Funeral details for Pender County playwright and producer Samm-Art “Bunny” Williams, dead at 78

BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — An accomplished playwright, screenwriter, stage and film/TV actor and television producer who grew up in Pender County will be remembered for his brilliant writing and his passion for helping nurture the creative talent of others.

Samm-Art Williams died May 13 at the age of 78.

He gained professional recognition for his extensive body of work which often explored the African-American experience but to his family and close friends, he was known simply as, “Bunny.”

Williams was born on January 20, 1946 to Samuel and Valdosia Williams in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He then moved to the segregated South and the small rural town of Burgaw, NC, where black students attended C. F. Pope High School (now called C. F. Pope Elementary School).

Williams studied political science and psychology at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Upon graduation, he moved to Philadelphia and began acting with the Freedom Theatre.

After relocating to New York City, he became an actor in 1973 in the play, Black Jesus.

He later wrote a poem which became a play called Home. Playbill described it as “a muscular and melodic coming-of-age story that gives voice to the unbreakable spirit of all Americans who have been searching for a place to belong.”

The first performance of the Broadway revival of Home was on May 17, exactly four days after Williams’ death. Opening night for the play is scheduled for June 5.

According to Williams’ obituary, when Home first opened on Broadway it received numerous accolades, including Tony nominations for Best Play and Best Actor for Charles Brown, an Outer Critics Circle Award, an NAACP Image Award, and the North Carolina Governor’s Award.

Some of his other plays included The Dance on Widows’ Row, The Waiting Room, Welcome to Black River, Friends, and Montford Point Marin.

But his creative talents weren’t limited to Broadway and the stage.

Williams also worked in film and TV, with acting credits including Cook and Peary: The Race to the Pole and the 1986 film adaptation of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

He was an executive producer, story editor, and writer on several TV shows, including Frank’s Place (which earned him an Emmy nomination), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Hanging with Mr. Cooper, Good News, and Martin.

Despite his extremely successful career, he never forgot about his Southern roots and his family and friends back home who influenced him as a boy.

In the 1980’s, he often returned home to Pender County to serve as a guest lecturer in Lucile McIntyre’s drama classes at Pender High School. One year, students wrote monologues for a play entitled Family Feelings with Williams offering critiques of the students’ writings and performances. The playbill described it as “a performance festival with Samm-Art Williams.”

Following his death, some of those very students he mentored remembered the impact Williams had on their lives.

“He was so attentive to the details and the hidden messages in what I was performing,” said Melissa Vega. “This was very impactful on my life.”

“I remember him coming to drama practice,” said Sandie Gosselin Fussell, “He was so inspiring and kind.”

Williams was also an Artist-in-Residence at North Carolina Central University where he taught classes about equity theater and the art of playwriting.

Some of the other accolades he later received included the Guggenheim Fellowship, the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Playwriting, and induction in the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame in 2010.

A visitation will be held Friday, May 24, 2024, from 5-7 pm. at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church at 312 N. Wright St., Burgaw. A memorial service of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity will be held at the church starting at 6:30 p.m. A funeral will be held at the church on Saturday, May 25, at 2 p.m.

For funeral arrangements or to share condolences, go to Nixon Lewis Funeral Home.