What is new with the former Roots star LeVar Burton? What are his hobbies?
—Jody Bailey, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Burton, 55, who was born in Landstuhl, West Germany, and grew up in Sacramento, Calif., has a recurring role in the new TV crime drama, Perception, as college dean Paul Haley (the last name an homage to Roots author Alex Haley) and does voice work for Transformers: Rescue Bots. Burton enjoys traveling and loves to read, especially science fiction. Best known for his breakout role in Roots, then Star Trek: The Next Generation and Reading Rainbow, he says, “Reading Rainbow is the one of which I am most proud. We were all teachers in my family.” The host of that PBS series from 1983 to 2006, he launched a re-interpretation of the show as an app through Apple this summer.
