Hal DeWindt, founding father of the American Theatre of Harlem (ATH) made his entrance on April 10, 1934. Act I took place mostly in Harlem, USA, the place of his birth and one of the few communities in the country where a mixed race family could live. Hal, his father, an actor himself who came to America as a stow- away on a Merchant Ship from the Virgin Islands, his mother, who left her mid western roots for love, and his older brother, lived on 137th Street in West Harlem where he learned to tell stories and began his love affair with stage and film.

As Act I came to an end, Hal graduated from the prestigious Music and Art High School in NYC and began working with the American Negro Theater with his friends Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier, Douglas Turner Ward and many others. Eventually, the ANT disbanded, but many of the actors joined Mr. Ward in the formation of the Negro Ensemble Company. Hal was a resident director/actor and playwright with NEC, which produced his own “Raisin’ Hell in the Sun” in the mid- 1950’s.

The curtain on Act II rises with Hal’s ‘discovery’ by the producers Ebony Fashion Fair, a touring fashion show, which, until Hal, had showcased only women’s clothing. Hal became the single male model on the circuit and used the opportunity to network. He eventually took a position as Stage Manager for Leonard Bernstein’s New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Lincoln Center. Hal’s passion was still theater and film. After a stint working for the Kennedy Administration, Hal found his way to Paramount Pictures.

Hal’s early projects at Paramount met with great success. The films “Sounder” and “A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich” earned him a VP title. The honeymoon ended abruptly, however, and Hal elected to become an acting coach, assisting a number of “named” actors to prepare for challenging roles. Hal enjoyed teaching and was a regular instructor at Inner City, an LA based theater company. Seeing so many actors arriving there from the East Coast ill-prepared for the Hollywood scene, Hal packed up and came home to New York City where he founded the American Theatre of Harlem to train actors in a proven technique.

“ Work healthy”, “Clear up your life and your work will be clear”, “Come from love”, and “Be Positively Selfish”. These words are just some of the wisdom Hal left to guide the vision and direction of American Theatre of Harlem.