According to actor Henry G. Sanders, growing up as a black child in 1940s and 1950s Texas wasn’t all that different from the world of the man he plays on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
His character, Robert E., is a former slave who comes to the frontier town of Colorado Springs to start over as a blacksmith.
Sanders never intended to be an actor. He served in the Army, where his two tours of duty in Vietnam earned him a Purple Heart. During his time there, he began his short-lived career as a writer.
“It was good therapy for me to write,” Sanders says.
“I finished it, and that’s what brought me to Los Angeles,” he says. “I figured that if I came to Los Angeles, at least I could starve and be warm. I shopped it to a few places and never got it published.”
He was taking classes at Valley College when he came across a posting for an acting workshop.
“I kind of fell into it [acting). To this day, I don’t know why I said yes, that I’ll go. There was never any prior indication. It just seemed so appropriate that I go over and do this,” Sanders said.
Since that first acting workshop, Sanders has appeared in countless productions. He has performed theater throughout the country, he has appeared in several movies and now he has settled into his Dr. Quinn role.
Although he is a member of the supporting cast, his role on the series has broadened since he began working as Robert E. The stories that have involved Sanders encompass the difficulties of the past as well as problems that are going on today.
One such story was the installment “Change of Heart.” Robert E. and his wife, Grace (played by Jonelle Allen), attempted to adopt a black child with sickle cell anemia.
It’s story lines like this one that Sanders feels bolster the show against critics who say it is too sweet. He believes that the wholesomeness of the series has enhanced its popularity.
“I think it came along at the time when families were a little disenchanted with not being able to sit down [together),” Sanders says.
Sanders also believes that while the show is good family entertainment, it is educational. Stories like the one about sickle cell open up discussion between parents and their children about history, and how that history relates to current times.
While playing the role of Robert E. is not his only project- he recently finished filming Primal Fear with Richard Gere- it is one Sanders enjoys.
“It’s every little boys fantasy,” he says.
