ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9601030014
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: M. MINDY MORETTI THE WASHINGTON POST
According to actor Henry G. Sanders, growing up as a black child in 1940s and 1950s Texas isn't all that different from the world of the man he plays on ``Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' (Saturday nights on CBS).
His character, Robert E., is a former slave who comes to the frontier town of Colorado Springs to start over as a blacksmith. While there, he encounters all the difficulties of frontier life with the added pressure of being a black man in post-Civil War America.
``It [playing a former slave] makes you more reflective. I am of the age and born in Texas and some of it [racism] I have seen up close and can relate to,'' Sanders explained.
Sanders never intended to be an actor. After overcoming a pudgy childhood, he joined the Army, where he served for nine years as a decorated field-communications expert. His service included two tours of duty in Vietnam and earned him a Purple Heart. During his time there, he began his short-lived career as a writer.
``It was good therapy for me to write,'' Sanders explained of his desire to pick up the pen. He was recovering from physical and emotional injuries, he said, and spent much of his time in his room writing a novel with autobiographical elements.
``I finished it, and that's what brought me to Los Angeles,'' he said. ``I figured that if I came to Los Angeles, at least I could starve and be warm. I shopped it to a few places and never got it published.''
In Los Angeles he started college, thanks to the G.I. bill. He was taking classes at Valley College when he came across a posting for an acting workshop.
``I kind of fell into it [acting]. To this day, I don't know why I said yes, that I'll go. There was never any prior indication. It just seemed so appropriate that I go over and do this,'' Sanders said.
Since that first acting workshop, Sanders has appeared in countless productions. He has performed theater throughout the country, he's appeared in several movies and now he's settled into his ``Dr. Quinn'' role.
When the series premiered mid-season in 1993, Sanders was not part of the original cast. He and executive producer Beth Sullivan had been friends for 22 years when she contacted him to play Robert E., but although he said he was excited about the show, he was unable to be in the pilot, because he was in Alabama performing on stage.
Although he is a member of ``Dr. Quinn's'' supporting cast, Sanders' role on the series has broadened since he began working as Robert E. The stories that have involved Sanders encompass the difficulties of the past as well as problems that are going on today.
One such story is an upcoming installment, ``Change of Heart.'' In the episode Robert E. and his wife Grace (played by Jonelle Allen) attempt to adopt a young black child with sickle-cell anemia. The couple do not realize what is wrong with the child, because sickle cell was not diagnosed until 1910.
It's storylines like this one that Sanders feels bolster the show against critics who say it is too sweet. He believes that the wholesomeness of the series has enhanced its popularity.
``I think it came along at the time when families were a little disenchanted with not being able to sit down [together],'' Sanders said.
Sanders also believes that while the show is good family entertainment, it is also educational. Stories like the one about sickle cell open up discussion between parents and their children about history, and how that history relates to current times. He also thinks the show isn't the stereotypical western.
``Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' is a series that Sanders feels comfortable watching with Azizi, 11, and Naeem, 9, his children with wife Naila, a wardrobe and costume designer. And someday he'll watch with his grandson Brendan, 3, son of Chanel, his daughter by his first marriage.
While playing the role of Robert E. is not his only project - he recently finished filming ``Primal Fear,'' with Richard Gere - it is one Sanders enjoys.
``It's every little boy's fantasy,'' he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 linesby CNB