Michael Warren: The UCLA Champion Who Became Bobby Hill
Michael Warren went from championship basketball at UCLA to a long acting career, with Hill Street Blues making Officer Bobby Hill his best-known screen role.
Introduction
Michael Warren has lived two very different public careers.
First came basketball. Big games. National titles.
Then acting took over.
Born in South Bend, Indiana, Warren became an All-American guard at UCLA and captained two national championship teams coached by John Wooden. Years later, television viewers knew him for something completely different: Officer Robert “Bobby” Hill on Hill Street Blues.
That role made him widely known.
His story also includes film work, an Emmy nomination, family life, photography, and a lasting connection to UCLA basketball.
Quick Facts About Michael Warren
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Lloyd Michael Warren |
| Known as | Michael Warren, Mike Warren |
| Date of birth | March 5, 1946 |
| Age | 80 years old, as of 2026 |
| Birthplace | South Bend, Indiana, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Actor, former college basketball player, photographic artist |
| Height | About 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| College | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) |
| Degree | B.A. in Theater Arts |
| Basketball position | Guard |
| UCLA national titles | 1967 and 1968 |
| NBA draft | Seattle SuperSonics, 1968 |
| Best-known role | Officer Bobby Hill in Hill Street Blues |
| Wife | Jenny |
| Children | Koa, Cash, Grayson and Makayla |
| Major TV recognition | Primetime Emmy nomination |
| Later creative work | Fine-art photography |
Michael Warren’s Early Life
Michael Warren was born on March 5, 1946, in South Bend, Indiana.
Basketball came early.
He attended South Bend Central High School and became one of its leading players. Warren earned Indiana all-state recognition twice.
His scoring stood out too.
By his 1964 graduation, he had set school marks for career, season and single-game scoring. One of his best-known high school performances was a 43-point game during the Elkhart regional.
He wasn’t only playing basketball.
Warren also served as class president during his senior year.
His high school career later earned him a place in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in 1992.
College and Education at UCLA
Basketball took Warren to UCLA.
It was a major move.
There, he played for legendary coach John Wooden and became part of one of the strongest periods in UCLA basketball history.
Warren also studied at the university.
UCLA records show that he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the School of Theater, Film and Television, majoring in theater arts.
That education later made sense.
Acting soon became his career.
But first, basketball had unfinished business.
Michael Warren’s UCLA Basketball Career
Warren played guard for the UCLA Bruins.
He wasn’t a tall guard.
Basketball records list him around 5 feet 11 inches and about 155 pounds during his playing career.
Still, size wasn’t his main story.
His decision-making was.
Warren played varsity basketball for UCLA across three seasons, from 1965-66 through 1967-68.
Across 86 college games, he averaged 13.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
His scoring averages were:
- 1965-66: 16.6 points per game
- 1966-67: 12.7 points per game
- 1967-68: 12.1 points per game
He played alongside several major names.
That group included Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, plus Lucius Allen and Lynn Shackelford.
Then came the titles.
Two NCAA Championships
UCLA won the 1967 NCAA championship.
The team went 30-0.
Warren was part of it.
UCLA repeated the achievement in 1968, winning another national championship.
Warren had now won back-to-back titles.
His role went beyond scoring.
Coach John Wooden chose him as captain of both championship teams. UCLA says Warren became the only player to captain two Wooden-coached squads.
That says plenty.
Wooden also spoke highly of Warren’s basketball intelligence and viewed him as a coach on the floor.
During his senior season, Warren earned All-American recognition.
His UCLA years had gone well.
Very well, actually.
Michael Warren and the 1968 NBA Draft
Professional basketball looked possible.
The Seattle SuperSonics selected Warren in the 1968 NBA Draft.
He went in the 14th round.
His selection was the 173rd overall pick.
Yet Warren never built an NBA playing career.
His life soon changed direction.
Basketball remained part of his story, but acting became his main professional path.
How Michael Warren Started Acting
Warren’s move into acting had a basketball connection.
He worked as a basketball technical adviser on the 1971 film Drive, He Said, directed by Jack Nicholson.
He also appeared in the movie.
That helped start his screen career.
Before that, Warren had an uncredited appearance as a referee in the 1970 film Halls of Anger.
More work followed.
His early movie credits included:
- Drive, He Said (1971)
- Butterflies Are Free (1972)
- Cleopatra Jones (1973)
- Norman… Is That You? (1976)
- Fast Break (1979)
Basketball was behind him professionally.
Hollywood was now the job.
Michael Warren in Hill Street Blues
Then came his defining role.
In 1981, Warren joined NBC’s Hill Street Blues as Officer Robert “Bobby” Hill.
The police drama became highly respected.
Warren stayed with the series through its seven-season run from 1981 to 1987.
Bobby Hill worked closely with Officer Andy Renko, played by Charles Haid.
Their partnership became familiar to viewers.
For Warren, the show changed everything.
People who had never watched him play basketball now knew his face from television.
Emmy Nomination
Warren’s work received major recognition.
In 1982, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Hill Street Blues.
He did not win that Emmy.
Michael Conrad won the category.
Still, the nomination placed Warren among the recognised supporting actors on one of television’s major dramas.
Warren’s own site and UCLA also state that his work on Hill Street Blues earned him an NAACP Image Award.
It remains his best-known acting performance.
Movies and TV Shows
Warren continued working after Hill Street Blues.
His career covered film and television.
Some of his known film appearances include:
- Butterflies Are Free
- Cleopatra Jones
- Norman… Is That You?
- Fast Break
- Cold Steel
- Heaven Is a Playground
- Storyville
- A Passion to Kill
- The Hunted
- Trippin’
- Species III
- Mother and Child
- Anderson’s Cross
- American Skin
He also appeared across many television programs.
His TV work includes appearances in shows such as Murder One, Soul Food, Lincoln Heights, Girlfriends, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Criminal Minds.
One later verified movie credit is Melvin in American Skin, released in 2019.
Michael Warren in Soul Food
One later role held special meaning.
Warren played Baron Marks in Soul Food.
On his own website, Warren described his work on the series as some of the best acting he had done for television.
The character had an unusual mix.
He helped his community while operating outside normal power structures.
Singer Usher appeared as his character’s son.
It gave Warren another memorable TV part years after Bobby Hill.
Michael Warren’s Wife
Michael Warren is married to Jenny.
His own public website says they have been married for more than 30 years.
Warren has four children.
He and Jenny have two children together:
- Grayson
- Makayla
He also has two children from an earlier marriage:
- Koa
- Cash
Public reference records identify Warren’s previous wife as Sue Narramore.
Private details about either marriage are limited, so claims beyond publicly documented information should be treated carefully.
Michael Warren’s Children
Warren’s four children are Koa, Cash, Grayson and Makayla.
His son Cash Warren became known as a producer and entrepreneur.
Koa Warren works in art.
In 2022, Michael and Koa were featured together in a father-daughter art exhibition called A Family Affaire.
Michael presented photographic artwork.
Koa presented paintings.
It showed another side of the Warren family.
Michael Warren’s Grandchildren
Warren’s own website lists six grandchildren:
- Renzo
- Nea
- Honor
- Haven
- Hayes
- Alani
He has spoken publicly about family through his photography work, where family pictures became part of his creative history.
Is Michael Warren Jessica Alba’s Father-in-Law?
Michael Warren is the father of Cash Warren.
Cash Warren was married to actress Jessica Alba.
That made Michael Warren Alba’s father-in-law during their marriage.
Michael Warren himself is not an actor related to Jessica Alba through blood. The connection came through Cash.
Michael Warren’s Photography
Acting isn’t his only creative work.
Photography goes way back.
Warren developed an interest in photography while attending UCLA.
After college, he took professional headshots for actors.
He also photographed the Jackson Five during a Los Angeles concert. UCLA says one of those photographs appeared in the Los Angeles Times with Warren receiving credit.
Later, photography became more personal.
He photographed his family.
Then his focus changed again.
Around 2015, Warren began paying close attention to clouds and outdoor scenes around Los Angeles.
He started creating heavily styled photographic art from those images.
His work has since appeared in public exhibitions.
UCLA reported that Warren was part of a photography exhibition at The Americana at Brand in Glendale beginning in 2020.
He kept working with photography after his regular acting career slowed.
Basketball Hall of Fame Recognition
Warren’s basketball achievements weren’t forgotten.
He entered the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990.
Two years later, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame inducted him in 1992.
His basketball record includes:
- Two NCAA championships
- All-American recognition
- Two years as UCLA captain
- Academic recognition during college
- Selection in the 1968 NBA Draft
That’s a serious sports résumé.
Then he built another career.
Few actors arrive through that path.
Charity Work
The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame also records Warren’s involvement with charitable groups.
Those organizations have included the Special Olympics, Children’s Hospital, Sunshine Foundation and March of Dimes.
Public details about the length and exact nature of each role are limited.
So it is safer to keep the claim simple.
He has supported charitable work.
Michael Warren’s Height
Basketball-Reference lists Warren at 5 feet 11 inches, or around 1.80 metres.
His playing weight was listed at about 155 pounds, or 70 kilograms.
Some entertainment listings differ slightly on his exact height.
The basketball measurement is the clearest sports record.
Michael Warren’s Age
Michael Warren was born on March 5, 1946.
He turned 80 years old in March 2026.
His birthplace is South Bend, Indiana.
Michael Warren’s Net Worth
There is no reliable public record confirming Michael Warren’s net worth.
Several entertainment websites may publish estimates.
Those figures are not supported by verified financial records.
For that reason, putting an exact dollar amount here would create a claim that cannot be properly checked.
Better to leave it there.
Where Is Michael Warren Now?
Warren has kept a lower public profile than during his Hill Street Blues years.
His later public work has included photography and art exhibitions.
His official photography site remains focused on his photographic artwork.
His verified acting credits also stretch into the 2010s, including American Skin.
No reliable public source gives a detailed account of his private day-to-day life in 2026.
That information should stay private.
Michael Warren’s Career in Simple Terms
Basketball opened the first door.
Acting opened another.
Warren became a national champion at UCLA, played under John Wooden, shared the floor with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, earned All-American recognition and got selected in an NBA draft.
Then the story changed.
He moved into acting.
Hill Street Blues gave him the role most viewers still remember, while his Emmy nomination showed the quality of his work.
Later came photography.
Basically, Warren never stayed inside one lane.
He kept making things.
Final Thought
Michael Warren’s public career is unusual.
He reached the top level of college basketball before becoming a familiar television actor.
Two NCAA titles came first.
Then Bobby Hill arrived.
His work on Hill Street Blues brought an Emmy nomination and long-term recognition, while photography gave him another creative outlet later in life.
That mix makes Warren interesting.
Athlete. Actor. Photographer.
Different chapters, same person.
FAQs
Who is Michael Warren?
Michael Warren is an American actor, former UCLA basketball player and photographic artist. He is best known for playing Officer Bobby Hill on Hill Street Blues.
How old is Michael Warren?
Michael Warren was born on March 5, 1946. He is 80 years old as of October 2026.
What is Michael Warren famous for?
He is best known for playing Officer Bobby Hill in the NBC police drama Hill Street Blues.
Did Michael Warren play basketball?
Yes. Warren played guard for UCLA and won NCAA championships in 1967 and 1968.
Did Michael Warren play with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?
Yes. Warren played at UCLA with Lew Alcindor, who later became known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Was Michael Warren drafted into the NBA?
Yes. The Seattle SuperSonics selected him with the 173rd overall pick in the 1968 NBA Draft.
Who is Michael Warren’s wife?
Michael Warren is married to Jenny. His own website says the couple have been married for more than 30 years.
How many children does Michael Warren have?
He has four publicly documented children: Koa, Cash, Grayson and Makayla.
Is Cash Warren Michael Warren’s son?
Yes. Producer and entrepreneur Cash Warren is one of Michael Warren’s children.
Did Michael Warren win an Emmy?
No. He received a Primetime Emmy nomination in 1982 for his work on Hill Street Blues.
What is Michael Warren’s net worth?
No trustworthy public financial record confirms his net worth. Exact figures published on celebrity wealth sites should be treated as estimates, not verified facts.
