Woodie King Jr.
{{Short description|American director and producer (born 1937)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Woodie King Jr.
| image = woodie king jr 2021 1.jpg
| caption = King at the 74th Tony Awards in 2021
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1937|7|27|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Baldwin Springs, Alabama, U.S.
| education = {{Plainlist|
}}
| occupation = Director, producer
| years_active =
| spouse =
| children =
}}
Woodie King Jr. (born July 27, 1937) is an American director and producer of stage and screen, as well as the founding director of the New Federal Theatre in New York City.{{Cite web|url=http://www.newfederaltheatre.org/aboutus.htm |title=New Federal Theatre - About Us |work=New Federal Theater |access-date=2008-08-07 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080621085956/http://www.newfederaltheatre.org/aboutus.htm |archivedate = 21 June 2008}}
Early life and education
King was born in Baldwin Springs, Alabama, United States.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/woodie-king-jr |title=Woodie King Jr. Biography |website=The HistoryMakers |date=April 18, 2003 |access-date=2008-08-07}} He graduated high school in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan, and worked at the Ford Motor Company there for three years. He then worked for the City of Detroit as a draftsman.
In 1970, he founded the New Federal Theatre. He earned a B.A. degree in Self-Determined Studies, with a focus on Theatre and Black Studies, at Lehman College in 1996, and an M.F.A. at Brooklyn College in 1999.
Credits
King has a long list of credits in film and stage direction and production, including the following:
= Film =
| class="wikitable" | ||||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes ! Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Sweet Love, Bitter | Performer | {{cite web |title= Woodie King Jr. - IMDB|url= https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0454392/|access-date= April 17, 2024|publisher= IMDB}} | |
| 1972 | Together for Days | Jerry | ||
| 1973 | Serpico | Larry | ||
| 1976 | The Long Night | Steely | Director; Film debut | |
| 2012 | Men in Black 3 | MIB HQ Guard | ||
| 2015 | Staten Island Summer | Mr. Stewart |
= Television =
| class="wikitable" | ||||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes ! Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | N.Y.P.D. | Lewis | Episode: "Which Side Are You Own?" | |
| 1981 | Death of a Prophet | {{n/a}} | Director; Television film | |
| 1983 | Love to all, Lorraine | {{n/a}} | Director; Television film | |
| 1994 | Law & Order | Clayton | Episode: "Wager" | |
| 2009 | Law & Order: SVU | Parking Attendant | Episode: "Perverted" | |
| 2011 | Treme | Performer | Episode: "Slip Away" | |
| 2014 | Unforgettable | Barry | 2 episodes |
= Theatre =
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Playwright ! Venue ! Ref. |
|---|
| 1976
| |
| 1989
| God's Trombone | Ford's Theater | |
| 1987
| Splendid Mummer | American Place Theatre; Arena Stage | |
| 1987–1988
| Checkmates | Ron Milner | Inner City Cultural Center (Los Angeles) | |
| 1988
| Checkmates | Ron Milner | 46th Street Theatre, Broadway | {{cite web|url= https://www.playbill.com/production/checkmates-46th-street-theatre-vault-0000003087|title= Checkmates (Broadway, 1988)|website= Playbill|access-date= April 17, 2024}} |
| 1990
| Joe Turner's Come and Gone | August Wilson | Detroit Repertory Theater | |
| 1992
| Indiana Repertory Company | |
| 1993
| Good Black Don't Crack | Rob Penny | Billie Holiday Theatre (Brooklyn) | |
| 1993
| Checkmates | Ron Milner | St Louis Black Repertory Theatre | |
| 1994
| Alliance Theater (Atlanta, Georgia) | |
| 1994
| Mudtracks | The Ensemble Studio Theater | |
| 1995–1996
| Checkmates | Ron Milner | New Federal Theatre |
| 1995–1996
| Eyes | American Cabaret Theater, Indiana | |
| 1995–1996
| Checkmates | Bermuda International Theatre Festival | |
| 1996–1997
| Brooklyn College | |
| 1996–1997
| Home | Center Stage of Baltimore | |
| 1998–1999
| Ohio State University | |
| 2000
| James Baldwin: A Soul on Fire | Howard Simon | New York Shakespeare Festival | |
| 2012
| August Wilson | Seminole State College of Florida | |
Co-produced plays
- For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
- What the Wine Sellers Buy
- Reggae
- The Taking of Miss Janie, by Ed Bullins, which earned the Drama Critics Circle Award
Awards and recognition
- 1985: Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for Appear and Show Cause
- 1988: NAACP Image Award for directing Checkmates at the Inner City Cultural Center
- 1993: AUDELCO awards for Best Director and Best Play for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil
- 1997: Obie Award for Sustained Achievement{{cite web|url=https://ourtimepress.com/woodie-king-jr-to-retire-june-30-as-head-of-new-federal-theatre/|title=Woodie King, Jr. to Retire June 30 as Head of New Federal Theatre|website=Our Time Press|access-date=July 31, 2024}}
- 2003: Paul Robeson Award
- 2005: Rosetta LeNoire Award from Actors' Equity Association{{cite web|url=https://www.actorsequity.org/aboutequity/awards/RosettaLeNoireAward/NFT/|title=Rosetta LeNoire Award {{!}} 2005 – Woodie King, Jr and the New Federal Theatre"|website=Actors' Equity Association|access-date=July 31, 2024}}
- 2011: Induction into American Theater Hall of Fame{{cite web|url=https://playbill.com/article/tyne-daly-ben-vereen-ann-roth-daniel-sullivan-and-more-inducted-into-theater-hall-of-fame-jan-30-com-186895|title=Tyne Daly, Ben Vereen, Ann Roth, Daniel Sullivan and More Inducted into Theater Hall of Fame 30 Jan.|publisher=playbill.com|first=Andrew |last=Gans|author2=Michael Gioia|date= January 30, 2012|access-date=July 31, 2024}}
- 2014: Theatre Legend Award, [https://www.atlantabtf.org/ Atlanta Black Theatre Festival]
- 2020: Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre{{Cite web |date=2021-08-04 |title=Black theatrical trailblazers Woodie King Jr. and Irene Gandy among recipients of honorary Tony Awards for excellence |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2021/08/04/black-theatrical-trailblazers-woodie-king-jr-and-irene-gandy-among-recipients-of-honorary-tony-awards-for-excellence/ |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=New York Daily News |language=en-US}}
Bibliography
- {{Cite book|author1=Woodie King |author2=Earl Anthony |title=Black Poets and Prophets: The Theory, Practice, and Esthetics of the Pan-Africanist Revolution |publisher=New American Library |location=New York |year=1972 }}
- {{Cite book|author=Woodie King |title=The Forerunners: Black Poets in America |publisher=Howard University Press |location=Washington, D.C. |year=1981 |isbn=0-88258-093-0 }}
- {{Cite book|author=Woodie King |title=Black Theatre: Present Condition |publisher=National Black Theatre Touring Circuit |location=New York |year=1981 |isbn=0-89062-133-0 }}
- {{Cite book|author1=Ron Milner |author2=Woodie King |title=Black Drama Anthology |publisher=New American Library |location=New York |year=1986 |isbn=0-452-00902-2 }}
- {{Cite book |author=Woodie King |title=New Plays for the Black Theatre |publisher=Third World Press |location=Chicago |year=1989 |isbn=0-88378-124-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/newplaysforblack00king }}
- {{Cite book |author=Woodie King |title=The National Black Drama Anthology: Eleven Plays from America's Leading African-American Theaters |publisher=Applause Theatre & Cinema Book Publishers |year=1996 |isbn=1-55783-219-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalblackdra00jrwo }}
- {{Cite book |author=Woodie King Jr |title=Voices of Color: 50 Scenes and Monologues by African American Playwrights (Applause Acting Series) |publisher=Applause Books |location=New York |year=2000 |isbn=1-55783-174-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/voicesofcolor00jrwo }}
- {{Cite book|author=Woodie King Jr |title=The Impact of Race |publisher=Applause Books |location=New York |year=2004 |isbn=1-55783-579-9 }}
- {{Cite book |author1=Chuck Smith |author2=Woodie King |author3=Leslie Lee |author4=Mark Clayton Southers |author5=Kim Euell |author6=Lisa Ebright |title=Best Black Plays: the Theodore Ward Prize for African American Playwriting |publisher=Northwestern University Press |location=Evanston, Ill |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8101-2390-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/bestblackplaysth0000unse }}
References
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
External links
- [http://www.newfederaltheatre.com/#!about1/ccot The New Federal Theater in New York]
{{pad|1.0em}}see also inspiring purposes of previous 20th-century African-American theatre projects:
{{pad|1.0em}}Federal Theatre Project, American Negro Theater - [http://www.blacktheatrenetwork.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3962&catid=12 Theatre Hall of Fame induction]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Woodie}}
Category:20th-century African-American people
Category:African-American theater directors
Category:American theatre directors
Category:American theatre managers and producers