Woodie King Jr.

Woodie King, Jr.
King at the 74th Tony Awards in 2021
Born(1937-07-27)July 27, 1937
Bladon Springs, Alabama, U.S.
DiedJanuary 29, 2026(2026-01-29) (aged 88)
New York City, U.S.
Education
OccupationsDirector, producer
SpouseWillie Mae Washington (Married 1959)

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 as "the Renaissance Man of Black Theatre".[2]

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

King died from complications of heart surgery in New York City, on January 29, 2026, at the age of 88.[20][21]

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 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

References

  1. ^ III, Marshall Jones (July 9, 2021). "Woodie King Jr. and a Lifetime of Creation". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  2. ^ "A reading in tribute to Artist-in-Residence Woodie King Jr". Emerson Today. May 22, 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "New Federal Theatre - About Us". New Federal Theater. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  4. ^ CUNY TV (August 16, 2016). African American Legends: Woodie King Jr., The New Federal Theatre. Retrieved December 3, 2025 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ III, Marshall Jones (July 9, 2021). "Woodie King Jr. and a Lifetime of Creation". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Gans, Andrew; Michael Gioia (January 30, 2012). "Tyne Daly, Ben Vereen, Ann Roth, Daniel Sullivan and More Inducted into Theater Hall of Fame 30 Jan". playbill.com. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Black theatrical trailblazers Woodie King Jr. and Irene Gandy among recipients of honorary Tony Awards for excellence". New York Daily News. August 4, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Paul Robeson Award". Actors' Equity Foundation. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  9. ^ Collins-Hughes, Laura (February 2, 2026). "Woodie King Jr., Impresario of Black Theater, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  10. ^ "Woodie King, Jr.'s Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Woodie King, Jr. - New Federal Theatre". archive.newfederaltheatre.com. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  12. ^ a b ""Woodie King, Jr."". Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Woodie King plays". New York Public Library. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  14. ^ a b c "archives.nypl.org -- New Federal Theatre records". archives.nypl.org. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  15. ^ "Woodie King Jr. Biography". The HistoryMakers. April 18, 2003. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  16. ^ Landers, Susan (September 27, 2021). "Tony Awards Salute Brooklyn College Faculty and Alumni". Brooklyn College. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  17. ^ "Honorary Degree Recipients | Lehman College". www.lehman.edu. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  18. ^ ""Award"". Wayne State University Communications and Marketing. May 10, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  19. ^ a b c "Woodie King Jr". CUNY TV. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  20. ^ Vaughn, Kenya (January 30, 2026). "Woodie King Jr., 'godfather of Black theatre,' passes at 86". St. Louis American. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  21. ^ Redding News Review (2026). "Legendary Black Theater Trailblazer Woodie King Jr. Dies at 88". reddingnewsreview.com. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Woodie King Jr. - IMDB". IMDB. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  23. ^ "The Great White Hope – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  24. ^ "What the Wine-Sellers Buy – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  25. ^ "Stage: Bullins's 'Taking of Miss Janie' (Published 1975)". March 18, 1975. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  26. ^ "The First Breeze of Summer (Broadway, Palace Theatre, 1975)". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 15, 2025. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  27. ^ "Ntozake Shange, Woodie King, Jr. and More Discuss History of For Colored Girls (Video) | Playbill". Playbill. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  28. ^ a b "Playbill". Playbill. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  29. ^ a b c "Joe Turner Keeps Coming At NY's Henry Street | Playbill". Playbill. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  30. ^ "Checkmates (Broadway, 1988)". Playbill. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  31. ^ "Woodie King, Jr. to Retire June 30 as Head of New Federal Theatre". Our Time Press. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  32. ^ "Rosetta LeNoire Award | 2005 – Woodie King, Jr and the New Federal Theatre"". Actors' Equity Association. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
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