Biography: August Wilson was born Frederick August Kittel on April 27, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Frederick August Kittel, Sr. and Daisy Wilson. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade after being accused of plagiarism, and he educated himself at the library as an aspiring poet. He founded the Black Horizons on the Hill Theater with his friend Rob Penny in 1968. He chronicled the African-American experience in the 20th century in a series of plays. He married Brenda Burton, with who he had his daughter Sakina Ansari. He then married Judy Oliver. His third marriage was to costume designer Constanza Romero, with whom he had his daughter Azula Carmen Wilson.

TV Credits include: "Fences" and "The Piano Lesson."

Other Awards: Received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for "Fences" in 1987. Received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for "The Piano Lesson" in 1990. Inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2006.

Trivia:
Broadway's Virginia Theater was renamed the August Wilson Theater on October 17, 2005.
The marquees of Broadway theaters were dimmed in his honor on October 4, 2005.