Robert Kya-Hill obit

Robert Kya-Hill

December 4, 1930 ~ May 31, 2026 (age 95) 

He was not on the list.

Robert Kya-Hill passed away on May 31, 2026, at age 95 in New Rochelle, New York.

Born Robert Hill on December 4, 1930, in Whitaker, North Carolina, he spent his early years in rural North Carolina and Virginia before moving to New York at age twelve. He later served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, where he was stationed in Germany.

A lifelong passion for the arts shaped the course of his life. Largely self-taught as a musician, he went on to study music and acting in New York, later earning a master’s degree in Theater Education from Goddard College in 1991. In his family, this love of music, learning, and performance was ever-present, woven into everyday life.

He built a wide-ranging career as an actor, director, playwright, musician, composer, and educator. He appeared in more than 140 stage productions across the United States and internationally, performing alongside artists such as James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Ossie Davis, and Dionne Warwick. His performances in Slaves, Purlie Victorious, and Othello drew critical acclaim, including an Obie Award nomination. He also appeared on screen in Shaft’s Big Score!, Death Wish, Good Times, and The Good Wife.

Beyond the stage, he created works exploring Black history, spirituality, and the human condition, and he taught widely, including at Hunter College, where he developed the first Black Theater studies course. He mentored students and young artists with patience, conviction, and generosity well into his later years. He served as director of the New York City Festival of the Arts, judged as a Blue ribbon panelist for the Emmy awards, and was featured in Who’s Who in America.

He will be remembered as a devoted father and grandfather, a man of deep faith, and someone whose warmth, laughter, and steady presence left a lasting impression on all who knew him.

He is survived by his daughter Bouqui, son-in-law Gero, and grandsons Eric and Luke. He was preceded in death by his cherished wife, Sally, who passed away in 2022, and they will be laid to rest together, as they wished. A small, combined memorial for both of them will be held at a later date.

 

Film and television

1961: Dark Valley - Jason

1969: The Pony Film - Father

1969: Slaves - Jericho

1970: Edge of Night (TV Series) - Apollo

1971: Another World - Frank Chadwick

1972: Shaft's Big Score! - Cal Asby

1972: Rivals - Second Policeman

1973: One Life to Live (TV Series) - Hogan

1974: Death Wish - Joe Charles

1974: Roots: The Next Generations (TV Mini-Series) - Minister

1977: The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer (TV Movie) - Henry

1978: The Perfect Gentleman - Harry Blount

1978: Good Times - J.J.'s boss

1978: Lou Grant - Foreign News Editor

1978: Eight is Enough (TV Series) - Trucking Company Owner

1978: The Critical List (TV Movie) - Judge

1980: Sanford Arms - Businessman neighbor

1980: Kaz - Ex-Convict

1997: Sue Lost in Manhattan - Willie

1999: The Shade Seller

2001: Beirut - Minister

2012: Celeste and Jesse Forever - Priest

2012: The Good Wife - Father

Stage

1963 Abe Lincoln in Illinois, as Gobey, Phoenix Theatre, New York City

1964 The Beggar's Opera, as Matt, Equity Library Theatre, New York City

1966 Winterset, as Shadow, Jan Hus Theatre, New York City

1966-67 Lost in the Stars, as Stephen Kumalo; Noah (Wakefield Mystery Plays), as Noah; King Lear, as Kent, Morris Repertory Theatre, Morristown, NJ

1967 The Merchant of Venice, as Prince of Morocco; Julius Caesar, as Pindarus, Soothsayer, American Shakespeare Festival, Stratford, CT

1968 The Ballad of Joe Smith, as Old Man, Theater for Peace, Playwrights' Workshop Club, NYC

1968 Purlie Victorious, as Purlie, Erie Playhouse, Erie, PA

1968 The Trial, as Josef K, Vanguard Theater, Pittsburgh, PA

1969 Purlie Victorious, as Purlie, Equity Library Theatre, New York City

1969 Young Martin Luther King, Jr., as Martin Luther King Jr., Performing Arts Repertory Theatre, 4 -State tour

1969 Irma La Douce, as Persil, Dallas Summer Musicals, Dallas, TX

1969 Othello, as Othello, Champlain Shakespeare Festival, Burlington, VT

1970 The Trial of A. Lincoln, as Lucius Richardson, Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, CT

1970 Poetry Now!, as Performer, Periwinkle Productions, multi-state tour

1970 Othello, as Othello, Centaur Theatre Company, Montreal, Canada

1971 F. Jasmine Addams, as T.T. Williams, Circle in the Square, New York City

1972 The Legacy, One-Man Show, Brecht West, Princeton, NJ

1973-74 Between Two Worlds, with Maureen Hurley, multi-state tour

1974-75 Revelation…for the Time is at Hand, as John, McCree Theatre, Flint, MI

1975-76 The Tempest, as Caliban; Othello as Othello, Hayman Theatre, Perth, Australia

1981 The Merchant of Venice, as Prince of Morocco, Clarence Brown Theatre, Knoxville, TN

1984 The New Mt. Olive Motel, as Sid Ross, J. Pellmann Theatre, Milwaukee, WI

1993 Take Me Along, as Dave McComber, Performing Arts Center, Inc., New York City

2002 Standard of the Breed, Chuck, The Beckmann Theatre, New York City

2002 The Phoenician Women, Kreon/Tutor, The Ohio Theatre, New York City

2003 Betty Smith in 1-Act: Vine Leaves, as Mr. Leeper; Freedom's Bird, as Sam; Lawyer Lincoln, as Judge Davis, The Royal Theatre, Williamsburg/Brooklyn, NY

2004 Sin Paradise, as Jasper, The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, New York City

2005 Einstein's Secret Letters, as Paul Robeson, Soho Rep/Walker Space, New York City

2005 The Later Medead, as Aegus, Tramway Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland

2006 Medea in Aia, Section 1 of The Medead, LMCC Swing Space, New York City

2006 The Prostitute of Reverie Valley, as John, Players Loft, New York City

2007 Driving Miss Daisy, as Hoke, Riverside Theatre, Vero Beach, FL

2007 Flight, as Charlie Parker, Metropolitan Playhouse, New York City

2008 The Tunnel, as Old Man, Axial Theatre, Pleasantville, NY

2009 Union, as Dr. Jone, Axial Theatre, Pleasantville, NY

2010 Shotgun, as Dexter, Florida Studio Theatre, Sarasota, FL