# Ken Foree
**Ken Foree** (full name Kentotis Alvin Foree) is an American actor best known for playing the SWAT officer Peter Washington in [George A. Romero](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-a-romero)'s zombie classic *Dawn of the Dead* (1978), and for a four-decade career in horror film and television that also includes the [Nickelodeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/nickelodeon) sitcom *Kenan & Kel* and [Rob Zombie](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-zombie)'s *The Devil's Rejects* and *Halloween*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) • [2](https://crypticrock.com/interview-ken-foree/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kentotis Alvin Foree[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) |
| Born | Indianapolis, Indiana; most sources give 1948, one reference work gives 1941 (see below)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/foree-ken-1941) |
| Signature role | Peter Washington, one of the few survivors of the zombie outbreak in *Dawn of the Dead* (1978)[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/ken-foree-217875) |
| Training | Loyola University in Chicago; acting studies at Michael Shulman's Performing Gallery, New York City[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) |
| Television regular | Roger Rockmore on *Kenan & Kel*, Nickelodeon, 1996–99[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/foree-ken-1941) |
| Height | 6′ 5″ (1.96 m), a trait frequently noted in descriptions of his screen presence[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) |
| Other work | Producer credits on low-budget horror titles including *The Midnight Man* (2017) and *Black Santa's Revenge* (2007); one screenplay credit[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/ken-foree/credits/3000265918/) |
## Birth date
Sources disagree on Foree's birth date. IMDb, Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, and MovieMeter all list February 29, 1948, in [Indianapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/indianapolis), Indiana.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) • [4](https://www.fandango.com/people/ken-foree-217875) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ken_foree) • [7](https://www.moviemeter.com/celebrities/15070/ken-foree) The Gale/Contemporary Theatre, Film and [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) entry republished at Encyclopedia.com instead gives October 9, 1941, in Indiana.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/foree-ken-1941) The weight of the database sources favors 1948, but the discrepancy has not been resolved within the available records.
## Training and early career
Foree attended Loyola University in Chicago and studied acting at Michael Shulman's Performing Gallery in New York City, beginning his career in off-Broadway theater.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) In a 2018 interview he described an accidental route into the profession: living in New York in the early 1970s as an aspiring photographer, he found his equipment stolen and, at that crossroads, discovered acting, moving from [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway) productions toward film.[2](https://crypticrock.com/interview-ken-foree/) The Encyclopedia.com career entry independently records him as operator of a photography studio in New York City in 1974, a former member of the activist theater group Barbara Ann Tear, and an assistant manager at a restaurant while starting out.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/foree-ken-1941) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/)
His film debut came as Honey, a goon, in *The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings* (1976).[8](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/250450-Ken-Foree)
## Dawn of the Dead
Foree's defining role is Peter Washington in George A. Romero's *Dawn of the Dead* (1978), the second of Romero's Dead films, in which four survivors hole up in a shopping mall besieged by zombies.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) • [9](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/dawn_of_the_dead) Fandango's biography describes him as one of the few remaining survivors of the zombie outbreak in the film, memorable for his large frame, height, and commanding presence.[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/ken-foree-217875) The Science Fiction Encyclopedia entry lists him among the four principal cast members alongside David Emge, Scott H. Reininger, and Gaylen Ross.[9](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/dawn_of_the_dead)
Scholarly writing on the film notes that, unlike the colorblind script of *Night of the Living Dead*, *Dawn* explicitly addresses race, with Peter entering as a Black hero among predominantly white male SWAT teams; a Flashback Files interview records that Foree himself saw the roles of Ben and Peter as infused with Black awareness.[10](https://unglueit-files.s3.amazonaws.com/ebf/8017ab0d5ee94e59ba64639da065704b.pdf) • [11](https://www.flashbackfiles.com/ken-foree-interview)
Foree returned to the material twice: with a sizable supporting part in Romero's follow-up *Knightriders* (1981), and with a cameo as a stern televangelist in [Zack Snyder](https://www.edgepedia.org/zack-snyder)'s 2004 remake, in which he quoted the same line he had delivered as Peter in 1978, "When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth."[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) A nod to him also appears in [Edgar Wright](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgar-wright)'s *Shaun of the Dead* (2004), where the fictional Foree Electronics is named in his honor.[12](https://fametown.com/en/celebrity/ken-foree/)
## Film career
Across the 1980s and 1990s Foree built a resume of strong, often authoritative characters on either side of the law. Notable genre parts include the affable cop Buford "Bubba" Brownlee in [Stuart Gordon](https://www.edgepedia.org/stuart-gordon)'s *From Beyond* (1986) and the rugged survivalist Benny in *Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III* (1990).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) The AFI Catalog records him as [Big Jake](https://www.edgepedia.org/big-jake) in *Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling* (1986), Detective Charlie Gates in *True Blood* (1989), and roles in *The Wanderers* (1979), *Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge* (1989), *Taking Care of Business* (1990), and *Hangfire* (1991).[8](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/250450-Ken-Foree)
His later association with Rob Zombie produced Charlie Altamont in *The Devil's Rejects* (2005), Big Joe Grizzley in the *[Halloween](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween-2007-film)* remake (2007), and Herman Jackson in *The Lords of Salem* (2012).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) Mainstream work includes Earl in *Water for Elephants* (2011).[7](https://www.moviemeter.com/celebrities/15070/ken-foree) On Rotten Tomatoes his highest-rated credit is the documentary *Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror* (2019), and his lowest is *The Dentist* (1996).[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ken_foree)
## Television
Foree's most visible television role was a soft one: Roger Rockmore, the father on the hit Nickelodeon series *Kenan & Kel*, which he played across the show's run from 1996 to 1999 and in the 2000 television movie *Two Heads Are Better Than None*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/foree-ken-1941) He also had a recurring part on the daytime soap *General Hospital*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/)
His guest-spot list spans more than two decades of American television, including *Kojak*, *The Dukes of Hazzard*, *Hill Street Blues*, *Cheers*, *Knight Rider*, *The A-Team*, *Moonlighting*, *L.A. Law*, *Quantum Leap*, *Matlock*, *Beauty and the Beast*, *The X-Files*, *Babylon 5*, and *Due South*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) • [13](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ken-foree/) Metacritic's per-show scores for his appearances range from 83 for *L.A. Law* down to 36 for *Matlock*.[13](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ken-foree/)
## Producing and later work
Foree has taken producer credits on independent genre films, including executive producer on *Dead Bones* (2008) and *Wrath of the Dead: Prologue* (2014), co-producer on *Brotherhood of Blood* (2007), and producer on *Black Santa's Revenge* (2007) and *The Midnight Man* (2017), in which he also played Hamilton.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/) In a 2018 Fangoria interview he described *The Midnight Man* as a character decision made on short notice and *The Rift: Dark Side of the Moon* (2016), a science-fiction production shot in a country that had not previously produced a film in that genre, as the most challenging shoot of his career.[14](https://scaryoverload.com/2018/01/31/an-interview-with-ken-foree/)
His screen presence has remained part of his professional identity. In a *Fangoria* quote preserved at CelebHeights he said, "Well, I'm 6 feet 5 inches and black. Right away that puts me in killer roles, the heavy."[15](https://www.celebheights.com/s/Ken-Foree-4069.html) He lives in Los Angeles, has been married to [Valerie Cruz](https://www.edgepedia.org/valerie-cruz) since September 2, 1995, with one child, and lists surfing, boxing, weightlifting, history, and travel among his interests.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/)
## References
1. [Ken Foree, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0286010/)
2. [Interview – Ken Foree, Cryptic Rock (2018)](https://crypticrock.com/interview-ken-foree/)
3. [Foree, Ken 1941–, Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television via Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/foree-ken-1941)
4. [Ken Foree Overview, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/ken-foree-217875)
5. [Ken Foree List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/ken-foree/credits/3000265918/)
6. [Ken Foree, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ken_foree)
7. [Ken Foree, MovieMeter.com](https://www.moviemeter.com/celebrities/15070/ken-foree)
8. [Ken Foree filmography, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/250450-Ken-Foree)
9. [Dawn of the Dead, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/dawn_of_the_dead)
10. [Horror Noire (book text), unglue.it](https://unglueit-files.s3.amazonaws.com/ebf/8017ab0d5ee94e59ba64639da065704b.pdf)
11. [Ken Foree interview, The Flashback Files](https://www.flashbackfiles.com/ken-foree-interview)
12. [Ken Foree, Fametown](https://fametown.com/en/celebrity/ken-foree/)
13. [Ken Foree, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/ken-foree/)
14. [An Interview with Ken Foree, Fangoria via ScaryOverload (2018)](https://scaryoverload.com/2018/01/31/an-interview-with-ken-foree/)
15. [How tall is Ken Foree, CelebHeights](https://www.celebheights.com/s/Ken-Foree-4069.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Character actors, B-movie and genre-circuit performers › American performers, mid era › Surnames A to J*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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