Actor. An influential playwright, stage and television director, his most significant contributions to the arts were arguably as a mentor, teacher and as an arts administrator.In 1963, Whitfield co-founded the American Theatre of Being in Los Angeles with actor Frank Silvera. While there, he taught classes with future Oscar nominee Beah Richards ("Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"), future Golden Globe nominee Whitman Mayo (TV's "Sanford & Son") and future Emmy Award winner Isabel Sanford ("The Jeffersons"). The next year he founded the Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles.The 1970s was probably his greatest period of influence. He was the founding director of the Expansion Arts program at the NEA in 1971. During his seven-year tenure at the NEA, Whitfield was responsible for making more than $47 million in grants available to artists and arts organizations within of the black, Native American, Appalachian, and Latino communities. In the same decade, he was also a founding director, with actor Robert Hooks, of the D.C. Black Repertory Company in this native Washington.Mr. Whitfield has received numerous awards throughout his career including an NAACP Image Award, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, and an AUDELCO Pioneer Award. He was married numerous times including once to the Emmy Award winning actress Lynn Whitfield ("The Josephine Baker Story"), who was also a former student. He died at his Washington Home from complications of Alzheimer's Disease.
Actor. An influential playwright, stage and television director, his most significant contributions to the arts were arguably as a mentor, teacher and as an arts administrator.In 1963, Whitfield co-founded the American Theatre of Being in Los Angeles with actor Frank Silvera. While there, he taught classes with future Oscar nominee Beah Richards ("Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"), future Golden Globe nominee Whitman Mayo (TV's "Sanford & Son") and future Emmy Award winner Isabel Sanford ("The Jeffersons"). The next year he founded the Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles.The 1970s was probably his greatest period of influence. He was the founding director of the Expansion Arts program at the NEA in 1971. During his seven-year tenure at the NEA, Whitfield was responsible for making more than $47 million in grants available to artists and arts organizations within of the black, Native American, Appalachian, and Latino communities. In the same decade, he was also a founding director, with actor Robert Hooks, of the D.C. Black Repertory Company in this native Washington.Mr. Whitfield has received numerous awards throughout his career including an NAACP Image Award, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, and an AUDELCO Pioneer Award. He was married numerous times including once to the Emmy Award winning actress Lynn Whitfield ("The Josephine Baker Story"), who was also a former student. He died at his Washington Home from complications of Alzheimer's Disease.
Bio by: R Wheaton
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