Samm-Art Williams
Encyclopedia
Samm-Art Williams is an American playwright
and screenwriter
, and a stage
and film
/TV actor
. Much of his work concerns the African-American experience.
He was nominated for a Tony Award
and a Drama Desk Award
for his play Home (1979), which moved from the Negro Ensemble Company
to a Broadway
production in 1980. In the mid-1980s, he received two Emmy nominations for his work for TV series. The Black Rep of Saint Louis, Missouri produced the premier of his play The Montford Point Marine (2011).
, the son of Samuel and Valdosia Williams. His mother was a school teacher, and Williams attended segregated public schools through high school.
As Samm Williams, he entered New York City
theater as an actor in 1973, performing in the play Black Jesus. With New York's Negro Ensemble Company (NEC)
, Williams appeared in such plays as Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide (St. Mark's Playhouse, 1974) and Liberty Calland (St. Mark's Playhouse, 1975), before taking on the name Samm-Art Williams for Argus and Klansman and Waiting for Mongo (St. Mark's Playhouse, 1975).
Williams, a 6' 8" lefty, was once a sparring partner of Muhammad Ali. Samm was recruited to work with Ali, who was afraid of lefties. Five inches taller than Ali, Samm probably has a longer reach.
Other early New York acting experience includes understudy
work in Leslie Lee's Tony Award
-nominated Broadway
play The First Breeze of Summer (Palace Theatre
, June 7 - July 19, 1975); Eden
(St. Mark's Playhouse, 1976), The Brownsville Raid (Theatre de Lys, 1976-77), Night Shift (Playhouse Theatre
, 1977), and Black Body Blues (St. Mark's Playhouse, 1978). His early work in regional theater includes Nevis Mountain Dew
at the Arena Stage
in Washington, D.C (1979).
He made his screen debut playing "Roger" in the Richard Price
novel adaptation The Wanderers
(1979), and played a subway police officer
in director Brian De Palma
's Dressed to Kill (1980). An earlier film, the independent blaxploitation
feature The Baron, a.k.a. Baron Wolfgang von Tripps and Black Cue, made circa 1977, was released direct-to-video
by Paragon Video in 1996.
As Samm Williams, he wrote the play Welcome to Black River, produced by the Negro Ensemble Company
(NEC) at St. Mark's Playhouse in 1975; and as Samm-Art Williams, The Coming and Do Unto Others, both at the Billie Holiday
Theatre in Brooklyn
in 1976; A Love Play produced by the NEC that same year; The Last Caravan (1977); and Brass Birds Don't Sing, at New York City's Stage 73 in 1978.
Williams participated in the NEC Playwrights Workshop, under the guidance of playwright-in-residence Steve Carter
, who strongly influenced his work. About Carter, Williams has said "that no single individual has influenced my writing to the degree that Steve Carter has."
's Cort Theatre
from May 7, 1980 to January 4, 1981. The play earned nominations for both the Tony Award
and the Drama Desk Award
.
in the historical drama TV movie Cook and Peary: The Race to the Pole (CBS
, 1983). He starred in the PBS
American Playhouse
dramas Denmark Vesey
(1985; title role) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (as Jim; 1986). In the mid-1980s he appeared in television series including The New Mike Hammer
, 227
, and Frank's Place
, a CBS dramedy for which he also served as a story editor
. His film work during this time included a role in Blood Simple
(1984).
Williams wrote the PBS productions Kneeslappers (1980) and Experiment in Freedom (American Playhouse, 1985); episodes for the series Cagney and Lacey, The New Mike Hammer, Miami Vice
, and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air; the "John Henry" episode of the Showtime cable network
series Shelley Duvall
's Tall Tales and Legends; and the NBC
special Motown Returns to the Apollo (1986), among other work. He wrote a CBS series pilot titled Lenny's Neighborhood.
's Harry De Jur Playhouse at Henry Street Settlement from June 25 - July 30, 2000.
In 2006, Williams held auditions for his play The Waiting Room, to be performed that spring at the Raleigh Little Theatre's Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre in Raleigh, North Carolina
.
In 2011, The Black Rep of Saint Louis, Missouri produced the world premier of his play The Montford Point Marine, starring J. Samuel Davis. Montford Point was where the first black Marines trained.
Williams is Artist-in-Residence at North Carolina Central University
, where he teaches classes on equity theatre and the art of playwriting.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and a stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
/TV actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. Much of his work concerns the African-American experience.
He was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
and a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for his play Home (1979), which moved from the Negro Ensemble Company
Negro Ensemble Company
The Negro Ensemble Company is a New York City-based theater company. Established in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer/actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald S...
to a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production in 1980. In the mid-1980s, he received two Emmy nominations for his work for TV series. The Black Rep of Saint Louis, Missouri produced the premier of his play The Montford Point Marine (2011).
Early life and career
Samm-Art Williams was born in 1946 in Burgaw, North CarolinaBurgaw, North Carolina
Burgaw is a town in Pender County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,337 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pender County.Burgaw is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, the son of Samuel and Valdosia Williams. His mother was a school teacher, and Williams attended segregated public schools through high school.
As Samm Williams, he entered New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
theater as an actor in 1973, performing in the play Black Jesus. With New York's Negro Ensemble Company (NEC)
Negro Ensemble Company
The Negro Ensemble Company is a New York City-based theater company. Established in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer/actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald S...
, Williams appeared in such plays as Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide (St. Mark's Playhouse, 1974) and Liberty Calland (St. Mark's Playhouse, 1975), before taking on the name Samm-Art Williams for Argus and Klansman and Waiting for Mongo (St. Mark's Playhouse, 1975).
Williams, a 6' 8" lefty, was once a sparring partner of Muhammad Ali. Samm was recruited to work with Ali, who was afraid of lefties. Five inches taller than Ali, Samm probably has a longer reach.
Other early New York acting experience includes understudy
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
work in Leslie Lee's Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-nominated Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play The First Breeze of Summer (Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, New York
The Palace Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1564 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan.-History:Designed by architects Kirchoff & Rose, the theatre was built by Martin Beck a California vaudeville entrepreneur and Broadway impresario. The project experienced a number of business problems before...
, June 7 - July 19, 1975); Eden
Eden (play)
Eden is a 1976 play by American playwright Steve Carter. Set in the 1920s, it is the first of Carter's Caribbean trilogy. Eden explores intra-racial conflicts between recent immigrants from the Caribbean and the African-American population...
(St. Mark's Playhouse, 1976), The Brownsville Raid (Theatre de Lys, 1976-77), Night Shift (Playhouse Theatre
Playhouse Theatre
The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt in 1907 and still retains its original substage machinery...
, 1977), and Black Body Blues (St. Mark's Playhouse, 1978). His early work in regional theater includes Nevis Mountain Dew
Nevis Mountain Dew
Nevis Mountain Dew is a 1978 play by American playwright steve carter . Set in the 1950s, it is the second of Carter's Caribbean trilogy. Nevis Mountain Dew explores the subject of euthanasia involving the patriarch of an affluent family who is confined to an iron lung.-Characters:Jared Philibert:...
at the Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
in Washington, D.C (1979).
He made his screen debut playing "Roger" in the Richard Price
Richard Price (writer)
Richard Price is an American novelist and screenwriter, known for the books The Wanderers and Clockers.-Early life:...
novel adaptation The Wanderers
The Wanderers (1979 film)
The Wanderers is a 1979 greaser film based on the novel by Richard Price .-Overview:...
(1979), and played a subway police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
in director Brian De Palma
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
's Dressed to Kill (1980). An earlier film, the independent blaxploitation
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
feature The Baron, a.k.a. Baron Wolfgang von Tripps and Black Cue, made circa 1977, was released direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
by Paragon Video in 1996.
As Samm Williams, he wrote the play Welcome to Black River, produced by the Negro Ensemble Company
Negro Ensemble Company
The Negro Ensemble Company is a New York City-based theater company. Established in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer/actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald S...
(NEC) at St. Mark's Playhouse in 1975; and as Samm-Art Williams, The Coming and Do Unto Others, both at the Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
Theatre in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
in 1976; A Love Play produced by the NEC that same year; The Last Caravan (1977); and Brass Birds Don't Sing, at New York City's Stage 73 in 1978.
Williams participated in the NEC Playwrights Workshop, under the guidance of playwright-in-residence Steve Carter
Steve Carter (playwright)
Horace E. "Steve" Carter, Jr. is an American playwright, best known for his plays involving Caribbean immigrants living in the United States.-Biography:...
, who strongly influenced his work. About Carter, Williams has said "that no single individual has influenced my writing to the degree that Steve Carter has."
Home
Williams' comedy Home was mounted by the Negro Ensemble Company at St. Mark's Playhouse from 1979-80, moving to BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
's Cort Theatre
Cort Theatre
The Cort Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 138 West 48th Street in the Theatre District of midtown Manhattan in New York City...
from May 7, 1980 to January 4, 1981. The play earned nominations for both the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
and the Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
.
1980s
Williams went on to play Matthew HensonMatthew Henson
Matthew Alexander Henson was an African American explorer and associate of Robert Peary during various expeditions, the most famous being a 1909 expedition which it was discovered that he was the the first person to reach the Geographic North Pole.-Life:Henson was born on a farm in Nanjemoy,...
in the historical drama TV movie Cook and Peary: The Race to the Pole (CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, 1983). He starred in the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
American Playhouse
American Playhouse
American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.It premiered on January 12, 1982 with The Shady Hill Kidnapping, written and narrated by John Cheever and directed by Paul Bogart...
dramas Denmark Vesey
Denmark Vesey
Denmark Vesey originally Telemaque, was an African American slave brought to the United States from the Caribbean of Coromantee background. After purchasing his freedom, he planned what would have been one of the largest slave rebellions in the United States...
(1985; title role) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (as Jim; 1986). In the mid-1980s he appeared in television series including The New Mike Hammer
The New Mike Hammer
The New Mike Hammer is an American television series based on the exploits of the fictitious New York-based private detective Mike Hammer. The show starred Stacy Keach and was essentially a continuation of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, an earlier television program featuring an identical core cast...
, 227
227 (TV series)
227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
, and Frank's Place
Frank's Place
Frank's Place is an American comedy-drama series which aired on CBS for 22 episodes during the 1987-1988 television schedule. The series was created by Hugh Wilson and executive produced by Wilson and series star Tim Reid.-Plot:Set in New Orleans, Frank's Place chronicles the life of Frank Parrish...
, a CBS dramedy for which he also served as a story editor
Story editor
Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". A story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits stories for screenplays....
. His film work during this time included a role in Blood Simple
Blood Simple
Blood Simple is a 1984 neo-noir crime film. It was the directorial debut of Joel Coen and the first major film of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who later became a noted director...
(1984).
Williams wrote the PBS productions Kneeslappers (1980) and Experiment in Freedom (American Playhouse, 1985); episodes for the series Cagney and Lacey, The New Mike Hammer, Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
, and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air; the "John Henry" episode of the Showtime cable network
Cable network
A cable channel is a television channel available via cable television. Such channels are usually also available via satellite television, including direct broadcast satellite providers such as DirecTV, Dish Network and BSkyB...
series Shelley Duvall
Shelley Duvall
Shelley Alexis Duvall is an American film and television actress best known for her roles in The Shining, Popeye, Thieves Like Us and 3 Women....
's Tall Tales and Legends; and the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
special Motown Returns to the Apollo (1986), among other work. He wrote a CBS series pilot titled Lenny's Neighborhood.
Later career
Williams wrote and directed the comedy The Dance on Widows' Row, produced by the New Federal Theatre at ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Harry De Jur Playhouse at Henry Street Settlement from June 25 - July 30, 2000.
In 2006, Williams held auditions for his play The Waiting Room, to be performed that spring at the Raleigh Little Theatre's Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
.
In 2011, The Black Rep of Saint Louis, Missouri produced the world premier of his play The Montford Point Marine, starring J. Samuel Davis. Montford Point was where the first black Marines trained.
Williams is Artist-in-Residence at North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University is a public historically black university in the University of North Carolina system, located in Durham, North Carolina, offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels....
, where he teaches classes on equity theatre and the art of playwriting.
Awards and honors
- 1980 Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
Nomination - Best Play: Home, written by Samm-Art Williams - 1980 Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
Nomination - Outstanding New Play: Home, written by Samm-Art Williams - 1985 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
Nomination - Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program, for Motown Returns to the Apollo (shared with fellow writers Buz Kohan and Peter Elbling) - 1988 Emmy Award Nomination - Outstanding Comedy Series, Frank's Place (as story editor; shared with executive producers Hugh Wilson and Tim ReidTim ReidTimothy L. "Tim" Reid is an American actor, comedian and film director best known for his roles in prime time American television programs, such as Venus Flytrap on WKRP in Cincinnati , Marcel "Downtown" Brown on Simon & Simon , Ray Campbell on Sister, Sister and William Barnett on That 70's Show...
, producers Max Tash and David Chambers and co-producer Richard DubinRichard Dubin-Biography:Richard Dubin is a writer/producer/director who joined the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications faculty in the fall of 2000 after a long stint in network television. He has written, produced or directed primetime programs for ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox... - Fellowships from the Guggenheim FoundationJohn Simon Guggenheim Memorial FoundationThe John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
and the National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current... - 2010 N. C. Literary Hall of Fame Induction
External links
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra6K-FlV2tU