Have you watched a show and taken a silent poll of which actor or actress is most likely to succeed? Yeah, it’s not just you, the rest of us do it too – especially for shows like Webster which was quite popular in the late 80s. Do you ever wonder what became of the adorable child actor who played the titular character? His name is Emmanuel Lewis and we have hardly seen or heard from him since the show wrapped up.
While the show may sound unfamiliar to the generation Z people, Webster would probably bring about a nostalgic feeling for an average millennial, especially since many of us loved watching the sitcom while growing up. Read all we know about the actor and why we haven’t been seeing much of him recently in this piece.
Who Is Emmanuel Lewis?
Emmanuel Lewis is a funny African-American actor who was born on 9th March 1971 in New York City, specifically in Brooklyn. He is the youngest son of a computer scientist and single mother of five, Margaret Lewis.
His acting career kicked off during his childhood days and he was only 12 years old when he played the lead role in Webster. However, by the time the show ended in 1989, Lewis was a young adult who was in his final year at Midwood High School, Brooklyn where he graduated from in the same year. He later enrolled at Clark Atlanta University in 1989 to study Mass Communication but ended up studying Theatre Arts, and got his Bachelor’s degree in 1997.
What Awards and Recognition Has He Won in His Career?
The funny African-American actor has appeared a few times on television and film over the years. Some of his notable works include Emmanuel Lewis: My Very Own Show (1987), The Weakest Link (2001), Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003), and Kickin’ It Old Skool (2007), but he’s yet to have another role as big as that of Webster.
It is known that for his work on Webster, Lewis won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Young TV performer and was nominated for multiple young actor awards four times in four consecutive years starting in 1984. Altogether, he has a total of four awards and four nominations to his name, and all were for his role as Webster.
Friendship With Michael Jackson
Lewis is one of the few people alive who had a truly special friendship with the King of Pop. The duo announced their friendship to the public by going to the Grammy Awards together in 1984. After that, they spent a lot of time together both privately and in public. According to Lewis, Jackson not only loved their humor, but he saw him as a source of inspiration and enjoyed hanging out with him and his family.
They did a lot together from sharing hotel rooms to Michael staying at Lewis’s for months and Jackson letting him on his sets and tour stages to the two of them going to the Grammys together again in 1993.
Is Emmanuel Lewis Married?
As far as we know, Lewis is not married. The actor describes himself as a very private person and he has upheld that standard to the letter regarding his love life. To date, Lewis has never been the subject of any public love affair and if he is currently hooking up with someone, he is probably trying to keep them away from the public.
Where is the Former Child Prodigy Now?
Being a bit of a jack of all trades, Lewis decided to make it off-screen by founding small production companies, notably Emmanuel Lewis Entertainment Enterprises and Global Entertainment Media Company. Unfortunately, the companies did not do as well as he had hoped and this led to their dissolution in 2008 and 2011 respectively.
The vibrant young man also tried his luck as a record label owner when he founded Flex Floss Entertainment in June 2000. The label kept Lewis busy for years, but it wasn’t much of success like his previous establishments.
In addition to being an actor, comedian, musician, and businessman, Lewis is also an active member of the Freemasons organization, in fact, he was the commander-in-chief of the Freemasons Atlanta chapter from 2013 to 2014.
As of now, there is no concrete details about his current endeavors but it has been confirmed that the rumors of his death are fake. He may not be on the big or small screen like in the past, but Emmanuel Lewis is definitely alive and seemingly healthy, at least as of the time of this writing.
