Famed literary giant Maya Angelou bequeathed gifts in her will to six New Yorkers
Through a trust she set up before she died in May at age 86, Angelou left gifts to, among others, songwriter Valerie Simpson, screenwriter Khephra Burns and dancer-producer George Faison
BY BARBARA ROSS
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, December 22, 2014, 2:00 AM
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RENE MACURAAward-winning poet Maya Angelou who had strong ties to New York, remembered six New Yorkers, some of them well-known, in her will, according to papers filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court.
Maya Angelou, the award-winning poet with roots in the South and strong ties to the Big Apple, left gifts in her will to a half-dozen well-known New Yorkers, new court records reveal.
Beneficiaries include screenwriter Khephra Burns, songwriter Valerie Simpson and Tony-award winning dancer and producer George Faison, according to papers filed in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court.
The literary giant left unspecified “personal tangible property” to the six New Yorkers through a trust she set up before she died in May at age 86.
Angelou left all of her assets to the trust, which is being administered by her only child, Guy Bailey Johnson, of Oakland, Ca., court filings show.
It’s unclear what Angelou left her loved ones in New York. Most of the beneficiaries were stunned to hear she had bequeathed them anything.
COURTESY HALLMARK CHANNELLiterary giant Maya Angelou (c.) remembered songwriter Valerie Simpson (l., with her late husband Nick Ashford) in her will.
“We just had Thanksgiving with the family, and Guy didn’t say anything about it,” Burns said.
Burns and his wife, former Essence magazine editor Susan Taylor, said they spent many birthdays, Thanksgivings and other occasions with Angelou and her family at her Winston-Salem home in North Carolina where she died.
“We were part of her extended family,” Taylor said. “I miss her every day.”
Other New Yorkers Angelou remembered in her will include Harlem’s Firehouse Theater founder Tedao Schnugg, and Altavise Alston, who works with Simpson at Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar on the Upper West Side, filings show.
MARIELA LOMBARD FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWSTony Award-winning dancer-producer George Faison was remembered by famed poet Maya Angelou in her will
“In the last couple of years, she would talk about her will but just say that everything was taken care of,” Schnugg said. “Nobody has given it a thought. We’re dealing with losing our best friend.”
Schnugg said Faison was preparing a memorial service for Angelou but the details are not ready to be announced.
Angelou’s estate includes two properties in Harlem: a four-unit rental building at 29 E. 129th St. and a brownstone at 50 W. 120th St., according to court papers.
There is no valuation put on the full estate in the North Carolina or New York filings, but before she died, published reports pegged her net worth between $10 million and $34 million.
GETTY IMAGESScreenwriter Khephra Burns (l., with wife Susan Taylor) was remembered by poet Maya Angelou in her will.
Estate attorneys have put an estimated value on both properties at $1.5 million.
Angelou, who bought both properties in 2002, has had ties to Harlem since the early 1960s, when she moved there from California and became a member of the Harlem Writers Guild.
In 1969, at a dinner party in New York, her mentor, writer James Baldwin, dared her to write her first memoir. The result was the best-selling “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.”
Angelou later wrote five more memoirs, five books of essays and numerous volumes of poetry.
She was nominated twice for a Pulitzer, won three Grammys for her spoken albums, had more than 30 honorary doctoral degrees and was selected by President Bill Clinton to read her poem, On the Pulse of Morning, at his first inauguration in 1993.
Simpson declined to discuss the will or Angelou except to say in a choked whisper: “I miss her terribly.”
