Oscar DeGruy (born 1950)[1] is an American actor who has appeared in over a dozen films and TV shows over 30 years,[2] started the Baháʼí Youth Workshop performance model in 1974, and has assisted hip hop artists.[3] Show Acting career[edit]DeGruy was a regular on The New Bill Cosby Show for the 1972–1973 season[4] and appeared in shows as diverse as Room 222 to Hill Street Blues. His first role was on The Young Lawyers in 1970, and in 2008 he completed work as a supporting actor in Zero Option, based on a true story. In Good Times in 1974 Degruy was featured in a two-part episode "JJ and the Gang". JJ is forced into a gang led by Mad Dog (DeGruy), who wounds JJ. After the trial Mad Dog is confronted by his mother, who confesses "I never thought I could feel this way about my child, but I hate you. Sometimes I wish you were never born," and the two exchange emotional arguments over the missing husband/father. JJ's father, James, ultimately feels sympathy for Mad Dog witnessing the family argument over the absent father.[5] Baháʼí Youth Workshops[edit]A former member of the Black Panthers[6] DeGruy changed his approach to racism issues and "had to do something" – so he and his wife brought performing arts theater with performance arts of step dance and street dancing together with the Baháʼí principles of equality, racial harmony and unity of religions. In 1982 DeGruy was joined by Juliet Soopikian and together they co-wrote the workshops's manual in 1987.[7] In 1995 there were over 100 Workshops in the United States and another 100 scattered across 50 other countries. Over 1000 such Workshops have formed over the years some of which have toured internationally.[1] There are several standard performances that are part of the Workshop's manual – one is the "Racism Dance." Two young members from oppositely styled groups (by clothing colors or other visual cues) come together in the middle of the "stage" and start to become friendly. They are then theatrically dragged back to their "own" groups by the blindfolded adults, who communicate through gestures their mistrust of and hatred for the other group, and the central players are given blindfolds to wear of their own. In the dramatic climax, however, the young ones shed their blindfolds, return to center stage, and demonstrate the races can unite. At the end, their example leads everyone to remove their blindfolds and come together in a final joyous dance sequence.[1] In 1995 a select group of six young women formed a workshop to perform at the NGO Forum on Women in China, parallel to the UN Fourth World Conference on Women and performed five times. They were selected to perform in the closing ceremony, before some 15,000 people two pieces – "a dance on domestic violence showing women as peacemakers, and a rap on the nobility and dignity of women, showing and the importance of women and men working in partnership."[1] See also[edit]Stepping (African-American) References[edit]
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Oscar DeGruy, the actor who gave life to the gang leader Mad Dog on the ‘70s show “Good Times,” is no longer working in front of the cameras. These days, he’s working to make the world a better place by helping the youth. DeGruy started his career back in 1970 with an appearance on the series “The Young Lawyers.” He also took part in other TV shows like “The Bill Cosby Show,” “Room 222,” “Toma” and “The Streets of San Francisco.” However, he’s mostly remembered by the audience for his role as Mad Dog in the two-part episode “The Gang” from the sitcom “Good Times.” DeGruy gave life to a young man who wounded JJ, and that his mother confronts in a heartwrenching scene where the woman tells him she hates him. Mad Dog’s character grew up without a paternal figure, and JJ’s father eventually takes pity on the boy for it. While in the fiction he was a thug, in real life DeGruy has always been working for the community. He was a member of the Black Panthers and always fought to bring equality to minorities, especially black folks, and underprivileged kids. Back in the middle ‘70s, he and his late wife Freddie bought a performing arts theater, where they put together the art of step and street dancing with the Bahá’í principles of equality, racial harmony and unity of all religions to create the Baha’i Youth Workshops. By 1995, DeGruy had made over 100 workshops across the country and over 50 all around the world. These days, DeGruy is no longer working on the workshops, but he still maintains the same Bahá’í philosophy to manage his Insight Foundation, an organization created to “empower young people through combined innovative methods and insight-oriented techniques.” DeGruy runs the foundation with the help of his sister, Dr. Joy DeGruy, a renowned researcher, author and educator who has become famous for her work on Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, Culture Specific Models and Violence and Gang Prevention. According to Insight’s website, Oscar DeGruy’s has his objectives clear, as he looks forward to: “Brings educators and community members together to help students develop the values and skills required to cope with the personal and social issues that challenge their everyday lives.” Although Oscar is no longer working as an actor, it hasn’t been that long since he last appeared on the screen. His last role was in the 2008 film “Zero Option,” based on a true story. How old is Oscar DeGruy?About 72 years (1950)Oscar DeGruy / Agenull
Who played Mad Dog mother on Good Times?Justice is served by Mad Dog's grieving mother (Lynn Hamilton), who tells him how much she hates him, and strikes him when he insults his absent father.
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Who played mad dog on good times
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