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Ben Vereen

Ben Vereen, American actor, singer, and dancer

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Born
October 10, 1946
Age in 2026
80
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1946

About Ben Vereen

Benjamin Augustus Vereen is an American actor, dancer, and singer. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals Jesus Christ Superstar, for which he received a Tony Award nomination, and Pippin, for which he won the 1973 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Vereen was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as Judas Iscariot in Jesus Christ Superstar in 1972 and won a Tony for his appearance in Pippin in 1973. Vereen has also starred in numerous television programs, and is well known for the role of 'Chicken' George Moore in Alex Haley's landmark TV miniseries Roots, for which he received an Emmy nomination in 1977. In 1976, Vereen appeared as a guest star on the first season of The Muppet Show, singing two songs. He discovered he was adopted when he applied for a passport at age 25.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Ben Vereen timeline

  1. Vereen was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as Judas Iscariot in Jesus Christ Superstar in 1972 and won a Tony for his appearance in Pippin in 1973.
  2. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals Jesus Christ Superstar, for which he received a Tony Award nomination, and Pippin, for which he won the 1973 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
  3. In 1976, Vereen appeared as a guest star on the first season of The Muppet Show, singing two songs.
  4. Vereen has also starred in numerous television programs, and is well known for the role of 'Chicken' George Moore in Alex Haley's landmark TV miniseries Roots, for which he received an Emmy nomination in 1977.

The world when Ben Vereen was born

Ben Vereen was born in 1946. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1946

  • #1 song"The Christmas Song" – Nat King Cole
  • Top movieThe Best Years of Our Lives
  • Best-selling bookThe King's General – Daphne du Maurier

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst NBA (BAA) season begins
  • Top headlineUnited Nations General Assembly holds its first session
  • Technology milestoneENIAC — first general-purpose electronic computer
  • Defining fadBaby boom begins
  • Notable inventionTupperware
  • World population2.43 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championSt. Louis Cardinals (World Series)
  • U.S. population141.4M

1946 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Ben Vereen's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19462026
Gas$0.21$3.45/gal
Average home$6,600$435,000
Average income$4,300$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.35$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population141.4M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.