Clifton Oliver, a stage actor who appeared in The Lion King on Broadway, passed away yesterday following a lengthy illness, according to Deadline.
What’s Happening:
- Oliver's death was announced by family and friends on social media, with the following note from his sister, Roxy Hall, posted on Facebook:
- “My baby brother, Clifton Oliver, has had his final curtain call. It was peaceful. His partner Richard was singing to him the song Psalm 23 as he took his last breath this morning at 3:20 AM.”
- Hall indicated that Oliver had been hospitalized, and then in hospice care, for six weeks.
- Oliver was a native of Jacksonville, FL, where he attended Douglas Anderson School of the Arts before moving to New York in pursuit of an acting career.
- In 2010, he joined the Broadway replacement cast of In the Heights in the role of Benny (opposite Jordin Sparks), and would appear in replacement casts of Wicked (in the ensemble and as Fiyero) and The Lion King (Simba).
- He also played Simba in the national Lion King tour, appearing in the Los Angeles and Las Vegas stagings of the enduring Disney musical.
- Oliver also toured in Motown The Musical, portraying Motown founder Berry Gordy.
- Other regional and touring stage credits include Rent, Ragtime, Pal Joey, Kinky Boots and The Scottsboro Boys, among others.