Daniel ‘Danny’ Simmons, Artist, Author, and Philanthropist, Has Died at 72
Artist, activist, author, and philanthropist Daniel “Danny” Simmons has died at age 72, his family announced, with no location, date, or cause given, according to reporting cited from the New York Times. Born in Hollis, Queens in 1953, Simmons was the older brother of Russell Simmons and Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons, and in 1995 the three co-founded Rush Arts and the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation to support disadvantaged artists of color through exhibitions, education, scholarships, and grants. He also co-created HBO’s Def Poetry Jam (2002–2007), whose Broadway production won the 2003 Tony Award for best special theatrical event, and he founded additional spaces including Corridor Gallery and a Philadelphia-based Rush Arts after moving there in 2015. Working in a style he called Neo-African Abstract Expressionism, Simmons had works collected by figures including Will Smith and Lyor Cohen and shown in exhibitions such as “Danny Simmons: The Journey to Everything” at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum (2024) and the Houston Museum of African American Culture (2025), and he published books including the 2004 novel Three Days As The Crow Flies and the 2007 illustrated poetry volume I Dreamed My People Were Calling But I Couldn’t Find My Way Home.
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