Credit: Columbia Pictures

Born the youngest of eight children in 1934 in the Bahamas, Mr. Lockhart moved to New York as a teenager to study engineering but quickly found his calling in acting.

His first prominent movie role was in the 1968 film “Joanna,” about an interracial romance in London. He was later praised for his portrayal of an unscrupulous preacher in the 1970 film “Cotton Comes to Harlem,” directed by Ossie Davis.

Mr. Lockhart also played an urban high school administrator in “Halls of Anger” (1970), a disc jockey-turned-sleuth in the blaxploitation film “Melinda” (1972) and the gangster character Biggie Smalls in “Let’s Do It Again” (1975), directed by Sidney Poitier.

Mr. Lockhart appeared on the television series “Dynasty” and had roles in Hollywood hits like “Coming to America” (1988), starring Eddie Murphy.