- He was one of the original founders of the Negro Emsemble Company, a theater group in New York City, New York where he was executive director from 1965 to 1978.
- He is father of actor turned director/producer Kevin Hooks.
- He is also father of: Cecelia Ann Hooks Onibudo, Christopher Carter, Michelle Thomas Hooks, Robert Hooks Jr., and Kiyo Dean Tarpley Hooks.
- He is father of Eric Hooks.
- He played the title role of "Henry V" at the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1965.
- He was nominated for Broadway's 1968 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical) for "Hallelujah, Baby!".
- Friends with Nancy Wilson, and Douglas Turner Ward.
- Brother of Edward James Hooks.
- Inducted into The Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1985.
- While attending West Philadelphia High School, he joined the drama club and began acting in plays by William Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett.
- Eschewed a scholarship to Temple University in order to pursue a career as a stage actor at the Bessie V. Hicks School of Theatre.
- Made his Broadway debut in April 1960, billed as Bobby Dean Hooks in A Raisin in the Sun.
- Son of Mae Bertha Ward, and Edward Hooks.
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