Sam Greenlee dead @ 82 (author & c-screenwriter of The Spook Who Sat By The Door)

[vagabond Beaumont]

Sam Greenlee was the author of the controversial fictional novel The Spook Who Sat By The Door. He was also one of the producers and co-screenwriter of the film adaption of the novel directed by Ivan Dixon with a soundtrack scored by none other than Herbie Hancock. Sam explored the theme of a long overdue Black revolution in America in Spook. It was a bold and dangerous work. The film was released in 1973 and was a top box office earner for a number of weeks until the FBI went on a campaign to ban the film out of fear that it would incite race riots. With the help of United Artists the distributor of The Spook Who Sat By The Door, it was pulled out of theaters and the prints disappeared. It wasn't until Ivan Dixon had passed away that a negative of the film was found. Without that one negative this film would have been completely lost.

Just received the sad, sad word that Sam Greenlee has passed away today… Strange that he passed today… Today is Malcolm X’s birthday… Sam was an inspiration, creatively, politically and personally… i had the privilege of meeting with him several times and hanging out with him and even got a chance to interview him… The Spook Who Sat By The Door was a huge influence on my film MACHETERO... Rest In Poetry…

This is a piece of the interview i did with Sam in April of 2011 when he was screening Spook at the Maysles Cinema on Lenox Avenue in Harlem... In this excerpt from the interview he talks about my film MACHETERO...

You can check out my film MACHETERO on Vimeo On Demand...

 

[Jeremy 0sbern]

I'm sorry to hear of his passing. I feel fortunate that Sam screened "Spook" for a small group of us when he was traveling through, just after finding a new copy of the film. I will always remember that. My best to his family.