Bill Gunn (writer)
Encyclopedia
Bill Gunn was an American
playwright, novelist, actor and film director. His 1973 cult classic horror film
Ganja and Hess
was chosen as one of ten best American films of the decade at the Cannes Film Festival
, 1973. His drama Johnnas won an Emmy award in 1972.
, Gunn wrote more than 29 plays during his lifetime. He also authored two novels and wrote several produced screenplays. He died from encephalitis
at a Nyack, New York
hospital the day before his play, The Forbidden City opened at the Public Theatre in New York City.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright, novelist, actor and film director. His 1973 cult classic horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
Ganja and Hess
Ganja and Hess
Ganja & Hess is a 1973 horror film directed by Bill Gunn and stars Marlene Clark and Duane Jones. The film follows the exploits of archaeologist Dr. Hess Green who becomes a vampire after being stabbed by his intelligent, but unstable, assistant with an ancient cursed dagger...
was chosen as one of ten best American films of the decade at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, 1973. His drama Johnnas won an Emmy award in 1972.
Career
A native of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Gunn wrote more than 29 plays during his lifetime. He also authored two novels and wrote several produced screenplays. He died from encephalitis
Encephalitis
Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis with meningitis is known as meningoencephalitis. Symptoms include headache, fever, confusion, drowsiness, and fatigue...
at a Nyack, New York
Nyack, New York
Nyack is a village in the towns of Orangetown and Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of South Nyack; east of Central Nyack; south of Upper Nyack and west of the Hudson River, approximately 19 miles north of the Manhattan boundary, it is an inner suburb of New...
hospital the day before his play, The Forbidden City opened at the Public Theatre in New York City.
Plays
- Marcus in the High Grass (1959) - produced in New York City by Theatre Guild.
- Johnnas (1968) - produced in New York City at Chelsea Theatre.
- Black Picture Show (1975) - produced in New York City at Vivian Beaumont Theatre.
- Rhinestone (musical; based on novel Rhinestone Sharecropping) (1982) produced in New York City at Richard Allen Center.
- Family Employment (1985) - produced in New York City at The Public Theater.
- The Forbidden City (1989) - produced in New York City at The Public Theater.
- Also author of Celebration - produced in Los Angeles at Mark Taper Forum.
Screenplays
- Fame Game (1968), Columbia Pictures.
- Friends (1968), Universal Studios.
- Stop (1969), (never released), Warner.
- (With Ronald RibmanRonald RibmanRonald Burt Ribman is an American author, poet and playwright.-Biography:Ribman was born in Sydenham Hospital in New York City to Samuel M. Ribman, a lawyer, and Rosa Ribman. He attended public school in Brooklyn, and graduated P.S. 188 in 1944. Ribman attended Mark Twain Jr. High School,...
) The Angel LevineThe Angel LevineThe Angel Levine is a 1970 U.S. film directed by Jan Kadar and based on a short story by Bernard Malamud. The film is about an impoverished New York City tailor who is unable to work due to health problems, which creates a financial strain since his wife is seriously ill...
(1970) (adaptation of novel by Bernard Malamud), United Artists. - Don't the Moon Look Lonesome (1970) (adaptation of novel by Don Asher), Chuck Barris Productions.
- The LandlordThe LandlordThe Landlord is a 1970 film directed by Hal Ashby, which was based on the novel by Kristin Hunter. The film stars Beau Bridges in the lead role of a well to do white man who becomes landlord of an inner city tenement, unaware that the people he is responsible for are low-income, streetwise residents...
(1970) (adaptation of novel by Kristin Hunter), United Artists. - Ganja and HessGanja and HessGanja & Hess is a 1973 horror film directed by Bill Gunn and stars Marlene Clark and Duane Jones. The film follows the exploits of archaeologist Dr. Hess Green who becomes a vampire after being stabbed by his intelligent, but unstable, assistant with an ancient cursed dagger...
(1973), Kelly-Jordan Enterprises, re-edited and released under title Blood Couple, Heritage Enterprises. - The Greatest: The Muhammed Ali Story (1976), Columbia.
Television Screenplays
- Johnnas (1972), National Broadcasting Company (NBC).
- The Alberta Hunter Story (1982), Southern Pictures/British Broadcasting Corporation (London).
Novels
- All the Rest Have Died (1964), Delacorte (New York, NY).
- Rhinestone Sharecropping (1981), Reed, Cannon, ISBN 0918408199, 9780918408198.
Filmography (as director)
| Year | Film | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Stop | director |
| 1973 | Ganja & Hess ... aka Black Evil ... aka Black Vampire (USA: video title) ... aka Blackout: The Moment of Terror ... aka Blood Couple (cut version) ... aka Double Possession ... aka Vampires of Harlem |
director |
| 1980 | Personal Problems | director |
Filmography (as actor)
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| unknown | Look Up and Live (TV series) | George |
| 1961 | Route 66 Route 66 (TV series) Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod... |
Hank |
| Naked City Naked City (TV series) Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic "semi-documentary" format.... (TV series) |
Al Norbert | |
| 1962 | The Defenders (TV series) | Frank Reilly |
| The Interns The Interns (television series) The Interns is an American medical drama series that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1971. It was based on the 1962 film The Interns and the 1964 sequel The New Interns.-Overview:... (TV series) |
Rosco (uncredited) | |
| Stoney Burke Stoney Burke (TV series) Stoney Burke is a short-lived Western television series broadcast on the ABC television network from October 1, 1962 until May 20, 1963. The series starred Jack Lord, who would later go on to star in the popular television series, Hawaii Five-O.... (TV series) |
Bud Sutter | |
| 1963 | Stoney Burke Stoney Burke (TV series) Stoney Burke is a short-lived Western television series broadcast on the ABC television network from October 1, 1962 until May 20, 1963. The series starred Jack Lord, who would later go on to star in the popular television series, Hawaii Five-O.... (TV series) |
Toby |
| The Outer Limits The Outer Limits (1963 TV series) The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories... (TV series) |
Lieutenant James P. Willowmore | |
| 1964 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement... (TV series) |
Namana |
| Dr. Kildare Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series... (TV series) |
Jesse Kamba, MD | |
| 1965 | The Fugitive The Fugitive (TV series) The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death... (TV series) |
Avery |
| 1966 | Penelope | Sergeant Rothschild |
| 1973 | Ganja & Hess (film) | George Meda |
| 1982 | Losing Ground (film) | |
| 1986 | The Cosby Show The Cosby Show The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992... (TV series) |
Homer (2 episodes) |
Further reading
- Tate, Greg. "Bill Gunn, 1934-89." Village Voice. Published: Apr 25, 1989. Vol. 34, Iss. 17, p. 98.
- Williams, John. "Bill Gunn (1929-1989): A Checklist of His Films, Dramatic Works and Novels." Black American Literature Forum. 25.4 (1991): 781- (7p).