going to the Lafayette Theatre in 1967. The Warning—A Theme for Linda was part of the A Black Quartet with four plays by Amiri Baraka, Ed Bullins, Ben Caldwell, and Milner, produced by Woodie King, Jr. It was put up at Brooklyn Academy of Music's Chelsea Theater Center on April 25, 1969. He met Woodie King, Jr. when he was 19. He would inspire Milner to write, and from that came Life Agony. His second work, Who's Got His Own, became a smash hit off-Broadway. These two worked together for more than forty years. Milner was the artist-in-residence at Lincoln University in 1966–1967. He taught at Michigan State University from 1971 to 1972. Founder and director of Spirit of Shango theatre company. He also led play writing classes at Wayne State University. Milner's works included Who's Got His Own (inspired by Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child"), What the Wine-Sellers Buy (the first play by an African American produced by Joseph Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival at Lincoln Center), and Roads to the Mountaintop (a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.). Milner served as a mentor to writer and journalist J. Samuel Cook, whom he met at a conference in Toledo, Ohio. Cook attributes the success of his award-winning play Barren Fields to Milner's direction. In 2003, Milner directed a play at the Hope Repertory Theatre. Milner died in Detroit of complications from liver cancer. He is survived by five children and eight grandchildren. Works Who's Got His Own (1966) The Monster (1968) The Warning—A Theme for Linda (1969) Black Drama Anthology (with Woodie King Jr.) (1971) M(ego) and the Green Ball of Freedom (1971) What the Wine Sellers Buy (1973) These Three (1974) Season's Reasons (1976) Work (1978) Jazz-set (1980) Crack Steppin''' (1981) Checkmates (1987) Don't Get God Started (1987) Defending the Light (2000) Urban Transition: Loose Blossoms (2002) Life Agony The Greatest GiftReferences External links Michigancitizen.com, The Michigan Citizen'' obituary on Ron Milner 1938 births 2004 deaths 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century African-American people Deaths from cancer in Michigan Deaths from liver cancer Detroit Institute of Technology alumni Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) faculty Michigan State University faculty Northeastern High School (Michigan) alumni University of Southern California faculty Wayne State University faculty Writers from Detroit