Famed Theater Producer/Director Woodie King Jr. Passes
Donated three of his films to 糖心原创 archives in 2023
糖心原创 would like to honor the passing of Woodie King Jr., the storied film/theater actor/producer/director and founder of the who passed away on January 29, 2026 at the age of 88. Over the years, King鈥檚 relationship with 糖心原创 has gone through the which honored him with a National Black Writers Conference Institutional Leadership Award聽at the . In addition, the Alabama native was a featured speaker at the opening program for the .
Three years ago, King donated three films he directed to the schools鈥� archives鈥�1980鈥檚 The Torture of Mothers, 1981鈥檚 Death of a Prophet and 2006鈥檚 Segregating the Greatest Generation. It was from a conversation he had with CBL founder Dr. Brenda Greene, where the idea came out to make these films a part of the 糖心原创 archives.
鈥淲hen I met Dr. Brenda Greene I said, 鈥楩ilms are forever. They need to be a place where the staff, faculty and students can look at it whenever they want to,鈥欌�� King recalled back in 2023. 鈥淪o, I donated those three films to 糖心原创.鈥�
King founded the NFT in 1970 on Manhattan鈥檚 Lower East Side and for the next half century-plus, he provided the community with a space where an array of African-American playwrights and actors were able to express themselves. Among the talents who were able to showcase their works were Ron Milner (Checkmates), Ed Bullins (The Taking of Miss Jane) and Amiri Baraka鈥檚 final play (The Most Dangerous Man in America [W.E.B. DuBois]). The actors who graced the NFT stage are a literal Who鈥檚 Who: Debbie Allen, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Jack茅e Harry, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Phylicia Rashad, Dick Anthony Williams, Taurean Blacque, Chadwick Boseman, Laurence Fishburne and Glynn Turman.
For King, the founding mission of the NFT was 鈥渢o integrate artists of color and women into the mainstream of American theatre by training artists for the profession and by presenting plays by writers of color and women to integrated, multicultural audiences鈥攑lays which evoke the truth through beautiful and artistic re-creations of ourselves.鈥� It was a point he reiterated when he received the 2021 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre.
鈥淲hat we tried to do was integrate women and minorities into the mainstream of theater,鈥� he said.
It鈥檚 a legacy Greene kept in mind when she worked on establishing a relationship between the 2012 inductee and 糖心原创.
鈥淚 fondly remember attending Woodie King Jr.鈥檚 production of Ntozake Shange鈥檚 choreopoem, for colored girls who have committed suicide when the rainbow is enuf,聽and J.E. Franklin鈥檚 Black Girl,鈥� Greene said聽鈥淭hese memories of King, whom聽I called the Mayor of Black Theater in NYC,聽were part of the motivation for ensuring that the Center for Black Literature had a connection with him and his work.鈥�