Vantile Whitfield

Born on September 8th 1930 in Washington D.C. Vantile Emmanuel Whitfield was the only son of Lugene Ellen Green and Theodore Roosevelt Whitfield.

Vantile was a director, teacher, playwright, set designer, and was the founding director of the Expansion Arts Program at the National Endowment of the Arts (“NEA”) under Nancy Hanks.

In the late ’60’s, he directed “Watts Gospel Festival” and “Watts Rhythm and Blues Festival” for KCET-TV in Los Angeles. He conceived, produced, and co-hosted “From the Inside Out” on Channel 11 in Los Angeles and directed the “The Third Bill Cosby Special” for NBC network in 1971.

He died on January 9, 2005 from complications from Alzheimer’s disease.