The comedian made his first public appearance in three years during a virtual A Different World reunion Feb. 29 for the show’s HBCU College Tour event at Morehouse College in Atlanta. 

And the 67-year-old was touched by the reaction of college students in the crowd during his most recent appearance. Sinbad (real name David Adkins) gained a loyal fanbase starring as Coach Walter Oakes in A Different World in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s—alongside other stars like Jasmine Guy and Jada Pinkett Smith. The stand-up comedian later fronted his eponymous sitcom, which ran for one season in the mid-‘90s and starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1996 film Jingle All The Way. 

And while he continued to take acting and voice roles throughout the 2000s and 2010s, he’s ultimately focused on recuperation in the last few years—other than playing himself in an episode of Atlanta and voicing a business manager in Good Burger 2 (2023). Still, throughout his recovery, he’s maintained a focus on his fans.Â