Legendary Broadway playwright Charles Fuller has died. He was 83 years old.
A native of Philadelphia, Fuller was known for writing A Soldier’s Play, for which he received the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2020 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.
The tale of a racially charged search by a Black captain for the murderer of a black sergeant on a Louisiana army base in 1944, 'A Soldier’s Play' was adapted into an acclaimed motion picture under the title 'A Soldier’s Story' in 1984.
The film starred Adolph Caesar, David Alan Grier and a then-unknown Denzel Washington. A Soldier’s Story received three nominations, including a Best Adapted Screenplay for Fuller.
Fuller was also known for his plays The Brownsville Raid and Zooman and the Sign, the former of which was based on the Brownsville raid of 1906.
In the wake of Fuller’s passing, Grier paid tribute to the playwright on his Twitter page.
Rest n Peace Charles Fuller author of A Soldiers Play and the Oscar nominated screenplay of A Soldiers Story. Pulitzer Prize recipient and amazing and wonderful artist. It has been my greatest honour to perform his words on both stage and screen, his genius will be missed pic.twitter.com/F3uvYHBhZW
— David Alan Grier (@davidalangrier) October 4, 2022
He wrote:
“Rest n Peace Charles Fuller author of A Soldiers Play and the Oscar nominated screenplay of A Soldier’s Story. Pulitzer Prize recipient and amazing and wonderful artist,” Grier said in his caption. “It has been my greatest honour to perform his words on both stage and screen, his genius will be missed.”
