The son of African American actor Robert Hooks, Kevin Hooks was 14 years old when he received a "Best Newcomer" Golden Globe nomination for his performance in Sounder (1972). Three years later, he played the title role in Aaron Loves Angela (1974), which featured his dad. On TV, Hooks was seen as high-schooler Morris Thorpe in The White Shadow (1978-81), and 25-year-old urban mayor Carl Burke in He's the Mayor (1986). In recent years busier as a director, Kevin Hooks has helmed such made-for-TV movies as Heat Wave (1990), Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story (1992), and such theatrical-feature fare as Passenger 57 (1994).