Haywood Nelson

Haywood Nelson
Nelson in 2007.
Born	(1960-03-25) March 25, 1960 (age 56) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1974-present

Haywood Nelson (born March 25, 1960 in New York City) is an American actor. He is best known for having portrayed Dwayne Nelson on the television series What's Happening!! from 1976-1979, and its spin-off series What's Happening Now!! 1985-1988.

Nelson, who grew up in Garden City Park, Long Island, New York, was a child star, appearing in many national commercials and in a movie, Mixed Company. From 1973 to 1974 he performed on Broadway alongside Marlo Thomas in Thieves. At the age of 14, he guest starred on Sanford and Son (1972) as Grady's grandson; at 15, he was in the cast of a spin-off of Sanford and Son called Grady (1975). The show was short-lived. The next year, in 1976, at the age of 16, he landed the role of Dwayne on What's Happening!!, the first African-American teen sitcom. As a "teenage heartthrob" on a popular television series, Nelson was one of the first African-American teen idols. In 1977, Nelson guest starred on Kojak in the episode "The Godson" as Bobby Moore.

Nelson still works in entertainment, although mainly behind the scenes; he has worked in talk shows, TV shows and interview programs.