Stanley Bennett Clay (born March 18, 1950) is an American actor, writer, playwright, stage and film director, and producer based in Manhattan, New York. He is best known for his acting work in the films ''

All the President's Men ''All the President's Men'' is a 1974 non-fiction book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, two of the journalists who investigated the June 1972 break-in at the Watergate Office Building and the resultant political scandal for ''The Washingto ...

'' (1976), '' Minstrel Man'' (1977) and ''

I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines '' Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' between 1940 and 1950 ...

'' (2004). Though a lifelong actor, Stanley Bennett Clay has stated he prefers directing and producing: "I've always been the one in charge. I like the responsibility. At 12, I produced my first show: wrote it, composed the music, directed it, sold tickets, controlled the concessions—lemonade and cookies—and starred in it in my parents' living room. People from the neighborhood lined up to see it. Yeah, it's about control. I'm doing my own things, doing them the way I want them done."

Career

Stanley received three NAACP Theater Awards for co-producing, writing, and directing the play ''Ritual'', which he also adapted for film.

Author

Stanley has written the novels ''Looker'' and ''In Search of Pretty Young Black Men'', both published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

and the novels ''Aching For It'', ''Hollywood Flames'' and ''Madame Frankie'' published by Ellora's Cave.

Tribute to E. Lynn Harris

Shortly after the sudden death of fellow author E. Lynn Harris, Stanley was contacted by the writer

Terrance Dean Terrance Dean (September 8, 1968 - August 11, 2022) was an author, academic, and a former MTV executive. He is best known for his 2008 memoir '' Hiding in Hip-Hop'' and is the author of books including ''Reclaim Your Power! A 30-Day Guide ...

, who felt compelled to write a tribute to the trailblazing Harris. Stanley agreed and, along with James Earl Hardy, penned ''Visible Lives: Three Stories In Tribute To E. Lynn Harris.'' Each story begins with the author reflecting on the impact E. Lynn Harris had on them as a writer.

Private life

Clay was a long-time friend of actor

Raymond St. Jacques Raymond St. Jacques (born James Arthur Johnson; March 1, 1930 – August 27, 1990) was an American actor, director and producer whose career spanned over thirty years on stage, film and television. St. Jacques is noted as the first Black actor ...

and was one of the pall bearers at his funeral.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Stanley Bennett 1950 births Living people American LGBTQ writers African-American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American novelists 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American writers American LGBTQ novelists 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from Chicago