Actor, writer, producer Samm-Art Williams, who made it from Burgaw to Broadway, dies

Samm-Art Williams, a Tony- and Emmy-nominated writer, actor and producer who grew up in the Pender County town of Burgaw before rising to the top of the entertainment industry, has died at the age of 78.

Williams died in Burgaw on Monday according to a story in entertainment industry publication The Hollywood Reporter, which said the death was announced by Williams' cousin, Carol Brown.

Williams was best-known as the producer of such hit TV shows as "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Martin" and "Hanging with Mr. Cooper."

According to his bio on the website of the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, of which he is a member, Williams was born in Philadelphia in 1946, grew up in Burgaw and attended Morgan State College in Baltimore, where he studied acting.

By 1975 Williams had his first Broadway credit as an actor in the play "The First Breeze of Summer" by Leslie Lee, about a middle-class Black family in the Northeast. The play was produced by the Negro Ensemble Company, and Williams started as an understudy before going to on to play the role of Harper Edwards.

In 1980, the the Negro Ensemble Company would also produce Williams' play "Home," which would go on to earn a Tony nomination for Best Play. "Home" was inspired by Williams' time growing up in Burgaw, and it follows a young Black man named Cephus Miles as he leaves his rural family farm for the bright lights of the city.

"Home" also won an NAACP Image Award. It is scheduled to be revived on Broadway in June.

In 2018, Rhonda Bellamy, director of the Arts Coucil of Wilmington and New Hanover County, told the StarNews that seeing "Home" as a young woman is what got her to seek out a career in the arts.

"It turned on a light bulb for me," Bellamy said.

Other plays by Williams include "Welcome to Black River" and "Friends."

As an actor, Williams' credits include a role in the Coen brothers’ debut film "Blood Simple," and he played Jim in a 1985 version of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" that aired on PBS' "American Playhouse" series. He even played a DEA agent on "Miami Vice."

Williams would go on to find success as a writer and producer, penning episodes of such shows as "Cagney & Lacey" and "The New Mike Hammer" in the 1980s. He also wrote episodes for some of the shows he produced, including "Martin" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

Williams worked in a reference to Yamacraw, a rural area in Pender County about 15 miles from Burgaw, into "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." In the show, Yamacraw is the rural farm where the now-rich character Uncle Phil, played by James Avery, grew up.

Funeral services for Williams have not yet been announced.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Samm-Art Williams, who produced The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, dies at 78