Remember Leroy 'Preach' Jackson from 'Cooley High'? He looks great at 71

Time has been gentle on Leroy 'Preach' Jackson. Although the actor is now 71, he doesn’t look a day past 50. He has stayed active in the entertainment industry too with roles in Queen Sugar and a new upcoming movie.

Glynn Russell Turman, known for his role in Coming of Age in the year 1975 where he played a character named Colley High, is still active in the entertainment industry. He was recently cast on Queen Sugar as a guest cast member and has a new project set for release this year.

Turman started his acting career at the tender age of 13 when he was cast as Travis Younger in A Raisin in the Sun. After this role, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career further, and then later joined the Manhattan’s School of Performing Arts to further his art. Later, Turman pursued a degree on the same subject.

The actor’s work was recognized when he was awarded the NAACP Image Award for “Deadwood Dick.”

The 71-year old has been married three times; the first to Ula M. Walker which lasted for 6 years from1965. He then dated and married Aretha Franklin in 1978 but they went their separate ways in 1984. He then started dating and later married Jo-Ann Allen in 1992, and they have been together since then. He has four children from the various unions.

On Queen Sugar, Turman played Ernest Bordelon, the patriarch and proud father of Nova (Rutina Wesley), Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) and Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe). An intelligent and loving man, Ernest is sugar cane farmer who has kept from his family the fact that the farm is failing, and he hasn’t brought in a successful crop in two years. He later succumbs to a heart attack while resting at home.

Apart from these roles, the actor has been in “The Wire,” “House of Lies,” and “A Different World.”