Sam-Art Williams
Courtesy Carol Brown
Sam-Art Williams is a Tony-nominated playwright, actor and director and executive producer for NBC The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, is dead. He is 78 years old.
Williams died Monday in Burga, North Carolina, according to his cousin Carol Brown The Hollywood Reporter.
„Mr. Williams’ contributions to American theater and television will live on, but he will be greatly missed,” he said in a statement.
In the theater community, Williams is perhaps best known as a Tony-nominated playwright HouseIt was first directed by Douglas Turner Ward and produced on Broadway in 1980 by the Negro Ensemble Company. The show returns to Broadway on June 5th with Kenny Leone directing.
In addition to the Tony nomination for Best Play, House It received an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Drama Desk nomination, an NAACP Image Award, and a North Carolina Governor’s Award.
Williams also wrote Friends, welcome to Black River Other plays produced in New York, Los Angeles and beyond.
For the screen, Williams wrote the episodes Cagney & Lacey, Hammer the new mic, Miami Vice And Debbie Allen Special. He was nominated for two Emmys as a producer Frank’s place In 1988 and Motown returns to the Apollo In 1985.
From 1990-93, he served as executive producer for Will Smith The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Williams was born in Philadelphia on January 20, 1946, and attended Morgan State University in Baltimore.
During her career, Williams received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Playwriting, and other writing awards.
He has no wife or children.