Ken Ard

Ken Ard

Born: June 30, 1960
in Oakland, California, USA
Ken Ard is an American dancer, choreographer, actor and singer.

Born in Oakland, California in 1960, he grew up in a home visited by a large number of jazz greats. Joe Williams was a personal friend of his father, while bassist Paul Chambers his uncle, Carmen McRae a close friend of his aunt, and Ard would assist Nina Simone with her performances when she would appear in Oakland.

His mother exposed him to jazz through frequent visits to musical in San Francisco and Oakland. Ard also proved to be an especially good gymnast, winning the California youth gymnastics championship at 16.

At the age of 17, dancing at the Oakland and San Francisco Ballet, he was approached by Jon Hendricks of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross for a lead role in his show, Evolution of the Blues, to be presented in the historical Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco.

Ard was asked to choreograph for shows in Hawaii. When Alvin Ailey came to Hawaii, he asked Ard to dance in his American Dance Theater. But after a few months, Ard missed the dynamic of the combination of song and dance, and auditioned for a Broadway show for which he was selected, Cats (musical), Starlight Express, Song and Dance, Jelly's Last Jam and Smokey Joe's Cafe.

As an actor Ken played the role of Wilbur as one of the murdered husbands in the Film Chicago (2002 film), with Anthony Quinn the European cultfilm Seven Servants created, written and directed by Daryush Shokof (1996) and many American TV series and commercials.

With Holland as his base Ken has collaborated with many of Europe's notable jazz artists. The beginning of 2009 marked the release of "Ballads, Blues & Cocktails", Ken's first jazz CD, and he is performing in the 2009/2010 season of Holland's renowned Jazz Impuls Theater concert series with the Goodman/Hampton sextet 4BEAT6. Ken has performed for many dignitaries, the most recent being the American ambassador to Moldova in the capital, Chisinau. Ken Ard returned to the US in 2014, and resides back in New York City, teaching at Alvin Ailey Ballet company, NYC.

Movies for Ken Ard...

Title: New Amsterdam
Character: Mason
Released: September 25, 2018
Type: TV
The new medical director breaks the rules to heal the system at America's oldest public hospital. Max Goodwin sets out to tear up the bureaucracy and provide exceptional care, but the doctors and staff are not so sure he can succeed. They've heard this before. Not taking "no" for an answer, Dr. Goodwin's instinctive response to problems large and small is four simple words: "How can I help?" He has to disrupt the status quo and prove he'll stop at nothing to breathe new life into this underfunded and underappreciated hospital, returning it to the glory that put it on the map.
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Broadway's Lost Treasures II
Title: Broadway's Lost Treasures II
Character: Foot-in-Yo-Ass Sam (segment "Jelly's Last Jam")
Released: October 26, 2004
Type: Movie
The annual Tony Award broadcast provides the only filmed record of Broadway's best for audiences to experience as if they were front-row-center on opening night. This second compilation of great musical moments from the Tonys features another dazzling array of stars and performances. Hosts Lauren Bacall, Bebe Neuwirth, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Jerry Orbach introduce these one-of-a-kind performances and share their personal Broadway and Tony memories.
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Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller
Title: Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller
Character: Performer
Released: December 31, 2002
Type: Movie
Smokey Joe's Cafe, Broadway's longest-running musical revue, highlights the best songs by the legendary song-writing duo, Leiber and Stoller. Included numbers are "Neighborhood", "Fools Fall In Love", "Yakety Yak", "Charlie Brown", "Jailhouse Rock", "Hound Dog", "Love Potion #9" and "Stand By Me".
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Chicago
Title: Chicago
Character: Wilbur
Released: December 10, 2002
Type: Movie
Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.