Jerome Benton

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Jerome Benton born September 19 1962 is an American musical performer backup dancer and comedic actor He can be seen in music videos by Janet Jackson and Prince but he is best known for his association with The Time Benton is the half brother of Time bassist Terry Lewis and worked closely with the band behind the scenes in its initial stages During one performance lead singer Morris Day asked for someone to bring him a mirror Benton responded by ripping a mirror out of the clubs restroom and bringing it on stage for Day to comb his hair This act elevated Bentons integration into the band as a comic foil to Day along with his dancing and providing backing vocals In 1983 when Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis missed a concert in San Antonio Benton was tasked by Prince to pretend to fill in for Lewis on stage with his bass unplugged while Prince provided the bass line backstage Jam and Lewis were eventually fired after the tour Benton appeared in the 1984 film Purple Rain with the rest of The Time and assumed the role of Morris Days bodyguard and valet He also appeared in Princes second film Under the Cherry Moon The chemistry between Day and Benton was wellreceived Although The Time soon dissolved after Day started pursuing a solo career Prince retained Benton as well as Jellybean Johnson and Paul Peterson for the shortlived project The Family Benton reunited with his other group The Family on December 13 2003 for a single charity performance along with other acts formerly associated with Prince According to a January 31 2007 press release on St Pauls website The Family announced that the group is returning with a new record and a tour Description above from the Wikipedia article Jerome Benton licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia