Biography

Robert Kya-Hill was born on December 4, 1930 in Whitaker, North Carolina, USA. He was an actor, known for Death Wish (1974), Celeste & Jesse Forever (2012) and Lou Grant (1977). He was married to Sally Sherwin. He died on May 31, 2026.

Has enacted the title role in Othello on many occasions on the stage, including in Montreal, Vermont, New York City, and Perth, Australia.

Graduated as a silk screen major from the High School of Industrial Arts in 1948. He worked in the silk screen industry and then attended the City College of New York in 1950-51. He was self taught on the guitar and attended music auditions for singing practice because he could not afford lessons. His studies were interrupted by Army service in Germany during the Korean War. He was discharged in 1953 with a National Defense Service Medal. From 1954 to 1957, he studied at the New York College of Music and Jarahal School of Music in Harlem.

He created and taught the first Black Theater studies course at Hunter College, New York City in 1972-74, where he also taught acting in addition to performing and directing. He added playwriting in 1975-76 when he was appointed artist-in-residence at the Western Australian Institute of Technology (now Curtin University). In 1991, he was awarded an M.A in Theater Education from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.

Actor and guitarist and folk singer. He initially performed under the name "Bob Hill". However, since there was already an actor with the same name, he changed his name temporarily to 'Robert Hill II', then adding the prefix "Kya" after joining the Screen Actors Guild in 1961.

His mother, Fannie Williams Hill, was a garment presser.