Earliest Appearances

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My father swears that Cromwell also had guest appearances on "All in the Family" starring as "Stretch" Cunningham. I told him no, that wasn't him, but now I am doubting myself. Any help on this one?

earliest iv ever seen him was in M*A*S*H

I, too, swore he played Stretch Cunningham on All in the Family, but this site had me second-guessing myself. However, if you search the Web, you'll find other TV/Cinema sites that say it was him. I think IMDB has erroneous omitted those appearances.

Also, he didn't begin acting at a later date--he just started doing more tv and movies later. His bio indicates that he was a member of the Black Panther party, and he also worked with the Free Southern Theater, the theater group from the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the 60s. So, he has been acting long before his credits showed up on tv; he certainly might have been in a minor role fifteen years earlier than his bio indicates.

It wasn't his earliest appearance, but I remember him being quite funny as the assistant of a Hercule Poiret-type played by James Coco in the Neil Simon detective spoof "Murder by Death" (1976.) Poiret is famously Belgian, but Cromwell basically did a French accent in this movie. Cromwell then sort of disappeared for awhile, though I see he had credits rather continuously in TV and movies.

If you look at his bio on IMDB it is mentioned that he played Stretch Cunningham on "All in the Family" . . .so yes you are correct.



"Every sperm is sacred!"
-Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

Yes, he played Strech. He worked with Archie. I remember watching him and then thought it was funny he was in "Babe"