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. He has been hailed by theatre arts journalists as "the Renaissance Man of Black Theatre".
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. 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.
He retired from his role as the producing director at the New Federal Theatre in 2021, but he remained on the board.
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.
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.
He graduated high school in 1956. He then started a job at the Ford Motor Company as an arc welder. From 1958 to 1962 King attended The Will-O-Way School of Theatre in Detroit on a scholarship. From 1959 to 1962, he wrote drama criticism for the Detroit Tribune. In 1960, King cofounded the Concept-East Theatre in Detroit with Ron Milner, serving as the manager and director until 1963.
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. 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. 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.
In 1996, King earned a B.A. degree in Self-Determined Studies, with a focus on Theatre and Black Studies from Lehman College. In 1999, he graduated from Brooklyn College in New York with a M.F.A. in Theater with a concentration in Directing.
In 2008, King was awarded an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters by Lehman College. King held a doctorate in Humane Letters from Wayne State University. He also held honorary doctorate degrees from the College of Wooster and John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Death King died from complications of heart surgery in New York City, on January 29, 2026, at the age of 88.
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. 1972 Together for Days Actor: Jerry 1973 Serpico Actor: Larry 1976 The Long Night Writer, Director, Actor: Steely 2012 Men in Black 3 Actor: HQ Guard 2015 Staten Island Summer Actor: Mr. Stewart
Television Year Title Role Ref.1968 N.Y.P.D. Actor: Lewis Episode: "Which Side Are You Own?" 1981 Death of a Prophet Director 1983 Love to all, Lorraine Director 1994 Law & Order Actor: Clayton Episode: "Wager" 2009 Law & Order: SVU Actor: Parking Attendant Episode: "Perverted" 2011 Treme Actor Episode: "Slip Away" 2014 Unforgettable Actor: Barry
Theatre Year Title Role Playwright Venue Ref.1968The Great White HopePerformer (Drummer)Howard SacklerAlvin Theatre1974What the Wine Sellers BuyProducerRon MilnerVivian Beaumont Theater1975The Talking of Miss JanieProducerEd BullinsThe Henry Street Settlement 1975The First Breeze of SummerProducerLeslie LeePalace Theatre1976For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is EnufProducerNtozake ShangeThe Public Theater 1976Sizwe Banzi Is DeadDirector Athol Fugard, John Kani, Winston Ntshona Pittsburgh Public Theater1979DaddyDirectorEd Bullins1980ReggaeExecutive ProducerMelvin Van Peebles, Stafford HarrisonBiltmore Theatre1984AmeriCain GothicDirectorPaul Carter Harrison1985Appear and Show CauseDirectorStephen TaylorHarry De Jur Playhouse1985I Have a DreamDirectorJosh Greenfield 1988 Splendid MummerDirector Lonne Elder III American Place Theatre; Arena Stage 1988 CheckmatesDirector Ron Milner Richard Rogers Theater 1989God’s TrombonesDirectorJames Weldon JohnsonTheater of Riverside Church1993Robert Johnson: Trick the DevilDirectorBill HarrisHarry De Jur Playhouse 1993 Good Black Don't Crack Rob Penny Billie Holiday Theatre 1994 A Raisin in the SunProducer, Director Lorraine Hansberry Alliance Theater 1994 Mudtracks Regina Taylor Ensemble Studio Theater 1995 Eyes Mari Evans American Cabaret Theater1996CheckmatesDirectorRon MilnerHarry De Jur Playhouse 1996 Joe Turner's Come and GoneProducer August Wilson Brooklyn College 1996 HomeDirector Samm-Art Williams Baltimore Center Stage 1998 Angels in AmericaTony Kushner Ohio State University 2000 James Baldwin: A Soul on Fire Howard Simon New York Shakespeare Festival2002Urban Transition: Loose BlossomsDirectorRon MilnerThe Harry De Jur Playhouse2004Waitin’ 2 End HellDirectorWilliam A. Parker2005The Stuttering PreacherDirectorLevy Lee Simon2012 The Piano Lesson August Wilson Seminole State College of Florida2012Sowa’s Red GravyDirectorDiane RichardsCastillo Theatre2013The Fabulous Miss MarieDirectorEd BullinsCastillo Theatre2013Every Day a VisitorDirectorRichard Abrons Harold Clurman Theatre2015DutchmanDirectorAmiri BarakaCastillo Theatre2015Most Dangerous Man in AmericaDirectorAmiri BarakaCastillo Theatre2016Zola Neale Hurston: A Theatrical BiographyDirectorLaurence HolderCastillo Theatre
Awards and honors 1965: The John Hay Whitney Fellowship at The American Place Theater 1968: Venice Festival Award for The Game 1968: International Short Film Festival Oberhausen Award for The Game 1970: International Film Critics Award for Right On 1971: New York Film Festival A. Phillip Randolph Award for Epitaph 1988: NAACP Image Award for the direction of Checkmates 1993: AUDELCO awards for Best Director and Best Play for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil 1997: Obie Award for Sustained Achievement 2003: The Actors’ Equity Association’s Paul Robeson Award 2005: The Actors' Equity Association’s Rosetta LeNoire Award 2011: Induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame 2020: Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
References
External links The New Federal Theater in New Yorksee also inspiring purposes of previous 20th-century African-American theatre projects: Federal Theatre Project, American Negro Theater