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Who Was August Wilson?
August Wilson was a renowned American playwright best known for his significant contributions to the theater, particularly for his exploration of African American experiences through his work. He wrote his first play, Jitney, in 1979, and later gained national acclaim with his play Fences, which earned him both the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award in 1987. He won a second Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for The Piano Lesson. His works continued to make an impact on Broadway, with notable premieres including Seven Guitars in 1996, King Hedley II in 2001, and Gem of the Ocean in 2004. Wilson passed away on October 2, 2005, in Seattle, Washington.
Early Life and Education
Born Frederick August Kittel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 27, 1945, Wilson was the son of Daisy Wilson, an African American woman, and Frederick Kittel, a German immigrant. His family faced challenges after his parents’ divorce, leading them to relocate from the impoverished Bedford Avenue neighborhood to a predominantly white area in Oakland. As a child, Wilson attended St. Richard’s Parochial School but transferred to Connelly Vocational High School and later to Gladstone High School due to the racial discrimination he faced. At the age of 15, he began an independent education at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, ultimately earning his high school diploma.
Following his father’s death in 1965, Wilson adopted the pen name “August Wilson,” reportedly in honor of his mother, and declared himself a poet. In 1968, he co-founded the Black Horizon Theater with his friend Rob Penny, which marked the beginning of his commitment to the arts. For a time, Wilson focused primarily on poetry until he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1978, where he began to write plays.
Plays: Fences, The Pittsburgh Cycle, The Piano Lesson
Wilson’s first significant play, Jitney, debuted in 1979 and earned him a fellowship at the Minneapolis Playwright Center. The following year, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was accepted at the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference, leading to a productive partnership with director Lloyd Richards, who helmed Wilson’s first six Broadway productions.
Fences premiered on Broadway in 1987, earning Wilson his first Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. Set in the 1950s, Fences delves into themes surrounding the evolving Black experience and race relations in America. It is the sixth installment of Wilson’s ten-part series known as The Pittsburgh Cycle, which chronicles the African American experience across different decades. The second part of the cycle, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, opened on Broadway in 1988.
Wilson received another Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for The Piano Lesson, which premiered on Broadway to critical acclaim. In 1991, a collection of his works titled Three Plays by August Wilson was published. The subsequent year saw the Broadway premiere of Two Trains Running.
Other major works include Seven Guitars (1996), King Hedley II (2001), and Gem of the Ocean, which debuted in Chicago in 2003 and later on Broadway in 2004, where it enjoyed a run of 72 performances. In 2003, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was revived on Broadway.
Death
August Wilson died of liver cancer on October 2, 2005, in Seattle, Washington. His final play, Radio Golf, had premiered in Los Angeles a few months prior to his passing.
Personal Life
Wilson’s personal life included three marriages. He first married Brenda Burton in 1969, with whom he had a daughter, Sakina, before their divorce in 1971. His second marriage was to Judy Oliver in 1981, which ended in divorce in 1990. In 1994, he married Constanza Romero, a costume designer, and they welcomed a daughter, Azula, in 1997.