For more than three decades, Allen Willis focused a camera lens on pivotal moments in Bay Area history, producing the first film exploration of the psychedelic drug experience and documenting the hippie revolution, the AIDS crisis and the 1970s California land grab.
Considered the dean of African American filmmakers in the Bay Area, Mr. Willis died Feb. 23 in Oakland. He was 94.
Born on June 10, 1916, in Washington, D.C., Mr. Willis' life and career were shaped by a who's who list of friends, collaborators and teachers.
In the 1930s, his associations with writer Langston Hughes and Marxist-Humanist philosopher Raya Dunayevskaya set in motion a lifetime devoted to socialist reform, according to the East Bay Media Center, which houses Mr. Willis' archives.
In the 1950s, after moving to the Bay Area with his wife, Lillian, he studied under photographer Ansel Adams at what is now the San Francisco Art Institute.
His first films were collaborations with Melvin Van Peebles, the founding father of blaxploitation cinema.
And in 1955 he produced, directed, filmed and edited the 16-millimeter film "Have You Sold Your Dozen Roses?" with San Francisco poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
In 1963, Mr. Willis took a job at KQED television in San Francisco and became the first African American in California broadcast journalism, according to the East Bay Media Center.
He would spend the next 25 years at KQED making award-winning films, including "Stagger Lee," a 1970 documentary of an interview with Black Panther leader Bobby Seale during his incarceration in San Francisco.
His films included "The Other America," the film of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1967 "white backlash" speech at Stanford University.
"He did certain films that were very timely," said Mel Vapour, vice president of the East Bay Media Center. "He definitely had his finger on the pulse."
He was a beloved local icon, Vapour said.
After his retirement in 1986, Mr. Willis continued to write for the Marxist-Humanist publication "News and Letters," under the name John Alan, a column he kept from 1970 to 2008.
After his retirement in 1986, Mr. Willis continued to write for the Marxist-Humanist publication "News and Letters," under the name John Alan, a column he kept from 1970 to 2008.
Every few years, friends would gather for his birthday, including locals like poet Ishmael Reed. The events often turned into soirees and screenings of Mr. Willis' films, Vapour said.
"He was very tuned in, a very humble, gentle guy with a great vision," he said. "He was a kick."
Mr. Willis was preceded in death by his wife. He is survived by a sister, Thelma Willis Prather, of Gaithersburg, Md.
Mr. Willis was preceded in death by his wife. He is survived by a sister, Thelma Willis Prather, of Gaithersburg, Md.
A memorial celebration of his life will be held at 1 p.m., April 2, at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave., Oakland.
E-mail Jill Tucker at jtucker@sfchronicle.com.
