RootsActor Dorian Harewood’s Daughter Lost Her Home in the L.A. Fires. Now He’s Singing to Help Rebuild (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Dorian Harewood in August 2024.Photo:Bruce Glikas/Getty

Bruce Glikas/Getty

“It literally is a war zone,” says Harewood, 74, from Los Angeles. “I have never in my life been this close to the reality of a natural disaster as I am now.”

Dorian Harewood in 1984’s ‘The Jesse Owens Story’.Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection

Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection

“My daughter’s house burned down,” he continues. “My son’s mother-in-law’s house burned down. They both live in Altadena. Our house, even though it wasn’t destroyed, was so close to the burn area that we also had to evacuate. My wife and I are extremely glad that I did get back from New York before it happened, so at least I was with the family. We’re extremely grateful for the fact that no one was hurt. It’s just everything’s gone, literally, gone.”

“What I’m fighting, basically, right now is this kind of surreal existence. I have to concentrate and not get into an almost catatonic state where I don’t know what to do because there’s so much that needs to be done. All of the adjustments, every day, every minute — it hasn’t been normal, and I don’t know when it will be normal.”

From left: Matthew Modine, Dorian Harewood and Adam Baldwin in 1987’s ‘Full Metal Jacket’.Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

The decimation that several generations of Altadena residents have been facing is particularly heartbreaking, given the area’s significance for Black families. “Altadena has a very rich Black history, a legacy of resilience and culture,” says Harewood. “It’s California’sfirst Black middle-class community. From the early 1900s, Black families made Altadena their home, carving out a space to build their families and thrive. They were escaping the overt racism in the South.”

“This was the place where Black people could dream,” he adds. “It was the first city in California to ban redlining. It opened up home ownership to Black families who’d previously been locked out of the American dream. It allowed people to build wealth and establish a solid foundation for their families.”

Dorian Harewood and Irene Cara in 1979’s ‘Roots: The Next Generations’.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

“Music is a powerful medium, and it’s a healing medium,” says Harewood, whose Tony-nominated role inThe Notebook: The Musicalthis past season reactivated his interest in recording and live appearances. “It kickstarted my interest in and focus on my music career. I like acting, but I love music. Music is my first love. Fortunately, the voice is a muscle, and I was able to get my muscle back into shape.”

Dorian Harewood and Maryann Plunkett in ‘The Notebook: The Musical’.Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

The Brill Building is known for launching the careers of songwriting teams like Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, plus dynamos likeNeil Diamond,Paul Simonand Neil Sedaka. It crystallized a period of classic pop during the late ’50s and early ’60s where successful songwriters, publishers and record companies operated out of one building at Broadway and 49th Street in midtown Manhattan.

Gladys Knight and Dorian Harewood in the play ‘Madame Lily’ in 1992.Raymond Boyd/Getty

Raymond Boyd/Getty

Harewood worked with David onBrainchild, a 1974 musical the lyricist wrote with composer Michel Legrand. “It was just beautiful music,” he says. “There’s one song that I’ll be doing, not in this show, but in one of my shows, called ‘Let Me Be Your Mirror.’ It was written for my character. It was the big song of the show. The audience loved it. It’s a gorgeous song. In fact, Lena Horne had heard me do it, and she put it on one of her albums [1975’sLena & Michel]. She liked it so much, and she even mentioned my name.”

Harewood could readily stage a solo show dedicated to another source of iconic hits, Motown Records. Beyond the influence that Motown artists likeStevie Wonderhave had on his career, Harewood opened for the Four Tops during their 1989 European tour and in 1992 starred oppositeGladys Knightin the musicalMadame Lillyat the Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas.

“She really liked my singing and acting,” he recalls. “She was going to be doing a date at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. This was while we were doing the musical. At the time, the hit song was ‘Beauty and Beast,’ withCeline Dionand Peabo Bryson. She asked me if I wanted to sing it with her. I said, ‘Are you kidding? Yes!’ "

Bette Davis and Dorian Harewood in rehearsal for ‘Miss Moffat’ in 1974.Everett Collection

Everett Collection

Along with his New York solo debut, 2025 marks a special anniversary for Harewood. It’s been 50 years since he made his first film, the 1975 television movieFoster & Laurie, based on the murder of NYPD officers Gregory Philip Foster and Rocco W. Laurie. The role spawned Harewood’s prolific career on screen, most notably as Simon Haley in the 1979 miniseriesRoots: The Next Generations, and as a voice-over artist.

“The show opened and closed the same night,” Harewood says with a chuckle. “Producers forFoster & Lauriehad been in New York looking for talent, and they saw me in one of the previews ofDon’t Call Back. They hired me and pulled me out to California to do my first film. Bette tutored me through the entire process. We’d talk all the time, back and forth, from Los Angeles to her place in New England, but she guided me through that very first project. She said, ‘Trust your instincts, be on time, know your lines, hit your marks. Keep your reality — just bring it down for the camera.’ "

While Harewood was in Los Angeles filmingFoster & Laurie, he won the Theatre World Award for his performance inDon’t Call Back. “Bette actually picked up the award for me,” he says. “The Theatre World Awards still think about that! One of the highlights of their whole existence was Bette Davis coming to pick up an award for Dorian Harewood, some unknown kid.”

Dorian Harewood and his wife Nancy Harewood in October 2024.Slaven Vlasic/Getty

Slaven Vlasic/Getty

Throughout all his professional achievements, including his renaissance onstage last year inThe Notebook, Harewood’s family has always been the main priority in his life, especially his marriage to fellow actress Nancy Harewood, with whom he celebrated his 46th wedding anniversary on Valentine’s Day.

“The main reason that it’s worked as long as it has is because of our genuine love for each other, number one, and our being able to stay committed to our relationship,” says Harewood, who shares two children with Nancy. “It hasn’t been smooth sailing. I’ve made mistakes. I wouldn’t say she’s made mistakes. We’ve had rough parts, and we’ve gotten past the rough parts. That has made us stronger and more committed to each other.

“It really gets down to commitment to what I consider an unnatural state, which is a monogamous relationship. It takes discipline to do it. The easiest thing is to say we’ll just do whatever we want, whenever we want, but that also leads to problems. There’s so much involved in a monogamous relationship. There’s no one-size-fits-all or one rule. I just look around and we’ve been together for 46 years — actually 51 years if you count the five years we were together before we got married.”

The couple toasted a special part of their 50-year history in 2024 when Harewood was honored with a portrait at Sardi’s, the venerable restaurant that’s doubled as a Broadway institution for more than 100 years. “We met right next door at the St. James Theatre inTwo Gentlemen of Verona,” recalls Harewood about his first Broadway musical. During the show’s run, the couple often dined at Sardi’s. “It was a full circle kind of thing. It was just wonderful. She loved that time, and so did I.”

As he continues to prepare for his bow at 54 Below, Harewood remains dedicated to helping his family manage and recover from the aftermath of the wildfires. “I’ve been compartmentalizing my professional life with the realties of my personal life and trying to make sure I get everything done for this show,” he says. “At the same time, there’s no question as to what the priority is right now and that’s to make sure that my daughter and her family, my wife, and my son and his family are gonna be okay. We just put one foot in front of the other and we go ahead.”

source: people.com