Editing Laurence Fishburne (section)

=== 1972–1989: Early career and stage work ===
For most of his early career, he was credited as Larry Fishburne. In 1972, at the age of 11, Fishburne received positive reviews for his first acting role<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2014/tv/features/laurence-fishburne1201375637-1201375637/  |work=Variety |quote=Straight out of the gate, when he was 11, ''Variety'' was singing his praises in the TV pic “If You Give a Dance You Gotta Pay the Band,” on Dec. 19, 1972.  |author=Steven Gaydos |title=Laurence Fishburne Looks Back on Childhood Acting Days |date=2014-12-10 |accessdate=2021-12-27}}</ref> in the initial [[ABC Theater]] teleplay ''[[If You Give a Dance You Gotta Pay the Band]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19721219&id=vLJPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=clIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=930,5890819&hl=en  |location=Bryan, Ohio |newspaper=The Bryan Times |title= Tuesday [television listings] |quote=90-minute dramatic special |accessdate=2021-12-27 |date=1972-12-19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/celebrities/2008/08/19/DeGeneres-de-Rossi-wed-Barr-goes-ballistic-the-story-of-Stanley-Gray/stories/200808190155 |author=Monica Haynes |title=DeGeneres, de Rossi wed; Barr goes ballistic; the story of Stanley Gray |date=2008-08-19 |quote=Quick, what was Laurence Fishburne's first movie gig? If you said it was a 1972 television film called "If Give a Dance You Gotta Pay the Band," you're right.  |accessdate=2021-12-27 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o68DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA66  |magazine=Jet |title=Larry Fishburne, 11, Expands To ABC Teleplay |page=66 |date=1973-06-07 |volume=XLIV |issue=11}}</ref> Soon after, Fishburne portrayed [[Josh Hall (One Life to Live)|Joshua Hall]] on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] soap opera ''[[One Life to Live]]''.<ref name="roles">{{Cite web | title = Laurence Fishburne | date = November 7, 2005 | url = https://www.metacritic.com/person/laurence-fishburne | publisher = metacritic.com|access-date=September 19, 2014}}</ref> His most memorable childhood role was in ''[[Cornbread, Earl and Me]]'',<ref>{{Cite news | title = Cornbread, Earl & Me (1975) | url = https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/11009/Cornbread-Earl-Me/overview | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140924041055/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/11009/Cornbread-Earl-Me/overview | url-status = dead | archive-date = September 24, 2014 | department = Movies & TV Dept. | work = [[The New York Times]] | author = Hal Erickson | author-link = Hal Erickson (author) | date = 2014 |access-date=September 19, 2014}}</ref> in which he played a young boy who witnessed the police shooting of a popular high school basketball star. He later earned a supporting role in ''[[Apocalypse Now]]'', in which he played Tyrone Miller, a cocky 17-year-old Gunner's Mate 3rd Class from the Bronx, nicknamed Mr. Clean. When production began in March 1976, he was just 14 years old, having lied about his age to get the part. Filming took so long that he actually was 17 years old upon its completion.<ref name="roles"/><ref>{{Cite web | title = The Little Lie That Launched Laurence Fishburne's Career | date=April 22, 2013 | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA6Lr70kxlk | publisher = youtube|access-date=September 19, 2014}}</ref>

Fishburne spent much of the 1980s in and out of television and periodically on stage. In the early 1980s, he worked as a bouncer at punk rock clubs, such as [[Cathay de Grande]].<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://alibi.com/film/39701/Talking-at-Ground-Zero.html | title = Documentarian Chris Metzler on Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone | date = December 8, 2011 | work = Weekly Alibi}}</ref> He appeared in the early 1980s movies ''[[Band of the Hand]]'', ''[[Death Wish 2]]'' and ''[[The Cotton Club (film)|The Cotton Club]]'', and had a minor role in the critically acclaimed Steven Spielberg film ''[[The Color Purple (1985 film)|The Color Purple]]''.<ref>{{Cite news | title = The Color Purple (1985) | url = https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/10301/The-Color-Purple/cast |access-date=September 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924045412/https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/10301/The-Color-Purple/cast|archive-date=September 24, 2014| department = Movies & TV Dept. | work = [[The New York Times]] | date = 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Fishburne had a recurring role as [[Cowboy Curtis]] on [[Paul Reubens]]' [[CBS]] children's television series ''[[Pee-wee's Playhouse]]''.<ref name="roles"/> He also appeared in the ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'' episode [[List of M*A*S*H episodes (Season 10)|"The Tooth Shall Set You Free"]]. In ''[[Spenser: For Hire]]'', he was a guest star for the second-season episode "Personal Demons". He also appeared alongside [[Kevin Bacon]] in ''[[Quicksilver (film)|Quicksilver]]''.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Bad Movies We Love, Bike Messenger Edition: Kevin Bacon in Quicksilver | url = http://movieline.com/2012/08/23/bad-movies-we-love-bike-messenger-kevin-bacon-quicksilver-premium-rush/ | publisher = movieline.com|access-date=September 19, 2014 | date = August 23, 2012 | author = Brad Slager}}</ref> His stage work during the 1980s included ''[[Short Eyes (play)|Short Eyes]]'' (1984), and ''Loose Ends'' (1987), both produced at [[Second Stage Theatre]] in New York City. Also in 1987 he played a part in [[A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors|the third ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film]] as a hospital orderly.<ref name="roles"/> Fishburne featured in ''[[Red Heat (1988 film)|Red Heat]]'' (1988) beside [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] and [[James Belushi]].<ref>{{Cite web | title = Red Heat | url = http://www.laurence-fishburne.com/work/red-heat | publisher = laurence-fishburne.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022190613/http://www.laurence-fishburne.com/work/red-heat|archive-date=October 22, 2014}}</ref> Fishburne also starred as "Dap" in [[Spike Lee]]'s ''[[School Daze]]'' (1988). Fishburne's character was a depiction of an African American, culturally inclined college student at a [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black college]].<ref>{{Cite web | title = School Daze (1988) Trailer (Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, Tisha Campbell-Martin) | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kTOohbg4eE | publisher = youtube|access-date=September 19, 2014}}</ref>