Childress, Alice
Name Entries
person
Childress, Alice
Name Components
Name :
Childress, Alice
Childress, Alice, 1920-1994
Name Components
Name :
Childress, Alice, 1920-1994
Childress, Alice, 1920-
Name Components
Name :
Childress, Alice, 1920-
Herndon Childress, Alice 1920-1994
Name Components
Name :
Herndon Childress, Alice 1920-1994
Childress, Alice Herndon 1920-1994
Name Components
Name :
Childress, Alice Herndon 1920-1994
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Exist Dates
Biographical History
Pioneering African-American writer, actress and director Alice Childress (1916-1994) was popularly known for her best-selling novel, "A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich," and her plays, most notably "Wedding Band: A Love Story in Black and White." In the 1930s she met and married Alvin Childress, best known for his role as Amos in the television series, "Amos and Andy. "She was a founding member of the American Negro Theatre, and in 1944 she and her husband Alvin appeared in "Anna Lucasta," alongside lead actress Hilda Simms. When the play went to Broadway, and Childress received a TONY nomination for "Best Supporting Actress."
Although she continued to act, Childress began writing plays in the late 1940s. Her first play, "Florence," appeared in 1949, and a year later, she adapted Langston Hughes' novel, "Simple Speaks His Mind" into the play, "Just a Little Simple." Her plays include "Gold Through the Trees," the first play by a black woman produced in the United States, and "Trouble in Mind," in 1955, which received an OBIE for Best Off-Broadway Play; the first black woman to receive that honor. Childress's first book, "Like One of the Family: Conversations from a Domestic's Life," vignettes that were first published in a column "Conversation from Life," in Paul Robeson's "Freedom" newspaper, was published a year later. She subsequently republished the vignettes in the "Baltimore Afro-American." During this time she divorced Alvin Childress and married musician Nathan (Nat) Woodard in 1957.
Childress's play, "Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White," was produced in 1966 and in 1972, at the New York Shakespeare Festival Theatre. Her other plays produced during the 1960s included "String," "Wine in the Wilderness," and "Young Martin Luther King." Her award-winning children's book, "A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich," was published in 1973, and was made into a film in 1975. Throughout the following decades, Childress's wrote a number of plays which were produced in various venues across the country, ("Gullah," "Let's Hear It for the Queen," "Mojo," "Moms: A Praise Play for a Black Comedienne," and "When the Rattlesnake Sounds"), published a novel, ("A Short Walk"), a collection of scenes, ("Black Scenes"), and two children's books, ("Rainbow Jordan" and "Those Other People").
Pioneering African-American writer, actress and director Alice Childress (1916-1994) was popularly known for her best-selling novel, "A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich," and her plays, most notably "Wedding Band: A Love Story in Black and White." In the 1930s she met and married Alvin Childress, best known for his role as Amos in the television series, "Amos and Andy. "She was a founding member of the American Negro Theatre, and in 1944 she and her husband Alvin appeared in "Anna Lucasta," alongside lead actress Hilda Simms. When the play went to Broadway, and Childress received a TONY nomination for "Best Supporting Actress.".
Although she continued to act, Childress began writing plays in the late 1940s. Her first play, "Florence," appeared in 1949, and a year later, she adapted Langston Hughes' novel, "Simple Speaks His Mind" into the play, "Just a Little Simple." Her plays include "Gold Through the Trees," the first play by a black woman produced in the United States, and "Trouble in Mind," in 1955, which received an OBIE for Best Off-Broadway Play; the first black woman to receive that honor. Childress's first book, "Like One of the Family: Conversations from a Domestic's Life," vignettes that were first published in a column "Conversation from Life," in Paul Robeson's "Freedom" newspaper, was published a year later. She subsequently republished the vignettes in the "Baltimore Afro-American." During this time she divorced Alvin Childress and married musician Nathan (Nat) Woodard in 1957.
Childress's play, "Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White," was produced in 1966 and in 1972, at the New York Shakespeare Festival Theatre. Her other plays produced during the 1960s included "String," "Wine in the Wilderness," and "Young Martin Luther King." Her award-winning children's book, "A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich," was published in 1973, and was made into a film in 1975. Throughout the following decades, Childress's wrote a number of plays which were produced in various venues across the country, ("Gullah," "Let's Hear It for the Queen," "Mojo," "Moms: A Praise Play for a Black Comedienne," and "When the Rattlesnake Sounds"), published a novel, ("A Short Walk"), a collection of scenes, ("Black Scenes"), and two children's books, ("Rainbow Jordan" and "Those Other People").
eng
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External Related CPF
https://viaf.org/viaf/810591
https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1513826
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n79056362
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n79056362
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Languages Used
Subjects
African American actresses
African American authors
African American dramatists
African Americans in the performing arts
African American theater
American drama
American drama
Black author
Dramatists, American
Women in the theater
Women in the theater
Nationalities
Activities
Occupations
Legal Statuses
Places
United States
AssociatedPlace
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)
AssociatedPlace
Harlem (New York, N.Y.)
AssociatedPlace
Soviet Union
AssociatedPlace
Soviet Union
AssociatedPlace
Convention Declarations
<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>