Gregory Allen Howardwho wrote Remember the Titans and was a producer and writer behind it Harrietpassed away on Friday.
His representative confirmed that The Hollywood Reporter that he died in Miami, Florida, after a short illness.
Born in 1962 in Norfolk, Virginia, Howard moved to Los Angeles in the ’90s to pursue a career as a screenwriter. He started making a name for himself in the early 2000s by writing the award-winning book Boaz Yakin Remember the Titans, starring Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris and Donald Faison. Based on a true story, the film follows the story of Herman Boone, a new African-American football coach, as he trains a high school team during their first season as a racially integrated group.
He later earned a story writing credit for Michael Mann’s Alithe 2001 biopic of sports legend Mohammed Ali. The film, which was nominated for two Oscars, starred Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and Jon Voight.
In 2019, Howard brought to life a story he was so passionate about – ‘Lemons’ Harriet – for which he wrote and produced the screenplay. He has previously said the story was more than 20 years in the making after Harriet Tubman studied history as a history major at Princeton University. He remembered how her life spoke to him and inspired him to want to make an action adventure movie out of it. On the red carpet premiere of Harriettold Howard THR, “What I have been waiting for more than anything else is for the whole industry to change. There had to be the #OscarsSoWhite and [more] diversity in Hollywood. All of that had to happen, because anyone who gave the green light to this movie was risking their job and/or career.”
The film, which was nominated for two Oscars, starred Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monáe and Leslie Odom Jr. Focus features, “For me, this movie is my valentine for black women. I wish they could go to the movies on Saturday and see this young black woman take on and triumph over this incredible power structure.”
Howard had a number of projects in development, including The magiciana biopic about quarterback Marlin “The Magician” Briscoe.
He is survived by his sister, Lynette Henley, brother, Michael Henley (Denise), nieces, a nephew and grandchildren.