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Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard, who is skilled in adapting the story of Black historical figures Remember the Titans starring Denzel Washington, Ali with Will Smith and Harriet with Cynthia Erivo, has died. He is 70 years old.
Howard died Friday at his home in Miami after a brief illness, according to a statement from publicist Jeff Sanderson.
Howard was the first black screenwriter to write a play that grossed $100 million at the box office when Titans crossed the milestone in 2000. It’s about a real-life Black coach who came to the newly integrated Virginia school and helped lead the football team to victory.
There is a good line: “I don’t care if you like it or not, but you will respect each other.”
Howard said he shopped the story around Hollywood with no success. So he took a chance and wrote his own screenplay.
‘It made my career’
“They didn’t expect to make a lot of money, but it turned out to be a monster, making $100 million,” he said. “It made my career,” he told the Times-Herald of Vallejo, California, in 2009.
The film made the Associated Press’ list of the 25 best sports movies.
Howard followed suit Remember the Titans with Alithe Muhammad Ali biopic directed by Michael Mann in 2001. Smith is best known for playing Ali and was nominated for a best actor Oscar.
Howard also produced and co-wrote 2019 Harriet, about abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Erivo leads a cast that includes Leslie Odom Jr., Clarke Peters and Joe Alwyn.
“I got into this business to write about the complexities of Black people … I think it takes a Black person to write about Black people,” he told the Times-Herald.
From finance to film
Born in Virginia, his family moved frequently due to his stepfather’s career in the US Navy. After attending Princeton University, graduating with a degree in American history, Howard briefly worked at Merrill Lynch on Wall Street before moving to Los Angeles in his mid-20s to pursue a writing career.
He wrote for TV and wrote the play The Tinseltown Trilogywhich focuses on three people in Los Angeles through Christmastime as a story that is interconnected and tells each other.
Howard also wrote Harlem Renaissancelimited series for HBO; Misty, the story of prima ballerina Misty Copeland; and This Little Light, a Fannie Lou Hamer story. Most recently, he wrote a civil rights project Power for the People for producer Ben Affleck and Paramount Pictures.
He is survived by his sister Lynette Henley, brother Michael Henley and two nieces and nephews.
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