The ‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Who Wrote a Jackson 5 Hit and Preached From a Real Pulpit

Beyond the Gates may be the newest soap on the block, having premiered in February of 2025 as the first new daytime drama to debut in over 20 years, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its fair share of seasoned stars in the cast.

Tamara Tunie, who came to TV fame on soaps as Jessica Griffin on As the World Turns, a role she played off and on from 1987 to 2009, brings BTG matriarch Anita Dupree to life, per IMDb. Her leading man also shot to television fame in the 1980s on a legendary sitcom. Clifton Davis plays Anita’s husband, Dupree patriarch Vernon.

Before he ever gave soaps a thought, Davis had quite a career in both television and music. NBC comedy fans will remember Davis from Amen, which premiered 40 years ago today. Davis played Reverend Reuben Gregory for its entire five-season run, per IMDb. In real life, Davis is also a Baptist church minister who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in theology and a Master’s in divinity, according to the actor’s official website.

On BTG, Davis, who turns 84 on October 4, gets to put his musical talents to work. With a career that started on Broadway in Hello Dolly in the 1960s, the Tony-nominated Davis became a prolific songwriter and even penned the Jackson 5 hit Never Can Say Goodbye.

In fact, Davis brought things full circle last December when he performed that tune on the Christmas Eve episode of Beyond the Gates, which you can see here.

“It’s quite amazing to think I wrote this song way, way back, and now it’s been written into the show’s story plot,” Davis said in an interview with Billboard at the time. “It’s exciting to be singing and sharing this song with another generation. It’s a song that just keeps on giving. I’m humbled as well because it didn’t have to turn out this way. God is good.”