Hal DeWindt
Hal DeWindt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Harold DeWindt New York City, U.S. |
| Died | June 16, 1997 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Producer Director Actor Model |
Harold "Hal" DeWindt was an American producer, director, actor, and model. He worked to increase opportunities for African Americans in the arts.[1][2]
Early life
[edit]DeWindt was born and raised in Harlem.[3] His father Clifford acted with the original Lafayette Theatre.[3]
Career
[edit]In 1959, DeWindt became the first male model for the Ebony Fashion Fair. He traveled with that fashion troupe for two years.[2]
DeWindt began his stage career in the Broadway play Golden Boy.[3] He played a leading role in the Louis S. Peterson play Entertain A Ghost.[4] He also appeared in the Kurt Weill musical Lost in the Stars.[5] In 1962, DeWindt staged an Off-Broadway production of Raisin' Hell in the Son, a spoof of A Raisin in the Sun that he co-wrote with Reni Santoni.[1][6]
DeWindt served as production stage manager at the New York Shakespeare Festival for seven years.[1] He was a director with Robert Hooks's Group Theater Workshop, which led to the creation of the Negro Ensemble Company,[1] which he served with as a workshop director.[7]
DeWindt was the founder and artistic director of the American Theatre of Harlem, and artistic director of the Inner City Repertory Company in Los Angeles.[1][2] In 1977, he formed the Hal DeWindt Theatre in San Francisco.[7]
DeWindt helped Arthur Mitchell bring the Dance Theatre of Harlem to Broadway, and helped Leonard Bernstein bring black musicians into the New York Philharmonic.[1][5][2] In 1969, as assistant producer of The Angel Levine, DeWindt helped run a black apprenticeship program funded by a Ford Foundation grant.[1] He also worked on a number of other film and television productions, and led acting workshops.[1] DeWindt acted on television as well.[1]
In 1983, DeWindt co-authored the book Kill, Bubba, Kill! with former NFL player and actor Bubba Smith.[8][9] DeWindt was serving as an acting professor at Loyola Marymount University at the time of his death.[2][7]
Personal life and death
[edit]In 1958, DeWindt and his wife Violet had their first child, Hal D. Jr.[10] In 1975, DeWindt met actress Sheila Wills when she enrolled in an actor's workshop he was teaching in Los Angeles. They married two years later.[11] The couple divorced in 1981.[12] In 1984, DeWindt married actress/model Angelique.[13] He later married another woman, Suzanne.[1]
DeWindt died of cancer in Los Angeles on June 22, 1997. The New York Times reported his age at death as 63.[1]
Filmography (selected)
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Youngblood | Associate producer | |
| 1978 | A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich | Associate producer | |
| 1975 | Barbary Coast | Director | |
| 1970 | The Angel Levine | Assistant producer | |
| 1968 | Get Smart | Novak | Episode: The Worst Best Man |
| 1968 | The Wild Wild West | Taro | Episode: The Night of the Undead |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mel Gussow (June 22, 1997). "Hal DeWindt, 63, a Producer And an Advocate for Integration". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Hal DeWindt, Acclaimed Director-Producer-Actor, Dies". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. July 14, 1997. p. 65. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ a b c Doug Galloway (June 19, 1997). "Hal DeWindt". Variety. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ "Ghost Player". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. April 19, 1962. p. 62. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ a b David Lefkowitz (June 24, 1997). "Inner City Rep's Hal DeWindt, 63, Dies In L.A." Playbill. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ "Critics Offer Harsh Reviews For DeWindt's Play". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. July 19, 1962. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ a b c Anthony D. Hill; Douglas Q. Barnett (December 4, 2008). Historical Dictionary of African American Theater. Scarecrow Press. pp. 18, 140. ISBN 9780810862760. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ Margalit Fox (August 3, 2011). "Bubba Smith, N.F.L. Star and Actor, Dies at 66". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ Bubba Smith; Hal DeWindt (1983). Kill, Bubba, Kill!. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780671476472. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ "This Week's Census". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. November 13, 1958. p. 46. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ "Sheila De Windt: BJ And Bear Star Says Beauty Can Be A Handicap". Jet. August 6, 1981. p. 54. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ Sylvia P. Flanagan (October 21, 1985). "Sheila DeWindt Combines Successful Career With Motherhood". Jet. p. 57. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ Gerri Major (April 9, 1984). "Society World". Jet. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
External links
[edit]- Hal De Windt at IMDb