| Summary: | Actress and stage director Billie Allen was born Wilhelmina Louise Allen on January 13, 1925 in Richmond, Virginia. Briefly attending Hampton University, Allen moved to New York City in 1943 to study acting at the Lee Strasbourg Institute. In 1953, she appeared on Broadway in Take A Giant Step with Lou Gossett and Godfrey Cambridge. She portrayed Vertel in the movie Black Like Me and appeared on stage in James Baldwin's Blues for Mister Charlie. Allen was also featured in Route 66, Car 54, Where Are You?, The Wiz, The Nurses, Winter Kills, The Vernon Johns Story, Eddie Murphy Raw, and Losing Ground. Allen directed HistoryMaker Danny Glover in the play Home and HistoryMaker Ruby Dee in the play Saint Lucy's Eyes in New York. She served on the Tony Awards Committee and co-founded the Frank Silvera Writers Workshop. Allen passed away on December 29, 2015 at the age of ninety.
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