Black History Month: Evansville native Ron Glass went on to become a TV star

Editor's note: The Courier & Press and The Gleaner are marking Black History Month with a collection of stories about people, places and events from local Black history.

EVANSVILLE – "Right now it looks good."

That's how Ron Glass summed up his prospects of becoming a professional actor back in 1968, when the University of Evansville star was one of 75 students from across the U.S. selected to audition for a national theater association in Chicago.

He had no idea how much he'd undersold himself.

The Evansville native would go on to become a TV star in shows such as "Barney Miller" and "Firefly." In the former, he played the witty and impeccably dressed detective Ron Harris, who was just as interested in writing novels as solving cases.

It mirrored Glass' own life. He started off at UE as a literature major. The role earned him an Emmy nomination in 1982.

Despite his success, he kept close ties with his home city, serving as chairman of the Evansville African American Museum's national capital campaign. He even donated his "Barney Miller" badge to the collection.

During return trips to the city, he'd sometimes meet with local kids and give them advice. In the midst of a talk with area high school students in 1974, a girl from Bosse asked him "what qualities are necessary to be a good Black actor?"

"He has to be good," Glass said. "And he has to be Black."

Glass died of respiratory failure in 2016. He was 71 years old.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Black History Month: Evansville's Ron Glass became a suave TV star