US EditionWoodie King Jr., founder of powerhouse off-Broadway New Federal Theatre, dies at 88
King’s New Federal Theatre launched careers of stars like Denzel Washington and Chadwick Boseman and produced award-winning plays by Black playwrights.
- On Thursday, Woodie King Jr., an actor, director and producer who founded the New Federal Theatre, died at 88 of complications from emergency heart surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center.
- Born in Alabama and raised in Detroit, King studied at Lehman College and Brooklyn College before serving five years as cultural director of Mobilization for Youth and founding New Federal Theatre in 1970.
- The New Federal Theatre staged landmark works such as `For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf`, which reached Broadway in 1976, and `The Taking of Miss Janie`, which moved to Lincoln Center and won the Drama Critics Circle Award.
- King's work earned institutional honors, including induction into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2012 and Tony Honors in 2020, and the company helped launch performers like Chadwick Boseman and Denzel Washington.
- He is survived by his wife Elizabeth Van Dyke, three children, and five grandchildren, while Emmy Award-winning actor and educator Erin Cherry posted that `We have lost a giant`.
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14 Articles
Associated Press News
Woodie King Jr., founder of powerhouse off-Broadway New Federal Theatre, dies at 88
Woodie King Jr., an influential figure in American theater, has died at 88. He founded the New Federal Theatre to support Black playwrights, actors and directors.
Woodie King Jr., Champion of Black Theatre, Dies at 88 - The Caribbean Camera
Wooodie King, Jr. Photo courtesy New Federal Theatre. Woodie King Jr., a towering figure in American theatre and a tireless advocate for Black artists, died on January 29 at Weill Cornell Medical Center following complications from emergency heart surgery. He was 88. For more than five decades, King stood at the centre of Black theatre in the United States, shaping generations of artists as a producer, director, mentor and institution builder. I…
New Heritage Theatre Mourns the Passing of Woodie King Jr., Visionary of Black American Theatre
New Heritage Theatre Group is mourning the passing of its beloved brother, collaborator, and cultural giant, Woodie King Jr., who died on January 29, 2026, at the age of 88. Born July 27, 1937, King was a towering force in American theatre whose life’s work reshaped the landscape for Black playwrights, artists of color, and women, leaving an indelible mark on generations of artists and audiences alike. A visionary producer, director, author, and…
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