We are all defined by what we do, what path we choose, and yet we are so much more.
Samm-Art Williams’ path chose him. He came to New York as an actor, but the stories inside him were begging to see the light; he wrote and went on to produce, develop, create, and edit some of the most iconic works of this century.
Born January 20, 1946, he credited his mother, Valdosia Williams, a high school English teacher, for instilling in him a love of words. She “forced me to read everything from Langston Hughes to Edgar Allan Poe.”
Determined to be a lawyer, he attended Morgan State, studying political science and psychology, but his passion for playwriting and his mother’s indelible influence won out.
A 6ft 8in tall Gentle Giant Teddy Bear of a man, who once sparred with Muhammad Ali, Samm-Art racked up numerous credits as a playwright, screenwriter, television producer, and actor on stage, television, and film.
Well known for his TV producing credits which include Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Martin, and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, he paid his dues as an actor long before he became a producer, writer, and script supervisor.
Starting his career in New York in the 1970s, Samm appeared in plays at the Negro Ensemble and other off-Broadway companies. While at The Negro Ensemble Company he also understudied Leslie Lee’s Tony nominated Broadway play The First Breeze of Summer and Steve Carter’s Nevis Mountain Dew which went on to D.C.’s Arena Stage.
All the while he was burning the midnight oil, writing whenever he got the chance.
Taking the Negro Ensemble’s Playwrights Workshop, Samm found his greatest mentor in teacher Steve Carter. According to Samm, “No single individual has influenced my writing to the degree that Steve Carter has.”
Negro Ensemble produced his plays Welcome to Black River and A Love Play; Billie Holiday produced The Coming and Do Unto Others, and New York City’s Stage produced The Last Caravan and Brass Birds Don’t Sing.
Navigating from acting to writing, he debuted onscreen in The Wanderers and went on to parts in Dressed to Kill as well as blaxploitation films. Blood Simple (1984) was his most memorable film role. On TV he played Matthew Henson in the historical movie Cook & Peary: The Race to the Pole, starred as Denmark Vesey on PBS, and played Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He appeared in the series The New Mike Hammer, 227, and Frank’s Place in the mid-80s, where he also served as story editor. All the while writing.
Samm is best known for his Tony and Drama Desk Award nominated Broadway production of Home (May 1980-January 1981) which started out at the Negro Ensemble Company (1979), and it was my great joy to understudy both ladies on Broadway and perform both roles.
Probably as exciting as being on stage was waiting in the wings with Samm as he recounted more stories than his play Home could possibly hold to his one-woman captivated audience: me. Home ran on Broadway for 278 performances.
We all claimed Samm because we all wanted something from him: to be around his infectious joy. He wanted you to believe he was a country hick: a coon eating, possum stewing, moonshine drinking man. I don’t think he would have the heart to even catch those critters, and definitely not eat one. And I never saw him drink anything, much less moonshine.
When I discovered Samm and I grew up less than six miles apart, I was so proud, I was glowing. Because I knew, without a doubt, that my homey Samm-Art Williams was a wise sage who never hesitated to share his wisdom. My homey Samm was a tremendously talented, shy man, who made magic flow from his mouth, his pen, his very being.
Just like Cephus in his Broadway play, Home, Samm-Art Williams “took it to the City,” but returned to the backwoods of Burgaw where he truly belonged.
Though quiet and unassuming, he is no longer with us, so he can’t stop us from praising him, unless he haunts us. That’s a joke Samm would definitely play.
