Gregory Allen Howard dies: ‘Remember The Titans’ screenwriter and producer turns 70

Gregory Allen Howard, the first African-American screenwriter for a $100 million drama Think of the titans, died today in Miami after a brief illness, his publicist said. He was 70.

Howard was also the only African-American screenwriter to write a feature script that became a $100 million film, including for Think of the titansstarring Denzel Washington and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

Are credits included Ali, starring Will Smith and Jamie Foxx, directed by Michael Mannas, and the award-winning stage play Tinseltown Trilogy. A two-time winner of the NAACP Image Awards, Howard has also won the Christopher Award, the Howard University Paul Robeson Award for Artistic Excellence and the Heartland Film Festival Award for Outstanding Screenwriting.

Harrietoriginally titled fire of freedom, Howard’s first film assignment was at Disney more than 28 years ago. Finally, the film starred Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Janelle Monae and Joe Alwyn and was directed by Kasi Lemmons.

Born in Norfolk, VA, Howard moved many times as a child before settling in Vallejo, CA. He then graduated from Princeton with a degree in American history, which served him well with his focus on historical themes in his screenplay.

After leaving Los Angeles to return to his native Virginia, Howard learned the history of the 1971 TC Williams High School football team, the Titans. Howard, who played offensive lineman on his high school and college football teams, was inspired by the unique story of high school championship football team integration written by the people of the city of Alexandria, Virginia, for the city’s positive race relations.

As an essayist, Howard contributed to Taschen Muhammad Ali’s photo/art book GOAT: Greatest of All Time. His essay “Rumble in an Urban Jungle” was chosen as the introduction.

As a writer and producer, Greg wrote The Haarlem Renaissancea limited series for HBO; Misty, the story of prima ballerina Misty Copeland for New Line Cinema. He also wrote That light, the story by Fannie Lou Hamer for Chris Columbus’s 1492 Pictures. He recently wrote the civil rights project Power to the People for producer Ben Affleck and Paramount Pictures.

At the theater, Howard wrote the award-winning play Tinseltown Trilogy, directed by Emmy winner Ted Lange. He was a finalist for the Eugene O’Neill Playwright Award.

He is survived by sister Lynette Henley and brother Michael Henley (Denise), nieces Robyn Bacon (Rachael Martin) and Valencia Kamara (OZ) and nephew Robert Henley, as well as his beloved great-niece and two great-grandparents-nephews and cousins ​​Pierre Gatling and the Honorable Patricia Cole.

He was preceded in death by his sister Camille Cole Howard and brother Ricardo J. Henley.