Wednesday, January 10, 2024

RIP Vinie Burrows

Vinie Burrows, an acclaimed actress and activist who lived in the East Village in Village View along First Avenue, died on Dec. 25. She was 99. 

From her obituary:
Burrows began her Broadway career in the 1950s, starring alongside Ossie Davis in "The Wisteria Trees." She continued to perform on Broadway for several years, appearing in such shows as "The Green Pastures," "The Skin of Our Teeth," and "The Blacks." But Burrows became frustrated with the narrow range of roles available to Black women, and she left Broadway to pursue a solo career in one-woman shows. 

Burrows' one-woman Off-Broadway show, "Walk Together Children," was critically acclaimed and continued as an international tour after its initial run. She went on to perform other one-woman shows, including "Sister! Sister!" "Dark Fire" and “The Great White Way: The Story of Rose McClendon." 
In 2020, she was honored with an Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement. Burrows was also an activist who represented the Women's International Democratic Federation at the United Nations.  
As the Amsterdam News reported, Burrows "once noted that her greatest role in life was the one she performed for truth and justice." 

She has been the subject of several tributes in recent days... ... including this piece in The New Yorker titled The Many Lives of Vinie Burrows

Here's a video message from Burrows from April 2020...

   

Burrows is survived by her son and daughter, six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

6 comments:

Felton Davis said...

One among countless examples of Vinie Burrows public speaking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbnIp1Fr7Q0
Guided by the Song of my Ancestors
Vinie Burrows at St. Marks on the Bowery

Anonymous said...

RIP sweet Vinie :(

Lola Sáenz said...

She was a big inspiration! RIP Vinie

Anonymous said...

A stellar life
Rest in peace Vinie

Ron said...

She was a friend of my grandmother, she was a lovely woman

Anonymous said...

Thanks for writig about Vin, a good person.