Charles Gordone, the first black playwright to win the Pulitzer Prize, has died of cancer. He was 70.
His first play, "No Place To Be Somebody," won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Critic Walter Kerr of the New York Times called Gordone "the most astonishing new American playwright to come along since Edward Albee."Gordone spent the rest of his career directing and lecturing in community theaters and speaking out for more opportunity for black performers.
Gordone taught English and theater at Texas A&M University for nine years.