Overview
- The New Federal Theatre announced that King died January 29 at Weill Cornell Medical Center from complications following emergency heart surgery.
- He launched the New Federal Theatre in 1970 with a mission to integrate artists of color and women into the mainstream of American theater.
- The company has produced more than 450 mainstage plays, with numerous productions transferring to Broadway.
- Alumni of the theater include Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Chadwick Boseman, and Robert Downey Jr.
- Honors for King and NFT include his 2012 induction into the American Theatre Hall of Fame and the 2020 Tony Honors, with survivors including his wife Elizabeth Van Dyke, three children, and five grandchildren.