1. Kenny Leon is notable for his extensive work on Broadway and television as well as in regional theater.
20 Facts About Kenny Leon
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Kenny Leon has received a Tony Award and a Drama League Award as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Drama Desk Award.
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Kenny Leon was Tony-nominated for Fences and A Soldier's Play.
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Kenny Leon was born on February 10,1956, in Tallahassee, Florida.
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Kenny Leon's father is Leroy Leon, and his mother is Annie Ruth, who was 15 when she gave birth to Kenny.
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Kenny Leon attended 16th Street Junior High and Northeast High School.
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Kenny Leon made his stage debut in a Upward Bound theater production.
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Kenny Leon got his first break working at the Academy Theatre in Hapeville, Georgia.
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Kenny Leon resigned from the Alliance in 2000 to take on projects.
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All three plays were nominated for Tony Awards, and Kenny Leon was a Drama Desk Award nominee for A Raisin in the Sun.
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Kenny Leon directed the television version of A Raisin in the Sun, which aired on ABC in February 2008.
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Kenny Leon was nominated for a Tony Award in 2010 for Best Director for his work on August Wilson's Fences, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, earning them both nominations and wins for Best Actor and Actress in a Play.
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In November 2010, Kenny Leon directed Phylicia Rashad in the world premiere stage play Every Tongue Confess written by Marcus Gardley, which ran at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC Kenny Leon has directed plays at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and other venues.
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In 2015, Kenny Leon directed the live musical The Wiz for NBC.
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Kenny Leon was slated to direct both the television production and the planned Broadway revival.
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Kenny Leon's memoir, Take You Wherever You Go, was released in June, 2018, by Grand Central Publishing.
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Kenny Leon directed the 2019 Netflix film American Son, based on the play of the same name which he had directed on stage.
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In 2010, Kenny Leon won the Drama League Award for Excellence in Directing for the play Fences.
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In October 2017, Kenny Leon was the recipient the Governor's Award for the Arts and Humanities for the State of Georgia.
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Kenny Leon held the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair in Theatre at Fordham University, previously held by Joe Morton and Phylicia Rashad.