[2] During sixth grade while performing in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sullivan's talents were noted by Ann Brebner, who hired him and his entire class as extras in a 1970 Sidney Poitier film, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!.
Most notably, he got a role as the Master of Ceremonies during an episode of Sesame Street being filmed live at Golden Gate Park.
[2] Sullivan was cast in Thumb Tripping with Meg Foster, following which he got a part in a series called Wee Pals on the Go.
He acquired a scholarship to St. Ignatius College Preparatory, a Jesuit all-boys high school in the Sunset District of San Francisco and graduated in 1976.
During his senior year, he convinced the theater department to allow him to direct Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, by Lonne Elder; following this, the school asked him to be the lead in a production of The Teahouse of the August Moon.
[2] In the meantime, his acting was noticed after he auditioned for a few movie roles, including Lieutenant in More American Graffiti (1979), Tyrone in Night Shift (1982), March in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), and John Grant in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984).
In 1992, Sullivan directed the pilot for an ABC series, Moe's World, a story narrated by a young boy killed in a car crash.
The later was a docudrama on how African Americans "broke the baseball color barrier" which follows the "triumphant and tragic stories" of Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson as they make their way out of the Negro leagues, and into the Majors.
[5] "For African-Americans in this century," Sullivan told The New York Times regarding Soul of the Game, "one man's victory is often the result of others paving the way, sometimes making the triumph both bitter and sweet".
Sullivan's successes presented him with many opportunities, including the ability to collaborate with George Lucas on Red Tails, a story about the Tuskegee airmen, as well as with Norman Jewison on an adaptation of The Good Times Are Killing Me.
[6] In addition to these series, Sullivan also produced Frank's Place (1987), I'll Fly Away (1991), Boy Meets Girl (1993), and Cosmic Slop (1994), before his first major production.
After being reformed in jail, the main character goes on a mission to help reduce youth violence by inviting the leaders of the largest gangs to a church meeting.
Notable cast members included Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Anthony Anderson, and a brief cameo by Queen Latifah in promotion of her spinoff of the Barbershop franchise.
The latest major film production by Kevin Sullivan was Guess Who (2005); the idea for the movie was originally a collaborative effort by Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac.
Sullivan then developed a pilot for the series Watching Ellie (2002), and wrote some scripts for The Guardian (2002) which was a crime drama that ran for two seasons.
However, despite winning awards for being an outstanding comedy, 30 Rock has been chronically underrated throughout its six seasons of being on air, with a viewership of nearly 5.3 million viewers.