In the fall of 1975 Ernest arrived in Los Angeles with a $200 grant from The Actorʼs Fund in his
pocket and landed a role playing a thief on The Jeffersons within two weeks. Shortly after, he auditioned for the upcoming sitcom Whatʼs Happening, which was loosely based on the 1975 film Cooley High. Ernest won the role of Roger “Raj Thomas which he played from 1976 to
1979.
From 1985 to 1988 he reprised his role as Raj in the sequel Whatʼs Happening Now, which also lasted for 3 seasons. Throughout the 90s and early 00ʼs, Ernest appeared on various TV shows,
and eventually played the funeral director, Mr. Omar, on the series Everybody Hates Chris from 2005-2009. Significant past film roles include “Brother Sidney X” in Spike Leeʼs 1992 biopic Malcolm X and the Yo Teach high school principal in 2009ʼs Funny People. Ernest will soon be seen in Rob Zombieʼs thriller Lords of Salem in the role of Chip “Freakshow” McDonald, and recently joined the cast of Kimberly Sandersʼ film True Indigo.
