He graduated from Jamaica High School in 1969 as Donald Cohen.
His given name's pronunciation is "oh-bah" and his surname's pronunciation is "bah-bah-tun-day".
He was awarded the 1991 Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Lead Performance for "Jelly's Last Jam" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
Was nominated for Broadway's 1982 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured
Role - Musical) for "Dreamgirls."