Abram Hill, 76; Theater Pioneer

Abram Hill, a prominent figure in the development and growth of black theater who helped performers such as Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee begin their careers, has died in his Harlem home of emphysema, a family friend said.

Hill, 76, who died Monday, founded the American Negro Theater in Harlem in 1940. The troupe achieved major success with Hill’s adaptation of “Anna Lucasta,” a play about a Polish family that he transformed into a story about blacks. That play opened on Broadway in August, 1944, and ran for 900 performances.

Born in Atlanta, Hill came to New York at age 13. He attended City College and graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He returned to New York in 1938 and joined the Federal Theater Project, during which time he wrote several plays, including “Hell’s Half Acre” and “Liberty Deferred.”

Hill then started the American Negro Theater, which he left in 1948. Some of the alumni of the theater include Belafonte, Poitier and Dee. From 1957 until 1980, he taught English in New York City schools.

Funeral services were held Saturday. Hill is survived by his wife, Ruth, a sister and a brother.