Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. is an American actor, director, and children's television host. He is best known for his roles as Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation franchise (1987–2002), and as host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for over 23 years (1983–2006).