Shirley Jo Finney | |
|---|---|
 Finney (left) with Jason Bernard in 1977 | |
| Born | July 14, 1949 Merced, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 10, 2023 (aged 74) Bellingham, Washington, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1973–2023 |
Shirley Jo Finney (July 14, 1949 – October 10, 2023) was an American actress and theater director.[1][2][3]
Finney was born in Merced, California, in 1949, and grew up primarily in Sacramento, California.[4] She graduated from Sacramento State College with a degree in theater in 1971, where she met and befriended Wilma Rudolph. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1973 with a master's degree in theater arts, and thereafter began an acting career.[4] She portrayed Wilma Rudolph in the 1977 television film Wilma.[3][4] Finney continued to act into the 1990s.[4] She attended the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women.[2]
As a director, Finney worked with The Fountain Theatre for many years, where she directed eight productions.[1] She also directed plays at the Mark Taper Forum, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Humana Festival.[2] Her work earned her recognition from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, the Ovation Awards and the NAACP.[2] In 2008, she was attached to direct a Broadway revival of for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, but the production was scrapped due to a lack of funding.[4] Finney directed plays across the United States, and her last credit was a 2023 production of Clyde's at The Ensemble Theatre in Houston.[1][2]
Finney died from multiple myeloma at a hospital in Bellingham, Washington, on October 10, 2023, at the age of 74.[2][4]
- ^ a b c Thompson, Jaden (October 14, 2023). "Shirley Jo Finney, Theater Director and 'Wilma' Star, Dies at 74". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Perman, Stacy (October 14, 2023). "Shirley Jo Finney, actress and theater director who championed Black works, dies at 74". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
- ^ a b Tinoco, Armando (October 15, 2023). "Shirley Jo Finney Dies: 'Wilma' Star And Theater Director Was 74". Deadline. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Sandomir, Richard (November 13, 2023). "Shirley Jo Finney, 74, Dies; Addressed the Black Experience Onstage". The New York Times. Retrieved November 13, 2023.