Long Live the King: Spotlight on Woodie King Jr. (1937 - 2026)
- John Sloan III
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
The world lost a legend as Woodie King, Jr. passed away Thursday, January 29, 2026. A trailblazing producer, writer, actor, and director -- King was a mentor to many and a proud Detroiter.
This week as we enter Black History Month, Encore Michigan offers a special tribute as some of Detroit's most prolific artists and arts advocates honor King with their memories and dedications.
Bio:
Born in Baldwin Springs, Alabama, King moved to Detroit with his parents at five years old. He graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1956 and started working soon thereafter as an arc welder at Ford Motor Company.
King would go on to study theatre at the Will-O-Way Apprentice Theatre in Bloomfield Hills, and later earn a B.A. from Lehman College, and MFA from Brooklyn College. He held a doctorate in Humane Letters from Wayne State University, and honorary doctorate degrees from the College of Wooster and John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
In 1960 King founded Concept-East Theatre in Detroit with partners Cliff Frazier and David Rambeau. Concept-East carved a remarkable path as part of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, ushering forth the careers of artists Lloyd Richards, S. Epatha Merkerson, Aku Kadogo, Ernie Hudson and many others.
Later, after moving to New York, King would found the New Federal Theatre -- providing an incubator for some of the world's most remarkable artists, including Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, and Ntozake Shange.
His bust currently sits in the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame and honored with the Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre and earned numerous other accolades, including the NAACP Image Award and the Actor's Equity Associate Paul Robeson Award.
But beyond the accolades, King's efforts, talents, and selflessness paved a way for theatre artists of every ilk, and his legacy continues to echo through the works of performing artists across the world.
Quotes from some of Michigan's most prolific Black Theatre Artists have poured in. Encore Michigan offers their words as tribute to this powerful leader, mentor artist, and Detroiter.
LONG LIVE THE KING
(in alphabetical order)
Shawntai McCall-Brown
Detroit Playwright, Poet
"It’s no wonder he spent a period being an arc welder at Ford Motor Co. Woodie King Jr. and his vision and leadership are essential to the framing of Black American Theatre. His impact is rooted in Detroit and has bloomed out to the theatre and television world.
Woodie King Jr. talked about telling stories that contained the rhythm only Black people have, and he became an essential baseline for us. His work in Detroit and across the theatre world paved pathways for our stories to be told."
Kelli Crump
MFA and MA Artist, Activist, Educator (AEA, SAG-AFTRA)
"He built rooms where our voices weren’t guests but owners, and that changed my understanding or artistic power. Watching his commitment to nurturing playwright taught me that legacy is measured in people lifted, not awards won. As a Black woman artist, I saw in him a model of leadership that was rigorous, generous, and rooted in love. His theaters became sanctuaries where truth could breathe and young artists could fail forward.
In a city like mine, where grit is currency, his perseverance felt familiar and deeply instructive. He insisted that excellence and accessibility could walk hand in hand, and that insistence reshaped the field. Because of him, regional stages across America learned to listen differently. He expanded the canon by expanding the circle, making room for stories that mirror our streets, kitchens, and dreams.
The American theatre is braver, broader, and more humane because he was here. From my seat in Detroit, I honor his legacy by making work that serves, challenges, and loves our people."
Ann Eskridge,
Detroit Playwright, Educator
"Through Concept East, Woodie King Jr. sustained independent Black theater by nurturing artists, telling Black stories, and creating a blueprint for others."
Courtney Harge
Producing Artistic Director, Colloquy Collective
"Woodie King Jr left an indelible mark on the American theater through immutable determination and a fierce love of Black people. He will be missed."
Billicia Hines
CFPCA Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives, Co-Artistic Director of the Black Theatre and Dance Collective, and Associate Professor of Theatre
“ Woody was instrumental in building Black Theatre for over 60 years. The American theatre community today and tomorrow will forever be in his debt.”
Garlia Cornelia Jones
Playwright, Founder - Blackboard Plays, Founder - Harlem 9
“Woodie’s fierce, generous legacy was part of building the Black theatre movement I contribute to today. He has connected artists and inspiring careers.
I am both heartbroken and honored. Honored that Woodie King Jr. was part of my life as a Detroit-bred NYC Black Theatre transplant. Honored that we connected over Detroit and my father, and that he always remembered him.
His kindness, courage, and impact endure forever.”
Jessica Care Moore
Poet, Author, Writer, Detroit Poet Laureate
“Woodie King Jr. is an institution that will live on, not just in our hearts, but in the art we build for the next generation of blk artists who dare to write, produce & dream outside the box. He produced my first solo theater work in NYC in the 90’s, he said “Detroit” aloud before my name, every time he saw me. He was proud of me, and I loved him very much. I was honored to attend his bday brunch with my son & close friends last year in NYC. What a life well lived.”
Rochelle Riley
Creative Arts Advocate and Author
"Woodie King, Jr. is a legend. His work in changing the face of America theatre is legendary. And we must always talk about him in the present tense as long as the legion of actors and directors and producers and theatre employees to whom he gave careers continue to work.
Woodie is - and always will be - a legend. But more important to me, he was my friend and taught me so much about the performing arts and the role Black Americans have always had in its excellence in theatre. As I’ve been telling people for two decades, Detroit is at the forefront of everything, always has been. And that a man who started his adult career as an arc welder for the Ford Motor Company before founding theatres and changing lives shows what is possible for any and every Detroiter.
We have lost a giant. But the legend lives."
T. Tara Turk
Playwright, Poet
“American theatre is so lucky to have had Woodie. He was an artist, evangelist, architect, and activist for Black storytelling and Black voices. We wouldn’t be as rich in theatre arts today without him. He brought Detroit hustle to the American theatre scene and created a vast community that will always exist because of him.”
