Woodie King Jr.
American director and producer (1937-2026)
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Woodie King Jr. (July 27, 1937 – January 29, 2026) was an American film and theatre actor, producer and director. Renowned for his pioneering career, he dedicated himself to increasing the representation of African-American voices in the performing arts. King is credited with producing and directing more than 400 performances across the United States[1]. He has been hailed by theatre arts journalists[who?] as "the Renaissance Man of Black Theatre".[2]
Woodie King, Jr. | |
|---|---|
King at the 74th Tony Awards in 2021 | |
| Born | July 27, 1937 Bladon Springs, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | January 29, 2026 (aged 88) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Occupations | Director, producer |
| Spouse | Willie Mae Washington (Married 1959) |
King is best known as the founding director of the New Federal Theatre in New York City, with a mission to amplify the voices of Black artists, women, other underrepresented identities.[3] Numerous African-American artists who are highly prominent in the entertainment industry today performed at the New Federal Theatre in the early years of their careers, including Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Lawrence Fishburne, Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, Loretta Devine, Jackie Harry, Reginald Vel Johnson, Al Freemon Jr. and more.[4]
He retired from his role as the producing director at the New Federal Theatre in 2021, but he remained on the board.[5]
King is widely celebrated for his transformative influence on the development and public recognition of Black voices in the performing arts. He has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career. His recognitions include the John Hay Whitney Fellowship at The American Place Theater, the Venice Festival Award and the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen Award for The Game, and the International Film Critics Award for Right On. He also earned the A. Philip Randolph Award at the New York Film Festival for Epitaph, as well as an NAACP Image Award for his direction of Checkmates. King won AUDELCO Awards for Best Director and Best Play for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil, and later received an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement, the Actors' Equity Association's Paul Robeson Award, and its Rosetta LeNoire Award. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame and honored with the Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre.[6][7][8]
Education and career
King was born in Bladon Springs, Alabama, United States, on July 27, 1937. After his parents separated, he and his mother moved to Detroit, Michigan.[9]
He graduated high school in 1956. He then started a job at the Ford Motor Company as an arc welder.[10] From 1958 to 1962 King attended The Will-O-Way School of Theatre in Detroit on a scholarship.[11] From 1959 to 1962, he wrote drama criticism for the Detroit Tribune.[11] In 1960, King cofounded the Concept-East Theatre in Detroit with Ron Milner, serving as the manager and director until 1963.[12]
After moving to New York in 1964, King was awarded the John Hays Whitney Fellowship to study theatre direction and administration at The American Place Theatre.[13][12] That same year, he started a position as the Cultural Arts Director at Mobilization for Youth, where he stayed for five years. In 1970, King founded the New Federal Theatre in the Lower East Side of New York City, establishing a space dedicated to producing works by and about people of color and preserving the voices of underrepresented communities.[3] In 1974, he founded The National Black Touring Circuit to support and present Black theater productions nationwide, helping ensure that Black stories and artists reached broader audiences.[14]
In 1996, King earned a B.A. degree in Self-Determined Studies, with a focus on Theatre and Black Studies from Lehman College.[15] In 1999, he graduated from Brooklyn College in New York with a M.F.A. in Theater with a concentration in Directing.[16]
In 2008, King was awarded an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters by Lehman College.[17] King held a doctorate in Humane Letters from Wayne State University.[18] He also held honorary doctorate degrees from the College of Wooster and John Jay College of Criminal Justice.[19]
Death
Credits
King has a long list of credits in film, television, and stage direction and production, including the following:
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Sweet Love, Bitter | Actor: Woodie King Jr. | [22] |
| 1972 | Together for Days | Actor: Jerry | [22] |
| 1973 | Serpico | Actor: Larry | [22] |
| 1976 | The Long Night | Writer, Director, Actor: Steely | [22] |
| 2012 | Men in Black 3 | Actor: HQ Guard | [22] |
| 2015 | Staten Island Summer | Actor: Mr. Stewart | [22] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | N.Y.P.D. | Actor: Lewis
Episode: "Which Side Are You Own?" |
[22] |
| 1981 | Death of a Prophet | Director | [22] |
| 1983 | Love to all, Lorraine | Director | [22] |
| 1994 | Law & Order | Actor: Clayton
Episode: "Wager" |
[22] |
| 2009 | Law & Order: SVU | Actor: Parking Attendant
Episode: "Perverted" |
[22] |
| 2011 | Treme | Actor
Episode: "Slip Away" |
[22] |
| 2014 | Unforgettable | Actor: Barry | [22] |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Playwright | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The Great White Hope | Performer (Drummer) | Howard Sackler | Alvin Theatre | [23] |
| 1974 | What the Wine Sellers Buy | Producer | Ron Milner | Vivian Beaumont Theater | [24] |
| 1975 | The Talking of Miss Janie | Producer | Ed Bullins | The Henry Street Settlement | [25] |
| 1975 | The First Breeze of Summer | Producer | Leslie Lee | Palace Theatre | [26] |
| 1976 | For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf | Producer | Ntozake Shange | The Public Theater | [27] |
| 1976 | Sizwe Banzi Is Dead | Director | Athol Fugard, John Kani, Winston Ntshona | Pittsburgh Public Theater | [28] |
| 1979 | Daddy | Director | Ed Bullins | [11] | |
| 1980 | Reggae | Executive Producer | Melvin Van Peebles, Stafford Harrison | Biltmore Theatre | [28] |
| 1984 | AmeriCain Gothic | Director | Paul Carter Harrison | [14] | |
| 1985 | Appear and Show Cause | Director | Stephen Taylor | Harry De Jur Playhouse | [29] |
| 1985 | I Have a Dream | Director | Josh Greenfield | [11] | |
| 1988 | Splendid Mummer | Director | Lonne Elder III | American Place Theatre; Arena Stage | |
| 1988 | Checkmates | Director | Ron Milner | Richard Rogers Theater | [30] |
| 1989 | God’s Trombones | Director | James Weldon Johnson | Theater of Riverside Church | [11] |
| 1993 | Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil | Director | Bill Harris | Harry De Jur Playhouse | [29] |
| 1993 | Good Black Don't Crack | Rob Penny | Billie Holiday Theatre | ||
| 1994 | A Raisin in the Sun | Producer, Director | Lorraine Hansberry | Alliance Theater | |
| 1994 | Mudtracks | Regina Taylor | Ensemble Studio Theater | ||
| 1995 | Eyes | Mari Evans | American Cabaret Theater | ||
| 1996 | Checkmates | Director | Ron Milner | Harry De Jur Playhouse | [11] |
| 1996 | Joe Turner's Come and Gone | Producer | August Wilson | Brooklyn College | [29] |
| 1996 | Home | Director | Samm-Art Williams | Baltimore Center Stage | |
| 1998 | Angels in America | Tony Kushner | Ohio State University | ||
| 2000 | James Baldwin: A Soul on Fire | Howard Simon | New York Shakespeare Festival | ||
| 2002 | Urban Transition: Loose Blossoms | Director | Ron Milner | The Harry De Jur Playhouse | [11] |
| 2004 | Waitin’ 2 End Hell | Director | William A. Parker | [11] | |
| 2005 | The Stuttering Preacher | Director | Levy Lee Simon | [11] | |
| 2012 | The Piano Lesson | August Wilson | Seminole State College of Florida | ||
| 2012 | Sowa’s Red Gravy | Director | Diane Richards | Castillo Theatre | [11] |
| 2013 | The Fabulous Miss Marie | Director | Ed Bullins | Castillo Theatre | [11] |
| 2013 | Every Day a Visitor | Director | Richard Abrons | Harold Clurman Theatre | [14] |
| 2015 | Dutchman | Director | Amiri Baraka | Castillo Theatre | [11] |
| 2015 | Most Dangerous Man in America | Director | Amiri Baraka | Castillo Theatre | [11] |
| 2016 | Zola Neale Hurston: A Theatrical Biography | Director | Laurence Holder | Castillo Theatre | [11] |
Awards and honors
- 1965: The John Hay Whitney Fellowship at The American Place Theater[13]
- 1968: Venice Festival Award for The Game[13]
- 1968: International Short Film Festival Oberhausen Award for The Game[13]
- 1970: International Film Critics Award for Right On[13]
- 1971: New York Film Festival A. Phillip Randolph Award for Epitaph[13]
- 1988: NAACP Image Award for the direction of Checkmates[19]
- 1993: AUDELCO awards for Best Director and Best Play for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil[19]
- 1997: Obie Award for Sustained Achievement[31]
- 2003: The Actors’ Equity Association’s Paul Robeson Award[8]
- 2005: The Actors' Equity Association’s Rosetta LeNoire Award[32]
- 2011: Induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame[6]
- 2020: Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre[7]