Duane Jones est un acteur américain né le 2 février 1936 à New York et mort le 22 juillet 1988 à Mineola.

Son rôle le plus célèbre reste celui de Ben dans le film culte La Nuit des morts-vivants. Il a ensuite joué le rôle principal de Ganja & Hess, un blaxploitation de vampire arty, considéré comme un des dix meilleurs films américains de la décennie par le Festival de Cannes 1973, puis a joué dans des films d'horreur de moindre importance.

Il meurt le 22 juillet 1988 des suites d'un arrêt cardio-circulatoire.

Biographie

Jones was born on February 2, 1937. He had a sister, Marva (later Marva Brooks). A graduate of the Sorbonne, he studied acting in New York City.



His role in 1968 movie Night of the Living Dead marked the first time an African-American actor was cast as the star of a horror film. At the time, casting a black man as the hero of a film where all the other characters were white was potentially controversial. While some saw the casting as significant, the director of the film states "Jones simply gave the best audition." He was executive director of the Black Theater Alliance, a federation of theater companies, from 1976-81.

He taught acting styles at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. As executive director of the Richard Allen Center for Culture and Art (RACCA), he promoted African-American theater. After leaving the American Academy of Dramatic Arts he taught a select group of students privately in Manhattan, by invitation only. His hand-selected students were of diverse ethnic backgrounds.