{{short description|American actor}} {{BLP sources|date=May 2016}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Stanley Bennett Clay | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1950|3|18}} | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | occupation = {{comma separated entries|Actor|writer|playwright|Film director}} | years_active = 1969–2021 | notable_works = Ritual (play) | awards = NAACP Theater Awards }}
'''Stanley Bennett Clay''' (born March 18, 1950) is an American actor, writer, playwright, stage and film director, and producer based in Manhattan, New York. He is best known for his acting work in the films ''All the President's Men'' (1976), ''Minstrel Man'' (1977) and ''I, Robot'' (2004).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0165574/ |title=Stanley Bennett Clay Biography |website=IMDb |accessdate=May 27, 2016}}</ref>
Though a lifelong actor, Stanley Bennett Clay has stated he prefers directing and producing: "I've always been the one in charge. I like the responsibility. At 12, I produced my first show: wrote it, composed the music, directed it, sold tickets, controlled the concessions—lemonade and cookies—and starred in it in my parents' living room. People from the neighborhood lined up to see it. Yeah, it's about control. I'm doing my own things, doing them the way I want them done."<ref name="Los Angeles Times">{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-24-ca-217-story.html |title=Facing the 'Ritual' of Life in Baldwin Hills |website=Los Angeles Times |date=November 24, 1989 |access-date=May 27, 2016}}</ref>
== Career ==
Stanley received three NAACP Theater Awards for co-producing, writing, and directing the play ''Ritual'', which he also adapted for film.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Stanley-Bennett-Clay/23234216 |title=Stanley Bennett Clay Biography |accessdate=May 27, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Los Angeles Times"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/10/02/stereotypes-go-by-boards-in-ritual/ |title=Stereotypes Go By Boards In 'Ritual' |date=October 2, 1998 |access-date=May 27, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/ritual-1200463853/ |title=Review: 'Ritual' |date=August 14, 2000 |accessdate=May 27, 2016}}</ref>
== Author ==
Stanley has written the novels ''Looker'' and ''In Search of Pretty Young Black Men'', both published by Simon & Schuster<ref>{{cite web |url=http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Stanley-Bennett-Clay/23234216 |title=Stanley Bennett Clay |accessdate=May 27, 2016}}</ref> and the novels ''Aching For It'', ''Hollywood Flames'' and ''Madame Frankie'' published by Ellora's Cave.
== Tribute to E. Lynn Harris ==
Shortly after the sudden death of fellow author E. Lynn Harris, Stanley was contacted by the writer Terrance Dean, who felt compelled to write a tribute to the trailblazing Harris. Stanley agreed and, along with James Earl Hardy, penned ''Visible Lives: Three Stories In Tribute To E. Lynn Harris.''<ref name=Essence>{{cite web |url=http://www.essence.com/2010/07/24/commentary-remembering-e-lynn-harris |title=Remembering E. Lynn Harris |accessdate=May 27, 2016|work=Essence magazine}}</ref> Each story begins with the author reflecting on the impact E. Lynn Harris had on them as a writer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.urbanreviewsonline.com/2010/07/new-review-terrance-dean-james-earl.html|title=NEW REVIEW: Terrance Dean, James Earl Hardy, Stanley Bennett Clay - Visible Lives|website=www.urbanreviewsonline.com|access-date=2016-12-07}}</ref>
==Private life== Clay was a long-time friend of actor Raymond St. Jacques and was one of the pall bearers at his funeral.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dougcooperspencer.com/blog-the-view-from-here/cat-talking-a-conversation-with-actor-author-director-stanley-bennett-clay-part-i |title=Cat-Talking: A Conversation with Openly Gay Veteran Actor, Author, Director, Publisher Stanley Bennett Clay (Part I) - Doug Cooper Spencer |access-date=May 5, 2020 |archive-date=December 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227231341/http://www.dougcooperspencer.com/blog-the-view-from-here/cat-talking-a-conversation-with-actor-author-director-stanley-bennett-clay-part-i |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0165574}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Stanley Bennett}} Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:African-American dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:African-American novelists Category:21st-century African-American writers Category:20th-century African-American writers Category:American LGBTQ novelists Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people Category:American male film actors Category:American male stage actors Category:American male television actors Category:Male actors from Chicago