Clifton Davis | Celebrity Net Worth 2026

Biography & Early Wealth Journey

Clifton Davis has enjoyed an unusually varied career spanning more than five decades, from writing one of the Jackson 5's most enduring hits to starring on Broadway, leading network sitcoms, serving as a minister, and returning to daily television in his late 70s. As a songwriter, he wrote "Never Can Say Goodbye," which became a #2 pop hit for the Jackson 5 in 1971 and was later successfully recorded by Gloria Gaynor, the Communards, and many other artists.

As an actor, Davis first became a television star playing barber Clifton Curtis on the 1970s ABC sitcom "That's My Mama." More than a decade later, he starred opposite Sherman Hemsley for five seasons on NBC's "Amen," playing Reverend Reuben Gregory at the same time that Davis himself was pursuing a real-life ministry career. His stage work has included a Tony-nominated performance in "Two Gentlemen of Verona," as well as "Hello, Dolly!," "Aladdin," and "Wicked." Later generations of television viewers have seen him in "Madam Secretary," "Godfather of Harlem," "Clipped," and the CBS daytime drama "Beyond the Gates."

Early Life

Clifton Duncan Davis was born on October 4, 1945, in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Thelma van Putten Langhorn, was a nurse, and his father, Toussaint L'Ouverture Davis, was a minister. Davis spent much of his childhood in Mastic on Long Island, New York.

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He attended Pine Forge Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist boarding school in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1963. Davis later wrote about encountering racism as a teenager in the essay "A Mason-Dixon Memory," which was included in "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul."

Entertainment was not initially his career plan. As a young man, Davis worked behind the scenes at ABC as a video engineer. After seeing a Broadway production of "The Apple Tree," starring Alan Alda, he became fascinated with theater and decided that he wanted to perform rather than work on the technical side of television.

Broadway and Songwriting

Davis left his television engineering job and began performing in stock theater before attending an open audition for the Broadway production of "Hello, Dolly!" He was hired as an ensemble performer and understudy in the production, which starred Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway.

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Additional Broadway work followed. Davis appeared in "Jimmy Shine," starring Dustin Hoffman, and in productions including "Look to the Lilies" and "The Engagement Baby." His major stage breakthrough came in 1971 when he originated the role of Valentine in the Broadway musical "Two Gentlemen of Verona," adapted from Shakespeare's play. Davis earned a 1972 Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.

At the same time that his acting career was developing, Davis was writing songs. His most important composition was "Never Can Say Goodbye." Motown initially considered the song for the Supremes before it was recorded by the Jackson 5, with a young Michael Jackson singing lead.

Released in 1971, "Never Can Say Goodbye" reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the Jackson 5's signature recordings. Davis also wrote "Lookin' Through the Windows" for the group and spent several years writing material associated with Motown artists including the Supremes, Diana Ross, and the Miracles.

"Never Can Say Goodbye" proved particularly durable. Gloria Gaynor transformed it into a disco hit in the 1970s, and the Communards scored another international hit with the song in the 1980s. It has since been recorded by dozens of performers, giving Davis a songwriting asset that has generated publishing and royalty income across multiple generations.

"That's My Mama"

Davis began establishing himself on television during the early 1970s. He and Melba Moore co-hosted the musical variety program "The Melba Moore-Clifton Davis Show," and he made guest appearances on other television programs.

His first major sitcom role arrived in 1974 with ABC's "That's My Mama." Davis starred as Clifton Curtis, a bachelor who operated his family's barbershop in Washington, D.C., while repeatedly resisting his mother's attempts to find him a wife.

Theresa Merritt played his mother, Eloise "Mama" Curtis, while the cast also included Ted Lange, Teddy Wilson, Lynne Moody, and Jester Hairston. "That's My Mama" ran for two seasons and 39 episodes from 1974 through 1975.

Although its network run was relatively brief, the series made Davis a nationally recognizable television star. He continued appearing on variety programs, talk shows, and game shows throughout the decade, including frequent appearances on "Match Game" and several versions of "Pyramid."

Spiritual Life and Ministry

Davis' life changed significantly during the early 1980s. After years in show business, he experienced what he described as a spiritual awakening and largely stepped away from entertainment for several years to pursue theological education.

He earned a bachelor's degree in theology from Oakwood University and a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University. He subsequently became a licensed minister and spent decades preaching and participating in interdenominational ministry.

Davis served in pastoral ministry and became a familiar presence on Christian television. For more than two decades, he frequently hosted Trinity Broadcasting Network's "Praise the Lord." He also hosted gospel programs and awards shows including "Gospel Superfest," the Stellar Gospel Music Awards, the Dove Awards, and "Take It to the Bridge."

His ministry career did not ultimately replace acting. Instead, the two paths unexpectedly converged when Davis was cast as a minister on one of the biggest television roles of his career.

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"Amen"

In 1986, Davis joined Sherman Hemsley on the NBC sitcom "Amen." Hemsley played Deacon Ernest Frye, a scheming Philadelphia church deacon and attorney, while Davis portrayed the church's principled new pastor, Reverend Reuben Gregory.

Much of the show's comedy came from the clashes between Frye and Gregory, complicated by Gregory's romance with Frye's daughter Thelma, played by Anna Maria Horsford. The series became part of NBC's successful run of predominantly Black sitcoms during the era and remained on the network for five seasons.

"Amen" produced 110 episodes between 1986 and 1991. Davis' real-life theological training gave the casting an unusual dimension: while audiences watched him portray a television minister, he was also actively preaching and working in ministry away from the set.

During this period, Davis continued singing as well. In 1991, he released the gospel album "Say Amen."

Film and Later Television Career

Davis has also worked regularly in film. His credits include "Lost in the Stars," "Scott Joplin," "Cindy," "Superdome," "Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige," "Kingdom Come," "Max Keeble's Big Move," and Oliver Stone's football drama "Any Given Sunday," in which he played the mayor of Miami.

Beginning in the 2010s, Davis experienced another significant television resurgence. From 2015 through 2019, he had a recurring role on the CBS political drama "Madam Secretary," playing Director of National Intelligence Ephraim Ware across more than 40 episodes.

He subsequently appeared in shows including "Iron Fist," "The Good Fight," "New Amsterdam," "Blue Bloods," and "Billions." From 2019 through 2021, Davis portrayed Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad on "Godfather of Harlem."

In 2024, Davis played legendary Los Angeles Lakers executive and basketball star Elgin Baylor in the FX miniseries "Clipped," which dramatized the scandal surrounding former Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

"Beyond the Gates"

In 2025, at age 79, Davis began another major chapter of his television career when he joined CBS's daytime drama "Beyond the Gates." The series centers on the affluent and influential Dupree family living in an exclusive community outside Washington, D.C.

Davis plays family patriarch Vernon Dupree, a former U.S. senator married to retired singer Anita Dupree, played by Tamara Tunie. The cast also includes Daphnée Duplaix and Karla Mosley as their daughters.

"Beyond the Gates" was notable as the first new daytime soap opera to debut on a major American broadcast network in more than 25 years and the first daytime soap in decades built around a predominantly Black family. The series premiered in February 2025 and continued into a second season in 2026.

Return to Broadway

Despite decades of television work, Davis repeatedly returned to the stage. He appeared in productions of "Guys and Dolls" and "Pal Joey" and later returned to Broadway in one of the biggest stage productions of his career.

In 2014, Davis originated the role of the Sultan in Disney's Broadway adaptation of "Aladdin." He remained associated with the production for several years.

Davis later played Doctor Dillamond in "Wicked," performing the role both on tour and on Broadway. His return to major Broadway productions more than four decades after his Tony nomination made his theater career unusually long-lived.

Personal Life

Davis married Ann Taylor in 1981. They had two children, Christian and Holly, before divorcing in 1991. In May 2000, Davis married Monica Durant.

Outside acting and ministry, Davis has been an avid golfer and became a licensed pilot. He has also received numerous honorary degrees and awards recognizing his work in entertainment, ministry, education, and community service.

Davis has maintained the rare distinction of achieving substantial careers in several different fields. His entertainment résumé stretches from Motown-era songwriting and 1960s Broadway through 1970s and 1980s sitcoms, modern prestige television, 21st-century Broadway productions, and daytime drama, while "Never Can Say Goodbye" has continued generating attention and royalties more than half a century after he wrote it.

Davis

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