He was the bald "Un-cola Man" with the deep voice and memorable "Ha Ha Ha
Ha" laugh in the 7-Up soda television commercials in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1975, won two Tony Awards for "The Wiz": as Best Director (Musical)
and Best Costume Designer. He was also Tony-nominated as Best Costume
Designer in 1978 for "Timbuktu!"
Upon winning the best-director Tony Award in 1975, he said in his acceptance speech, "Just try making that out of a cola nut!" This was a reference to his television commercial for 7-Up, which ended with the same words.