William Henry Duke, simply known as Bill Duke, is an American film and television director, actor, and film producer. How rich is Bill Duke? The sources state that Bill Duke’s net worth is estimated to be $2 million. The majority of Bill Duke’s net worth and his annual salary comes from his career in the entertainment industry. Bill Duke was born in 1943 in Poughkeepsie, New York, and studied drama and creative writing at the Duchess Community College and even landed his first acting role at Dutchess in a performance titled “Emperor Jones” where he portrayed the main character Eugene.
Bill Duke Net Worth $2 Million
When Duke graduated from Dutchess College, he went on to study at the Boston University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in drama. Duke’s studies continued with Tisch School of Arts in New York, as well as a private film school AFI Conservatory, after which he proceeded to appear on Broadway. Duke’s first Broadway appearance occurred in 1971 in a musical created by Melvin Van Peebles titled “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death”. Around the same time, Bill Duke contributed to his net worth by directing several television series, such as “Miami Vice” with Don Johnson and Olivia Brown, and “Hill Street Blues” that was named the All-Time Best Cop Show by TV Guide in 1993. Bill Duke’s ventures with the directing resulted in theatrical films including “Deep Cover” with Jeff Goldblum, “The Cemetery Club” starring Olympia Dukakis and Danny Aiello, “The Killing Floor”, as well as “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” with Whoopi Goldberg.
Bill Duke has expanded his talents into acting and starred in several movies, the most notable of which are a comedy film “Car Wash” where he co-starred with George Carlin, “American Gigolo” with Richard Gere, “Exit Wounds” with a rapper DMX and Steven Segal, and Allen and Albert Hughes’ directorial debut “Menace II Society” with Jada Pinkett. He also co-starred with Mel Gibson in “Bird on a Wire” and “Payback”. Even though Bill Duke is mostly known for his roles in the movies of 1980s and 1990s, some of his most recent roles include Jim Sheridan’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”, which is a drama film starring 50 Cent, and “X-Men: The Last Stand” with Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and others. A famous actor and a film director with an estimated net worth of $2 million, Bill Duke actively supports various charitable causes.
In 2008, Duke established a non-profit organization titled “Duke Media Foundation” that provides media training for high school children. In addition, the organization supports fundraising for such causes as HIV and AIDS education, financial literacy, as well as nutritional education. Bill Duke is the CEO of “Duke Media Foundation” and takes part on the Board of Directors of Educating Young Minds, which is an after school program focused on helping the inner city youth with their schoolwork. Bill Duke is currently married to Shelia Moses, a writer, who has been nominated for the National Book Award, as well as the NCAAP Image Award.
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (1987),
Movies
Predator, Commando, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, Hoodlum, Deep Cover, Dark Girls, Get Rich or Die Tryin', X-Men: The Last Stand, Not Easily Broken, A Rage in Harlem, National Security, Menace II Society, American Gigolo, Payback, Bird on a Wire, Exit Wounds, Action Jackson, The Cemetery Club, Re...
TV Shows
Karen Sisco, Palmerstown, U.S.A.
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Often cast as law enforcement officers: "Red Dragon" (2002), "Exit Wounds" (2001), "Action Jackson" (1988).
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There are very few things that you do as an actor that are not part of you on some level. I've been able to get a certain freedom, and since I'm an introverted person, it's a way to act out to a certain extent. The profession allows me to be many different kind s of things that I think I don't have the personal courage to be in my personal life.
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[om being typecast as police officers] Once I figured Hollywood might typecast me as the police officer, I turned to directing. That way, I could wait until an interesting project came along.
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I've studied different terms of acting, different kinds. However, I could not say that I subscribe to any particular kind of acting. I utilize what I know from real life to create my characters. Acting for me is an opportunity to really live out a number of different lives. To be able to portray those different aspects of yourself sets you free in a lot of ways.
Appeared in two films opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger: first as a villain in Commando (1985) and second as one of Schwarzenegger's jungle commandos in Predator (1987).
$2 Million
