While a student at New York's High School of Art and Design, Orman made his theatrical debut in the 1962 topical revue "If We Grow Up.
" He was an early member of the Free Southern Theater for two years in the mid-1960s and a founding member of Harlem, New York's New Lafayette Theatre, where he acted in and directed numerous plays.
His many other stage appearances have included roles in "Julius Caesar" and "Coriolanus" at Joseph Papp's Public Theater, the Broadway production of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fences", and Matt Robison's one-man play "The Confessions of Stepin Fetchit" at the American Place Theatre.
Orman is the recipient of an Audelco Theatre Award and a five-time nominee.
He made his feature film debut in the title role of Universal Studios' 1974 drama, Willie Dynamite and has also appeared in such films as F/X, Striking Distance, New Jersey Drive, Follow That Bird, Twilight's Last Gleaming,The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, and "Jeremy Fink And The Meaning of Life".
His television credits include work on such shows as All My Children, Kojak, Sanford and Son, Cosby, Sex and the City, The Wire, andLaw & Order.
He most recently appeared on episode 5 of the Garry Trudeau/Amazon streaming production Alpha House.
In June 2006, Orman's memoir Sesame Street Dad: Evolution of An Actor was released.
In September 2007, his children's book Ricky and Mobo was released.
On October 8, 2008, he became the Chief Storyteller of AudibleKids.
com (a service of Audible.
com), a website for parents, teachers, and children to connect with one another and download and listen to audiobooks oniPods, MP3 players, and computers.
In his role as Chief Storyteller, Orman narrates audiobooks and communicates with children, parents and teachers online and at community, literacy and library events, lectures and conferences, and via other media to encourage the use of audiobooks to help build an interest in reading and develop literacy skills.
He commented on being Chief Storyteller on October 8, 2008: “When Sesame Streetbegan, television was a new and even controversial medium.
But we showed how that technology, if used correctly, could become a powerful learning tool.
.
.
I see the same kind of opportunity emerging today as parents and educators increasingly view iPods with skepticism.
With AudibleKids.
com, I believe we can help turn these players into magnificent storytellers, tools for learning, and a way to promote a lifelong love of stories and language.
”
His new role was announced at a community event at The Educational Alliance Boys & Girls Club in New York City, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office commended Orman’s life work and willingness to embrace new technology to help encourage children to read books, by naming October 8, 2008 AudibleKids Day in New York City.
Orman is a resident of New Jersey.
He has four children, Rasheda, Solana, Miles, and Cheyenne.
His son, Miles Orman, was on Sesame Street playing Gordon and Susan's adopted son Miles Robinson from the mid-1980s into the early 1990s.
Featuring unprecedented access to Jim Henson's personal archives, filmmaker Ron Howard brings us a fascinating and insightful look at a complex man whose boundless imagination inspired the world.
A look at the Black revolution in 1970s cinema, from genre films to social realism, from the making of new superstars to the craft of rising auteurs.
Take a stroll down Sesame Street and witness the birth of the most influential children's show in television history. From the iconic furry characters to the classic songs you know by heart, learn how a gang of visionary creators changed the world.
After his sudden firing, a popular radio DJ moves in with his aunt, bringing along his four spoiled children, and a plan to return to the airwaves.
C is for Celebrate! Join host Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the residents of Sesame Street - human and monsters alike - to celebrate 50 years of learning, laughter, and love. Familiar felt faces like Roosevelt Franklin, Don Music, Sherlock Hemlock, and the Amazing Mumford join celebrity guests Norah Jones, Nile Rodgers, Sterling K. Brown, Meghan Trainor, Patti LaBelle, and Elvis Costello in this heartwarming special.
A documentary about Caroll Spinney who has been Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since 1969. At 78-years-old, he has no intention of stopping.
Two star basketball players, Donnell, a black kid from the inner city high school, and Jason, a white kid from the affluent suburbs, are sentenced to 30 days of labour in each other's communities after a brawl between their two teams. When they return to their home turf, both see their new attitudes put to the test.
Street pimps, all of them African-American, discuss their lives and work: getting started, being flamboyant, pimping in various U.S. cities, bringing a woman into their group, taking a woman from another pimp, and the rules and regulations of pimping. The men are clear: it's about money.
Elmo loves his fuzzy, well-worn blue blanket more than anything in the whole world. However, when Elmo's blanket gets sucked through a colorful, swirling tunnel into Grouchland, the yuckiest place on earth, Elmo goes on an adventure to Grouchland to retrieve his prized possession.
Can there be such a thing as too much Christmas? Find out... when a magical Christmas wish is granted and Elmo gets to see what the world would be like if every day were Christmas! You'll enjoy lots of songs and holiday cheer with Elmo and his new friend Lightning, the reindeer, and discover for yourself why Christmas is best kept to one day a year!
Jason and Midget are two young, black teenagers living in Newark, New Jersey, the unofficial car theft capital of the world. Their favourite pastime is that of everybody in their neighbourhood: stealing cars and joyriding. The trouble starts when they steal a police car and the cops launch a violent offensive that involves beating and even shooting suspects.
Sesame Street All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! was a 1994 TV special that aired on ABC to celebrate Sesame Street's 25th anniversary. It was originally broadcast on May 18, 1994. The show featured Joe Pesci (as Ronald Grump), Corbin Bernsen (as real estate attorney, Arnie), Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman (as a Worm TV hosts), John Goodman (as Tough Guy Helpline operator), Charles Grodin (as Chaz), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (as reporter Kathie Lee Kathie), Rosie O'Donnell (as the Good Hope Fairy), Susan Sarandon (as Bitsy), Barbara Walters (reporting for 25/25), and Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford (as themselves).
Coming from a police family, Tom Hardy ends up fighting his uncle after the murder of his father. Tom believes the killer is another cop, and goes on the record with his allegations. Demoted to water-way duty Tom, along with new partner Jo Christman, navigate the three rivers looking for clues and discovering bodies. This time the victims are women Tom knows, he must find the killer to prove his innocence.
A movies special effects man is hired by a government agency to help stage the assassination of a well known gangster. When the agency double cross him, he uses his special effects to trap the gangster and the corrupt agents.
Big Bird is sent to live far from Sesame Street by a pesky social worker, who thinks it would be better for him to live with other birds. Unhappy, Big Bird runs away from his foster home, prompting the rest of the Sesame Street gang to go on a cross-country journey to find him.
As the Metropolitan Museum of Art closes, Big Bird decides to leave his Sesame Street friends behind in search of Snuffy. Once locked inside for the night, educational hilarity ensues as Big Bird and Snuffy team up to help a small Egyptian boy solve a riddle - as the rest of the cast searches for their big, yellow friend.
Willie Dynamite is a pimp who operates in New York City. Willie was a big success as a pimp, but now, just as fast as he rose to the top, he has hit bottom. A former prostitute who has become a social worker tries to get Willie to clean up his life while it is still possible.