Lloyd Michael Warren was born in 1946 in South Bend, Indiana, as the youngest of three children. He excelled in sports at South Bend Central High School, earning a scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he majored in television, radio, and film.
At UCLA, Michael became an All-American basketball star under the legendary John Wooden, serving as the team's captain for two years. His teammates included Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar, Lynn Shackleford, and Lucius Allen. The Bruins won two NCAA national championships during the years 1966-1968.
Michael's strong leadership and prowess on the court as a guard helped propel UCLA to success. He later received an unbilled role as a basketball referee in the film Halls of Anger (1970) and a featured role in director Jack Nicholson's film Drive, He Said (1971) after serving as a technical consultant for the basketball sequences.
Developing an ad agency in Los Angeles to counterbalance the unsteadiness of his acting career, Michael landed some commercial work and eventually earned his first regular role on the short-lived TV series Sierra (1974). He went on to appear in "blaxploitation" films such as Cleopatra Jones (1973) and daytime programming with a 1976 stint on Days of Our Lives (1965).
After more episodic work and a failed series pilot, Michael hit the TV jackpot with the award-winning, critically-acclaimed Hill Street Blues (1981). Possessing the same kind of street savvy and cerebral handsomeness as Denzel Washington, Michael seemed a shoo-in for film stardom. However, his career moved rather slow and erratically after the end of his hit series in 1987.
Michael continued to work in television, appearing in series such as Soul Food (2000),Lincoln Heights (2006),and Single Ladies (2011),and in guest spots on various shows. He was also featured in films like A Passion to Kill (1994),The Hunted (1995),Trippin' (1999),Mother and Child (2009),Anderson's Cross (2010),and American Skin (2019).
Presently, Michael lives in Los Angeles with his second wife, Jenny, and their two children, and has two children from his first marriage. Despite the ups and downs of his career, he continues to work and maintain a stable home life.
