Curtis Pickett

Curtis grew up near the Bronzeville area on Chicago's south side. He has always wanted to entertain others, and in 1985 he was accepted into the Walt Disney Magnet School drama program, where he learned to act on stage. In high school he learned to play trombone under Willie Pickens of the Willie Pickens Trio. Curtis won several awards in Chicago's All-City music competitions. In addition to playing music Curtis loved singing, and joined the young adult choir at Greater Harvest Missionary Baptist Church, under the direction of the late Robert Wooten Sr., founder of the Wooten Choral Ensemble. While in college at Jackson State University, Curtis joined JSU's "Sonic Boom of the South" Marching Band, worked at FM 88 WJSU as the voice of John "The Jazzman" Ellis and sang in the Baptist Student Union Choir on campus. He didn't perform as an actor while in college, but knew that acting was what he really wanted to do. He graduated and continued working for PRM, the states flagship NPR station as a radio announcer during NPR's All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Weekend Edition. He also worked for ETV, Mississippi's PBS station as a TV host during ETV's annual "Festival" program. While at ETV, his love for acting was rekindled when he was offered a role at NewStage Theatre in "A Christmas Carol." Curtis' first national acting appearance was as Scott Joplin in the Regional Emmy award winning PBS series "Mia's Music," which has been on television since 2001. Curtis was a regular on NBC's "Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip" and has appeared on several shows such as "Desperate Housewives" and "Shark" on CBS. Curtis resides in Los Angeles where he continues work in the film and television industry. His aspiration is to direct his own film.