He played the original Wiz in "The Wiz" on 1970s Broadway.
De Shields made his Broadway debut in 1973 in "Warp". That same year, he choreographed Bette Midler's "Clams on the Half Shell" Broadway show.
African-American Broadway actor, singer, writer, composer, lyricist, choreographer, director and educator.
He was awarded the 1988 Joseph Jefferson Award for Director of a Revue for "The Colored Museum", at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
He was nominated for a 1995 Joseph Jefferson Award for Director of a Revue for "The Colored Museum", at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, Illinois.