Vinie Burrows was an actress who got her start on Broadway before making her mark in one-women shows.
- Died: December 25, 2023 (Who else died on December 25?)
- Details of death: Died at a hospice facility in New York City at the age of 99.
- We invite you to share condolences for Vinie Burrows in our Guest Book.
Vinie Burrows’s legacy
Burrows began her Broadway career in the 1950s, starring alongside Ossie Davis (1917–2005) 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 Obit Award for Lifetime Achievement. Burrows was also an activist who represented the Women’s International Democratic Federation at the United Nations.
Notable quote
“I was in Sapporo (Japan), and afterward a young woman came up to me—I think I was at the university there—and she said, ‘When I saw you, I said, “What has this Black woman with her braids got to do with me?”’ And she said, ‘When the program was over, I realized you’re my sister.’” —from a 2020 interview for American Theatre
Tributes to Vinie Burrows
Full obituary: The New York Times
