'Good Times' actor Ben Powers dies at 64

NEW BEDFORD, Massachusetts (AP) — Actor Alton "Ben" Powers, known for his role in the 1970s CBS television series "Good Times," has died at age 64...

TheGrio Staff

Apr 20, 2015

NEW BEDFORD, Massachusetts (AP) — Actor Alton “Ben” Powers, known for his role in the 1970s CBS television series “Good Times,” has died at age 64.

Powers died April 6 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, according to the Auclair Funeral Home, which is handling arrangements. Details were not released.

Powers played football player Keith Anderson, the husband of Thelma Evans, played by Bern Nadette Stanis, in “Good Times.” The show was a Norman Lear hit about a black family in inner-city Chicago.

Powers also appeared as Moochie in the 1980s CBS series “Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer” with Stacey Keach, and had guest roles on other TV shows including “Gimmie a Break,” ”Flamingo Road,” ”The Greatest American Hero,” ”The New Odd Couple,” and “Laverne & Shirley.”

Powers also acted in several 1980s movies including “Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie,” ”Things Are Tough All Over” and “The Man Who Loved Women.”

His first TV roles were on NBC’s “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in.”

The Brooklyn, New York, native, was brought up by his grandparents in Providence, Rhode Island. He sang in the choir and was cantor at the First Tabernacle Pentecostal church, according to his family. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design, and began his acting career at the Trinity Repertory Theater in Providence, his family said.

Powers is survived by his mother, two sisters, two uncles, two aunts, four nephews and three nieces.