William Greaves

William Greaves
Greaves making his 1968 film Symbiopsychotaxiplasm
Born
William Garfield Greaves

(1926-10-08)October 8, 1926
DiedAugust 25, 2014(2014-08-25) (aged 87)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater
OccupationsDocumentary filmmaker, actor
Years active1947–2001
Children3

William Garfield Greaves (October 8, 1926 – August 25, 2014) was an American filmmaker and actor. Trained at the Actors Studio, he worked as a stage and film actor but became disillusioned with the roles available to Black performers, and transitioned into a career as a pioneering documentarian at the highest of the civil rights movement. He produced more than 200 documentaries, and wrote and directed more than half of these. He garnered many accolades for his work, including four Emmy nominations.