What Is Avery Brooks' Net Worth?
Avery Brooks is an American actor, director, singer, and educator who has a net worth of $2 million.
Avery Brooks is best known for playing Captain Benjamin Sisko on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," a role that made him the first Black actor to lead a "Star Trek" television series. He starred on the show throughout its seven-season run from 1993 to 1999 and also directed several episodes, including the acclaimed "Far Beyond the Stars."
Before joining "Star Trek," Brooks was already well known to television audiences as the imposing and enigmatic Hawk on "Spenser: For Hire," a role that became popular enough to spawn the short-lived spinoff "A Man Called Hawk." His film credits include "The Big Hit," "American History X," and "15 Minutes." Brooks has also maintained an extensive stage career, particularly in classical theater and works centered on African-American history, and spent decades teaching theater at Rutgers University. His work outside Hollywood has included portraying Paul Robeson on Broadway, performing Shakespeare, directing, singing jazz, and recording music.
Early Life
Avery Franklin Brooks was born on October 2, 1948, in Evansville, Indiana. He grew up primarily in Gary, Indiana, in a deeply musical family. His mother, Eva Lydia Brooks, was a choral conductor and music educator, while his father, Samuel Brooks, was a singer who performed with the Wings Over Jordan choir in addition to working outside the entertainment industry.
Brooks studied at Indiana University and Oberlin College before continuing his education at Rutgers University. He earned his undergraduate degree from Rutgers' Livingston College in 1973 and completed a Master of Fine Arts in acting and directing in 1976. Brooks became the first African American to earn an MFA in acting and directing from Rutgers.
Early Acting Career and "Spenser: For Hire"
Brooks developed much of his early career on the stage. One of his defining theatrical roles was civil rights activist, singer, and actor Paul Robeson. Brooks began performing the title role in Phillip Hayes Dean's "Paul Robeson" in the early 1980s and subsequently brought the production to major venues around the country and to Broadway.
His television breakthrough came when he was cast as Hawk opposite Robert Urich in "Spenser: For Hire." Brooks appeared in 65 episodes between 1985 and 1988. With his shaved head, sunglasses, measured delivery, and commanding physical presence, Hawk became one of the show's most memorable characters.
ABC subsequently built a spinoff around Brooks called "A Man Called Hawk." The series premiered in 1989 and ran for one season. Brooks later returned to the character in several "Spenser" television movies during the 1990s.
"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
In 1993, Brooks landed the role that would define his screen career when he was cast as Commander Benjamin Sisko in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Unlike previous "Star Trek" series, the show was based primarily aboard a space station rather than an exploring starship and eventually developed lengthy story arcs involving war, politics, religion, and racial identity.
Sisko began the series as the commander of Deep Space Nine and was later promoted to captain. Brooks brought considerable gravitas to the character while also helping make Sisko's relationship with his son, Jake, one of the emotional centers of the series. His casting was historically significant, making Brooks the first Black actor to serve as the central commanding character of a "Star Trek" television series.
Brooks also worked behind the camera, directing nine episodes. His best-known directorial effort was the 1998 episode "Far Beyond the Stars," in which Sisko experiences the life of a Black science-fiction writer named Benny Russell in segregated 1950s America. The episode became one of the most celebrated installments of "Deep Space Nine."
The series ended in 1999 after seven seasons.
Film, Theater, and Music
While starring on "Deep Space Nine," Brooks continued taking occasional film and theater roles. In 1998, he appeared as crime boss Paris in the action comedy "The Big Hit" and played Dr. Bob Sweeney, a school principal and mentor to Edward Norton's character, in "American History X." He later appeared alongside Robert De Niro in the 2001 crime thriller "15 Minutes."
Brooks' stage career has been considerably broader than his relatively selective film résumé. In addition to his many performances as Paul Robeson, he has played major classical roles including Othello, King Lear, and the title character in Christopher Marlowe's "Tamburlaine." He also portrayed Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman."
In 2007, Brooks received the Shakespeare Theatre Company's William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre. Music has remained another important part of his artistic life. In 2009, he released the album "Here," which combined jazz, blues, spirituals, and spoken-word material.
Brooks has also performed extensive narration work, including serving as the American narrator for the television documentary series "Walking with Dinosaurs."
Teaching Career
Education has run parallel to Brooks' acting career for much of his adult life. He joined the theater faculty at Rutgers University in the 1970s and spent decades teaching at the school's Mason Gross School of the Arts.
His connection to Rutgers has been particularly significant because Brooks was both a graduate and a longtime faculty member. He was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 1993. Brooks has also taught and worked with students at other institutions and served as artistic director of the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta.
Personal Life
Avery Brooks married Vicki Lenora Brooks in 1976. The couple has three children. Vicki also built a career in higher education and worked as an administrator at Rutgers University.
After "Deep Space Nine," Brooks largely stepped away from the Hollywood career path followed by many successful television actors, concentrating instead on theater, music, teaching, and selected artistic projects.
Real Estate
For many years, Brooks and his wife lived in Princeton, New Jersey, convenient to his longtime teaching position at Rutgers. In 1997, they purchased a newly built home in Princeton for approximately $780,000.
The roughly 4,350-square-foot residence sat on a little more than half an acre and included an attached three-car garage. Public property records showed Avery and Vicki Brooks as the owners for more than a decade. In 2012, the property was sold for $1.3 million, giving the couple a gain of more than $500,000 over their original purchase price before accounting for expenses and improvements.
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