. Both provide a dispassionate outsider's view of the human-dominated ships on which they serve - indeed the Wiki article on Data draws this same conclusion referencing some other published source. Our hypothetical viewer would more likely compare Burton's role as chief engineer to the chief engineer aboard the TOS Enterprise - their personalities are somewhat different, but still the two characters are far more similar than the comparison made in this article. A true encyclopedia would draw on multiple sources to confirm facts rather than depend on just one as wiki is wont to do. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.146.152.8 (talk) 21:16, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

I added a comment Burton gave in a recent interview that being called "The New Spock" was dumb. Personally, I think both should be deleted as they aren't all that relevant, but at least there is context now. DFS (talk) 21:51, 13 June 2019 (UTC)

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German-American?
I seriously doubt he self-identifies as German-American as he was just born on German soil because his American parents were serving/living at a American Army base there. One normally is considered German-American if of German descent who immigrated to the U.S. from Germnay or born in the U.S. of immigrant parents from Germany. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.112.44.93 (talk) 07:41, 22 October 2020 (UTC)
 * This is reasonable. Removed from lede.  Chaheel Riens (talk) 10:24, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

Alma Maters
The summary states Drexel university as his Alma Mater but the article does not mention Drexel.

Name
According to his interview at, his name on his birth certificate was Levardis Robert Burton, Jr. He desperately wanted to get rid of the "Junior", so when he went through Confirmation as a Catholic, he got rid of the Junior and added Martyn. So he became Levardis Robert Martyn Burton. Confirmation is generally around 12 years old, although he doesn't mention an age. I'll leave this note here for a while and, lacking objections, I'll fix the page. Donpayette (talk) 02:48, 7 April 2021 (UTC)

Jeopardy Host?
Someone should add a bit about the petition for LeVar Burton to become the new host of Jeopardy! https://nypost.com/2021/04/06/fans-campaign-for-levar-burton-to-host-jeopardy/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:980:C004:5410:B93E:FF35:B066:2C8B (talk) 13:04, 8 April 2021 (UTC)

Hal B. Burton
An anonymous editor added a see also link the Hal B. Burton. Are these subjects related? How so? User:S0091 thoughts? FloridaArmy (talk) 16:10, 10 January 2024 (UTC)


 * @FloridaArmy no clue. S0091 (talk) 17:50, 10 January 2024 (UTC)