[PAR] [TLE] LeVar Burton [SEP] Levardis Robert Martyn "LeVar" Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, presenter, director and author.  He is best known for his roles as the host of the long-running PBS children's series "Reading Rainbow", Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in "" and the young Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries "Roots".  He has also directed a number of television episodes for various iterations of "Star Trek", among other programs. [PAR] [TLE] Kunta Kinte [SEP] Kunta Kinte ( 1750 – 1822; ) is a character in the novel "" by American author Alex Haley.  Haley claimed that Kunta Kinte was based on one of his ancestors: a Gambian man who was born in 1750, enslaved and taken to America and who died in 1822.  Haley said that his account of Kunta's life in "Roots" was a mixture of fact and fiction.  The extent to which Kunta Kinte is based on fact is disputed.
[PAR] [TLE] LeVar Burton [ SEP ] Levardis Robert Martyn " LeVar " Burton Jr. ( born February 16 , 1957 ) is an American actor , presenter , director and author . He is best known for his roles as the host of the long - running PBS children 's series " Reading Rainbow " , Lt . Commander Geordi La Forge in " " and the young Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award - winning ABC television miniseries " Roots " . He has also directed a number of television episodes for various iterations of " Star Trek " , among other programs . [PAR] [TLE] Kunta Kinte [ SEP ] Kunta Kinte ( 1750 – 1822 ; ) is a character in the novel " " by American author Alex Haley . Haley claimed that Kunta Kinte was based on one of his ancestors : a Gambian man who was born in 1750 , enslaved and taken to America and who died in 1822 . Haley said that his account of Kunta 's life in " Roots " was a mixture of fact and fiction . The extent to which Kunta Kinte is based on fact is disputed .
LeVar Burton plays Kunta Kinte in a miniseries based on a novel by what authro?
LeVar Burton plays Kunta Kinte in a miniseries based on a novel by what authro ?
Alex Haley
Alex Haley