Samm-Art Williams

Samm-Art Williams (born Samuel Arthur Williams, January 20, 1946) [http://www.filmreference.com/film/4/Samm-Art-Williams.html FilmReference.com: Samm-Art Williams] ] is a Tony Award-nominated, African-American playwright and stage and film/TV actor.

Biography

Early life and career

Samm-Art Williams was born in Burgaw, North Carolina, the son of Samuel and Valdosia Williams, the latter a school teacher.

As Samm Williams, he entered New York City theater as an actor as early as 1973, with the play "Black Jesus". With New York's Negro Ensemble Company, he 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).

A little-known fact of Samm's life is that Samm, as a 6' 8" lefty, was once a sparing partner of Muhammad Ali. It seems that Ali was afraid of lefties, and so Samm was brought in. Samm is five inches taller than Ali, and probably has a longer reach. No doubt Ali was scared.

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); [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=8587 Internet Broadway Database: Samm-Art Williams] ] "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 DePalma'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. [ [http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/seal/basement010603.asp Box Office Prophets: "It Came from the Basement" (column): "The Baron", by John Seal (January 6, 2003)] ]

Concurrently, as Samm Williams, he wrote the play "Welcome to Black River", produced by the Negro Ensemble Company 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 at St. Mark's Playhouse that same year; "The Last Caravan" (1977); and "Brass Birds Don't Sing", at New York City's Stage 73 in 1978.

"Home"

Williams' comedy "Home" was mounted by the Negro Ensemble Company at St. Mark's Playhouse from 1979-80, moving to Broadway'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. [http://www.ibdb.com/awardperson.asp?id=8587 Internet Broadway Database: Samm-Art Williams - Awards] ]

1980s

Williams went on to play Matthew Henson in the historical drama TV movie "Cook and Peary: The Race to the Pole" (CBS, 1983). He went on to star in the PBS "American Playhouse" dramas "Denmark Vesey" (1985; title role) and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (as Jim; 1986), and in the mid-1980s appeared on such episodic television series as "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).

Aside from that series, Williams also wrote the PBS productions "Kneeslappers" (1980) and "Experiment in Freedom" ("American Playhouse", 1985); for the episodic 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, including 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 Manhattan's Harry De Jur Playhouse at Henry Street Settlement from June 25 - July 30, 2000. [ [http://www.curtainup.com/danceonwidowsrow.html Gutman, Les, CurtainUp.com: Review, June 29, 2000] ]

In 2006, Williams held auditions for his play "The Waiting Room", to be performed at the Raleigh Little Theatre's Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre in Raleigh, North Carolina. [ [http://www.raleighlittletheatre.org/press/060707-waitingroomauditio.html "Auditions for "The Waiting Room" by Samm-Art Williams", Raleigh Little Theatre press releases] ]

Awards and honors

* 1980 Tony Award Nomination - Best Play: "Home", written by Samm-Art Williams
* 1980 Drama Desk Award Nomination - Outstanding New Play: "Home", written by Samm-Art Williams
* 1985 Emmy Award 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 Reid, producers Max Tash and David Chambers and co-producer Richard Dubin
* Fellowships from the dn|Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts [ [http://www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/news/releases/2007/9/eculiteraryhomecoming2007.cfm "ECU hosts fourth Literary Homecoming", 2007 East Carolina University press release] ]

References