Woodie King Jr.

Woodie King Jr. (born July 27, 1937) is an American director and producer of stage and screen, as well as the founding director of the New Federal Theatre in New York City.

Early life and education
King was born in Baldwin Springs, Alabama. He graduated high school in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan, United States, and worked at the Ford Motor Company there for three years. He then worked for the City of Detroit as a draftsman.

In 1970, he founded the New Federal Theatre. He earned a B.A. in Self-Determined Studies, with a focus on Theatre and Black Studies, at Lehman College in 1996, and an M.F.A. at Brooklyn College in 1999.

Credits
King has a long list of credits in film and stage direction and production, including the following:

Co-produced plays

 * For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
 * What the Wine Sellers Buy
 * Reggae
 * The Taking of Miss Janie, which earned the Drama Critics Circle Award

Awards and recognition

 * 1985: Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for Appear and Show Cause
 * 1988: NAACP Image Award for directing Checkmates at the Inner City Cultural Center
 * 1993: AUDELCO awards for Best Director and Best Play for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil
 * 1997: Obie Award for Sustained Achievement
 * 2003: Paul Robeson Award
 * 2005: Rosetta LeNoire Award
 * 2011: Induction into American Theater Hall of Fame
 * 2014: Theatre Legend Award, Atlanta Black Theatre Festival
 * 2020: Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre