August Wilson real name was Frederick August Kittell. He was born on April 27, 1945, in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father was a German baker named Frederkick Kittell and his mother was an African American cleaning lady, her name was Daisy Wilson Kittell. He was the fourth of six children. His father was barely around in his life. His mother would take care of the family with her cleaning lady job.
When August was a teenager his mother married David Bedford. They went to live in Hazelwood, a suburban neighborhood. There the people were racist against black people. August dropped out of high school in ninth grade after his teacher accused him of plagiarizing a report he did on Napoleon Bonaparte. He would go to the library to get an education. At the age of 16 he would work basic jobs.
In 1965 August changed his last name to his mother's maiden name, after his dad died. He discovered the blues that Bessie Smith sang and he bought a typewriter and began to write poetry. In 1968 August and Rob Penny co-founded the Black Horizon, which was a theater located in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. There August was a scriptwriter and a director for ten years.
In 1969 August got married to Brenda Burton. The same year he got married was the same year his stepfather David died. August had one baby girl with Brenda. Her name was Sakina Ansari Wilson and she was born on January 22, 1970. August and Brenda marriage would only last three years because the marriage ended with a divorce in 1972.
In 1978 August moved to ST Paul, Minnesota. His friend Claude Purdy suggested August to move to St. Paul and he helped August get a job at the The Science Museum of Minnesota. August job was to write educational scripts.
In 1980 August received a $200 a month fellowship for the Minneapolis Playwrights Center, after he submitted his play Jitney. Jitney and Fullerton Street (another work of August), got produced at the Allegheny Repertory Theater in Pittsburgh. August got accepted in the 1982 National Playwrights Conference because of Jitney.
In 1981, August got married for a second time. He got married to Judy Oliver. Judy Oliver was a social worker. At the 1983 National Playwright Conference a man named Lloyd Richards, a director of the Yale Repertory, got interested by August, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom play. Lloyd Richards directed all of August's plays since then. August mother dies in 1983. In 1984 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom gets played at Broadway. In 1985 it wins August his First New York Drama Critics award. In 1987 Fences, another of August plays gets played at Broadway. Fences gains $11 million for the first year it played in Broadway.In 1987 August get a Pulitzer Prize for Fences. In 1989 August gets named the 1990 Pittsburgher of the Year by Pittsburgh magazine.
In 1990 August and Judy got a divorce. That same year August moved to Seattle.His play Piano Lesson also gets played in Broadway. He wins a Pulitzer Prize for Piano Lesson .
In 1994 he married Constanza Romero and had a daughter with her in 1997 named Azula Carmen Wilson.In June 2005 August was diagnosed with liver cancer. On October 2, 2005, August died in the Swedish Medical center in Seattle.
Bibliography
http://www.fb10.uni-bremen.de/anlistik/kerkhoff.ComtempDrama.WilsonAugust.htm
http://www.netglimse.com/celebs/pages/august_wilson/index.shtml
http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/wilson_a.htm
http://www.post-gazette.com/magazine/19991216awtimeline9.asp
When August was a teenager his mother married David Bedford. They went to live in Hazelwood, a suburban neighborhood. There the people were racist against black people. August dropped out of high school in ninth grade after his teacher accused him of plagiarizing a report he did on Napoleon Bonaparte. He would go to the library to get an education. At the age of 16 he would work basic jobs.
In 1965 August changed his last name to his mother's maiden name, after his dad died. He discovered the blues that Bessie Smith sang and he bought a typewriter and began to write poetry. In 1968 August and Rob Penny co-founded the Black Horizon, which was a theater located in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. There August was a scriptwriter and a director for ten years.
In 1969 August got married to Brenda Burton. The same year he got married was the same year his stepfather David died. August had one baby girl with Brenda. Her name was Sakina Ansari Wilson and she was born on January 22, 1970. August and Brenda marriage would only last three years because the marriage ended with a divorce in 1972.
In 1978 August moved to ST Paul, Minnesota. His friend Claude Purdy suggested August to move to St. Paul and he helped August get a job at the The Science Museum of Minnesota. August job was to write educational scripts.
In 1980 August received a $200 a month fellowship for the Minneapolis Playwrights Center, after he submitted his play Jitney. Jitney and Fullerton Street (another work of August), got produced at the Allegheny Repertory Theater in Pittsburgh. August got accepted in the 1982 National Playwrights Conference because of Jitney.
In 1981, August got married for a second time. He got married to Judy Oliver. Judy Oliver was a social worker. At the 1983 National Playwright Conference a man named Lloyd Richards, a director of the Yale Repertory, got interested by August, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom play. Lloyd Richards directed all of August's plays since then. August mother dies in 1983. In 1984 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom gets played at Broadway. In 1985 it wins August his First New York Drama Critics award. In 1987 Fences, another of August plays gets played at Broadway. Fences gains $11 million for the first year it played in Broadway.In 1987 August get a Pulitzer Prize for Fences. In 1989 August gets named the 1990 Pittsburgher of the Year by Pittsburgh magazine.
In 1990 August and Judy got a divorce. That same year August moved to Seattle.His play Piano Lesson also gets played in Broadway. He wins a Pulitzer Prize for Piano Lesson .
In 1994 he married Constanza Romero and had a daughter with her in 1997 named Azula Carmen Wilson.In June 2005 August was diagnosed with liver cancer. On October 2, 2005, August died in the Swedish Medical center in Seattle.
Bibliography
http://www.fb10.uni-bremen.de/anlistik/kerkhoff.ComtempDrama.WilsonAugust.htm
http://www.netglimse.com/celebs/pages/august_wilson/index.shtml
http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/wilson_a.htm
http://www.post-gazette.com/magazine/19991216awtimeline9.asp
1 comments:
GOOD INFORMATION! YOU STILL NEED TO POST MORE WORK ON WILSON'S FENCES. WHERE'S THE ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS?
MOST IMPORTANT: CITE YOUR SOURCES.
ms. hyde
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