Charles H. Fuller Jr. (March 5, 1939 – October 3, 2022) was an American playwright, best known for his play ''
A Soldier's Play
''A Soldier's Play'' is a play by American playwright Charles Fuller. Set on a US Army installation in the segregation-era South, the play is a loose adaptation of Herman Melville's novella ''Billy Budd'', and follows the murder investigation of ...
'', for which he received the 1982
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
and the 2020
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
The Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play has only been awarded since 1994. Prior to that, plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival. The award is given to the best non-musical play that has appeared on Broadwa ...
.
Early life
Fuller was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, on March 5, 1939, the son of Charles H. Fuller, Sr. and Lillian Anderson. Raised
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, he attended
Roman Catholic High School
, motto_translation = Faith and Knowledge
, accreditation = MSA
, nickname = The Cahillites
, conference = Philadelphia Catholic League
, colors = Purple & Gold
, yearbook ...
and then
Villanova University
Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...
(1956–1958), then joined the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in 1959, serving in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. He left the military in 1962, and later studied at
La Salle University
La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle.
History
La ...
(1965–1967), earning a
DFA. Furthermore, he co-founded the Afro-American Arts Theatre in Philadelphia.
Career
Fuller vowed to become a writer after noticing that his high school's library had no books by African-American authors. He achieved critical notice in 1969 with ''The Village: A Party'', a drama about racial tensions between a group of mixed-race couples.
He later wrote plays for the
Henry Street Settlement
The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founde ...
theatre and the
Negro Ensemble Company
The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) is a New York City-based theater company and workshop established in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer-actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald S. Krone, with funding from the Ford Foundation. ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, which have performed several of his plays. His 1975 play, ''The Brownsville Raid,'' is based on the
Brownsville Affair, an altercation between black soldiers and white civilians in
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...
, in 1906, which led to an entire black regiment being dishonorably discharged, though later pardoned in 1976.
Fuller won an
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...
for ''
Zooman and The Sign'' in 1980, about a black Philadelphia teen who kills a young girl on her own front porch, and whose neighbors eventually rise up against him after being goaded out of their apathy by the girl's father with a sign. Zooman presents himself as a helpless product of his society, but his victim's father convinces their neighbors that they need to stand together and achieve justice.
Fuller's next work, ''
A Soldier's Play
''A Soldier's Play'' is a play by American playwright Charles Fuller. Set on a US Army installation in the segregation-era South, the play is a loose adaptation of Herman Melville's novella ''Billy Budd'', and follows the murder investigation of ...
'', told the story of the racially charged search by a black captain for the murderer of a black sergeant on a
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
army base in 1944, as a means to discuss the position of blacks in white society. Although the play enjoyed a long run, Fuller said it never played on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
because he refused to drop the last line, "You'll have to get used to black people being in charge." It was nevertheless a critical success, winning Fuller a
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
in 1982, and being produced as the 1984 film ''
A Soldier's Story
''A Soldier's Story'' is a 1984 American mystery drama film directed and produced by Norman Jewison, adapted by Charles Fuller from his Pulitzer Prize-winning '' A Soldier's Play'', an adaptation of Herman Melville's novella '' Billy Budd''. It ...
'', for which Fuller himself wrote the screen adaptation. His screenplay was nominated for an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, and a
Writers Guild Award of America, and it won an
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
.
After this play, Fuller switched his focus to movies for several years, saying "I always wanted to reach the most people with my work. Not enough people go to the theater."
Roundabout Theater Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres.
History
The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabeth ...
presented the play's Broadway debut in January 2020, starring
David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as Bernard on '' Damon'' (1998), as David Bellows on ''Life with Bonnie'' (2002–2004), as Joe Carmichael on ''The Carmichael Show'' (2015â ...
and
Blair Underwood
Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American actor. He made his debut in the 1985 musical film ''Krush Groove'' and from 1987 to 1994 starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series ''L.A. Law''.
Underwood has a ...
, and directed by
Kenny Leon
Kenny Leon is an American director, producer, actor, and author, notable for his work on Broadway, on television, and in regional theater. In 2014, he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for ''A Raisin in the Sun''.
Career
He gaine ...
. It ran for 58 performances, closing on March 11, 2020, when Broadway theaters were closed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The production was deemed eligible for a
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
The Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play has only been awarded since 1994. Prior to that, plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival. The award is given to the best non-musical play that has appeared on Broadwa ...
at the
74th Tony Awards
The 74th Tony Awards were held on September 26, 2021, to recognize achievement in Broadway theatre, Broadway productions during the 2019–20 season. After being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the ceremony was held at the ...
despite it had never performed on Broadway before. The Tony nominating committee had deemed ''A Soldier's Play'' a classic, but in their ruling, the committee also decided that due to this being the play's first Broadway production, Fuller would also be included in the production's nomination as if the play were nominated for a
Tony Award for Best Play
The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non- musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year ...
. As such, Fuller won a Tony Award for ''A Soldier's Play'' nearly 40 years after its first production. He subsequently penned other works for the stage, but they have not been critically acclaimed.
Of his methods for advancing the African-American cause, Fuller said in a 1982 interview, "My argument is on the stage. I don't have to be angry. O.K.? I get it all out right up there. There's no reason to carry this down from the stage and into the seats. And it does not mean that I am not enraged at injustice or prejudice or bigotry. It simply means that I cannot be enraged all the time. To spend one's life being angry, and in the process doing nothing to change it, is to me ridiculous. I could be mad all day long, but if I'm not doing a damn thing, what difference does it make?"
Fuller received grants from the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
,
Guggenheim Foundation, the
State of New York
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...
, and the
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
. He also wrote short fiction and screenplays and worked as a movie producer. In 2010, he published his first novel, ''Snatch: The Adventures of David and Me'', a work of children's fiction written for his two sons. He was a member of the
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers:
* The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO
* The Writers Guil ...
, East.
On October 3, 2022, Fuller died of natural causes in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
at the age of 83. He leaves behind his wife, Claire Prieto, his son, David Ira Fuller, his step-son, Ian Kamau, his daughter-in-law, four grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Bibliography
Plays
* ''The Village: A Party'' (also known as ''The Perfect Party''), 1968
* ''An Untitled Play'', 1970
* ''In My Many Names and Days'', 1972
* ''The Candidate'', 1974.
* ''In the Deepest Part of Sleep'', 1974
* ''First Love'' (one-act), 1974.
* ''The Lay out Letter'' (one-act), 1975
* ''The Brownsville Raid'', 1976
* ''
Zooman and the Sign'', 1982.
* ''
A Soldier's Play
''A Soldier's Play'' is a play by American playwright Charles Fuller. Set on a US Army installation in the segregation-era South, the play is a loose adaptation of Herman Melville's novella ''Billy Budd'', and follows the murder investigation of ...
'', 1982
* ''We'', 1988
* ''Eliot’s Coming'', 1988
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Charles Fullerat doolee.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, Charles
1939 births
2022 deaths
Military personnel from Philadelphia
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
American male screenwriters
Drama Desk Award winners
Edgar Award winners
Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners
African-American dramatists and playwrights
Writers from Philadelphia
La Salle University alumni
American male dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American male writers
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Screenwriters from Pennsylvania
African-American screenwriters
20th-century African-American writers
21st-century African-American people
African-American male writers
African-American Catholics