Playwright August Wilson dies at 60

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The first was “Ma Rainey,” which opened on Broadway in 1984. Wilson’s reputation was cemented in 1987 by the father-son drama “Fences,” his biggest commercial success. The play, which featured a Tony-winning performance by James Earl Jones, ran for more than a year.

It was followed in New York by “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” (1988), “The Piano Lesson” (1990), “Two Trains Running” (1992), “Seven Guitars” (1996), “Jitney” (2000), “King Hedley II” (2001) and “Gem of the Ocean” (2004).

Wilson’s plays gave steady employment to black actors, not only in New York but in regional theaters, where most of his plays tried out before coming to Broadway. Besides Jones, such well-known actors as Laurence Fishburne, Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett, Charles S. Dutton, Brian Stokes Mitchell, S. Epatha Merkerson, Roscoe Lee Browne and Leslie Uggams appeared in his plays on Broadway.

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“August’s work is like reading a rich novel,” says Anthony Chisholm, a veteran Wilson performer in such plays as “Gem of the Ocean” and “Radio Golf.”

“It conjures up vivid images in the mind, and it makes the actor’s job easier because you have something to draw upon to build your character.”

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