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Birth of a Legend
In April 27, 1985. A man named Fredrick August Kittle was born. He was born in Pittsburg Pennsylvania, where he lived with both his mother and 5 siblings. They grew up in a relatively poor neighborhood and he was unable to make friends -
Parents separating
Soon after his birth, Wilson’s parents separated -
Moving to Pittsburg
Soon after their separation, his mother would find someone new and move to Pittsburgh in which they were still poor. -
School expulsion
Him and his family were targets for a lot of racial discrimination, and his life only git tougher when he was expelled for being accused of plagiarism. -
Home schooled
His expulsion never put him down. He turned to self education where he would read intensely at library’s for hours at end -
Black Arts Movement
His first real experience in theatre came from the Black Arts Movement. -
Black Horizon Theatre
He soon cofounded the Black Horizon Theater which he would write many of his plays and poems there. -
Marriage
He would marry to his second wife Judy, in 1980 -
Moving again
He would move to St. Paul, writing multiple plays. Most notably,Jitney -
Major Breakthrough
His first major play was “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, which was popular all throughout broadway -
Streak of genius
Throughout this time, he would start writing many of his most popular plays to date, like Fences, (which won a Tony), Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, and much more. -
A legacy comes to an end
Wilson received numerous honours during his career, including seven New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for best play. But he would later pass away from lung cancer, permanently cementing himself as one of the best playwrights ever