Hilliard Elkins were surrounded and protected by the Alabama National Guard (which was not all that reassuring). We exited the buses and assembled ourselves. Dr. King gave his historic speech. Sammy admitted later he was glad he had attended.” Mr. Elkins teamed with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to produce, ‘Broadway Answers Selma.’ Shortly thereafter Mr. Elkins was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play Producer for the double Tony Award winning South African play, ‘Sizwe Banzi is dead’ and ‘The Island,’ both by the critically acclaimed playwright and director, Athol Fugard. Mr. Elkins was nominated for Best Musical Producer of The Year in 19701971. In the late 80’s it took Elkins a year to convince Hal Prince that the world was ready for a Black Phantom. World renowned actor Robert Gillaume, who earned rave reviews as the lead in ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ was also a client of Mr. Elkins. Mr. Gillaume blazed the trail to become the first African American actor to play the lead character in that role. Mr. Elkins partnered with Jeff Stetson and director Bill Duke who was a client to produce the American Playhouse presentation of ‘The Meeting’ - an apocryphal meeting between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. The production received the prestigious Ohio State Award. The die was cast, Hollywood had made a statement. Today, Mr. Elkins is just as active as the day he set foot in the offices of the William Morris Agency. Identifying, shaping and launching the next generation of movers and shakers, he labors to secure the industries integrity, in order that we the audience might be profoundly and indelibly moved by the artist performance. Talia Shire( who’s currently working on a play with Elkins producing), Barry Corbin, Kit Carson (writer, actor currently recording The African Diaries, with African children for digital use with the Sundance Channel), Matthew Penn, Kent Faulcon and Bima Stagg (author of ‘Inside’ which Hilly produced, is the story set in the Apartheid period directed by Arthur Penn, which brought Hilly to love South Africa and was shown at Cannes at the Directors Fortenight twice, and Stander about a South African Police officer) represent just a few more of the talented individuals assigned to Mr. Elkins’ “Repertoire of the Great.” With 2 new projects on the horizon; in collaboration with, Appian Way Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company, entitled “Cat’s Cradle” based on the Classic novel by Kurt Vonnegut; and “The Timothy Leary story, there doesn’t seem to be a limit to Mr. Elkins’ passion for his craft. Hilly states, “Getting an actor to fall in love with what they are doing and convincing them to go as far as they can, is a never-ending task.”
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Photo by Curtis Williams
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