William Harrison Gunn (July 15, 1934 – April 5, 1989) was an American playwright, novelist, actor and film director. His 1973 cult classic horror film Ganja & Hess was chosen as one of ten best American films of the decade at the Cannes Film Festival, 1973. In The New Yorker, film critic Richard Brody described him as being "a visionary filmmaker left on the sidelines of the most ostensibly liberated period of American filmmaking." Filmmaker Spike Lee had said that Gunn is "one of the most under-appreciated filmmakers of his time." Gunn's drama Johnnas won an Emmy Award in 1972.Fraser, C. Gerald (Friday, April 7, 1989), "Bill Gunn, Playwright and Actor, Dies at 54 on Eve of Play Premiere", The New York Times, section D, p. 20 of the New York edition. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
Career A native of Philadelphia, Gunn wrote more than 29 plays during his lifetime. He also authored two novels and wrote several produced screenplays. In 1950, Gunn studied acting with Mira Rostova in New York's East Village. In 1954, he played a role in the Broadway production of The Immoralist with James Dean. Along with Dean, he joined a social circle that included Montgomery Clift, Eartha Kitt, and Marlon Brando."Gunn, Bill." Mitchell, Verner D, and Cynthia Davis, eds. Encyclopedia of the Black Arts Movement. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. p. 147-148. Gunn shared a house in Nyack, New York with Sam Waymon, brother of singer Nina Simone, who also wrote the musical score for Ganja & Hess. Gunn's directorial debut would have been Stop! (1970), which was funded by Warner Bros. under the plan of being the second studio film directed by an African American. It was intended as a drama involving two couples becoming involved with each other within homosexual and interracial sexual contact alongside surreal undertones. The film was shelved by the studio before release, and the studio later claimed they did not have the print in their archives. A 35mm print was shown at a retrospective upon Gunn's death, and a VHS copy of the film exists (found by Jack Hoffmeister, co-star of the film). He was also an advocate and friend of filmmaker and writer Kathleen Collins, playing a role in her film Losing Ground.
Death and legacy
He died when he was 54 years old from encephalitis at a Nyack, New York hospital the day before his play The Forbidden City opened at the Public Theater in New York City.
In 2021, an exhibition entitled "Till They Listen: Bill Gunn Directs America", dedicated to the work and legacy of Bill Gunn, was shown at the New York gallery Artists Space. The program series was organized by Gunn's artistic collaborators and scholars including, Hilton Als, Jake Perlin, Sam Waymon, Nicholas Forster, Awoye Timpo, Chiz Schultz, and Ishmael Reed. In 2021, Timpo adapted Gunn's play Black Picture Show for film in the form of a staged reading.
Bibliography
Plays Marcus in the High Grass (1959) – produced by Theatre Guild. Johnnas (1968) – produced in New York City at Chelsea Theatre. Black Picture Show (1975) – produced in New York City at Vivian Beaumont Theater. Rhinestone (musical; based on the novel Rhinestone Sharecropping) (1982) – produced in New York City at Richard Allen Cultural Center. The Forbidden City (1989) – produced in New York City at The Public Theater.
Screenplays Stop! (1969) (never released), Warner Bros. The Angel Levine (1970) (with Ronald Ribman; adaptation of the novel by Bernard Malamud), United Artists. The Landlord (1970) (adaptation of the 1966 novel by Kristin Hunter), United Artists. Ganja and Hess (1973), Kelly-Jordan Enterprises, re-edited and released under title Blood Couple, Heritage Enterprises. The Greatest (1977) (uncredited), original script, Columbia Pictures.
Television screenplays Johnnas (1972), National Broadcasting Company (NBC). The Alberta Hunter Story (1982) (co-written with Chris Albertson) (never completed), Southern Pictures (UK).
Novels All the Rest Have Died (1964), Delacorte (New York). Rhinestone Sharecropping (1981), Reed, Cannon, , .
Filmography As director Year Film Notes 1970 Stop! 1973 Ganja & Hess A.K.A. Black Evil, Black Vampire (U.S. video title), Blackout: The Moment of Terror, Blood Couple (cut version), Double Possession and Vampires of Harlem 1980 Personal Problems
As film actor Year Title Role Notes 1957 Crossroads Roy ShortUncredited 1959 The Sound and the Fury T.P., Dilsey's Grandson 1962 The Interns Rosco Uncredited 1966 Penelope Sergeant Rothschild 1973 Ganja & Hess George Meda 1982 Losing Ground Victor Rogers 1988 Black Vampire Dr. Matara Final film roleRe-edit of Ganja & Hess
As television actor Year Title Role Notes 1957 Look Up and Live George Episode: "No Man Is an Island" 1961 Route 66 Hank Plummer Episode: "Goodnight Sweet Blues" Naked City Al Norbert Episode: "Which Is Joseph Creeley?" 1962 The Defenders Frank Reilly Episode: "The Tarnished Cross" Stoney Burke Toby / Bud Sutter 2 episodes 1963 The Outer Limits Lieutenant James P. Willowmore Episode: "Nightmare"1964 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Namana Episode: "The Double Affair" Dr. Kildare Jesse Kamba, MD Episode: "The Elusive Dik-Dik" 1965 The Fugitive Avery Episode: "Conspiracy of Silence" 1986 The Cosby Show Homer 2 episodes
References
Further reading Anderson, Melissa. "In Two Urgent Reprints, Bill Gunn Fights for His Singularity", Village Voice, December 29, 2015. David, Marlo D. "'Let It Go Black': Desire and the Erotic Subject in the Films of Bill Gunn", Black Camera 2.2 (2011): 26–46. "Gunn, Bill." Mitchell, Verner D, and Cynthia Davis, eds. Encyclopedia of the Black Arts Movement. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. p. 147-148. Sieving, Christopher. Pleading the Blood: Bill Gunn's Ganja & Hess. Indiana University Press, 2022. Tate, Greg. "Bill Gunn, 1934–89." Village Voice, April 25, 1989. Vol. 34, Iss. 17, p. 98. Williams, John. "Bill Gunn (1929–1989): A Checklist of His Films, Dramatic Works and Novels." Black American Literature Forum. 25.4 (1991): 781- (7p).
External links
Bill Gunn Papers – Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division Original print donated to the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.