Alva (Al) Irwin Cox, Jr., 74, an independent filmmaker whose work chronicled the civil rights movement, human rights struggles and ecumenical Christianity both nationally and globally, died Nov. 19 at his home in Cos Cob, Conn., of natural causes.

Over the decades, Cox - who once served as a Methodist pastor -- produced a stream of films about social problems and the churches' response. The more than 50 historical, cultural, theological and documentary programs included "Kent State: May 1970," on the shooting of student protestors by the U.S. National Guard, and "Weeping in the Playtime of Others," which exposed the problems of child labor in the U.S. coal mining industry.

Many of his films, videos and other audiovisual resources were made on contract with organizations such as the United Methodist Church and National Council of Churches (NCC). He had worked recently with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and, at the time of his death, he and filmmaker Larry Hollon were making a film on newly emerging Protestant churches in Honduras, Nepal and other countries. The film is to be shown at the United Methodist General Conference next May in Cleveland.

Active in the student Christian movement in the 1940s, Cox was one of the youngest participants in attendance at the founding meeting of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam in 1948 and was present at the WCC's 50th anniversary Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1998. He joined the Christian education staff of the NCC in 1951, and served on the council's staff until 1967 in the areas of evangelism, audiovisual and broadcast production, and education.

Born in Maysfield, Ohio, on April 27, 1925, he was the son of the Rev. Alva I. Cox, a Methodist pastor who was a delegate to the NCC's founding convention in Cleveland in 1950. He graduated from Baldwin Wallace College, Berea, Ohio, in 1945; and earned his master of divinity degree from Garrett Theological Seminary, Evanston, Ill., in 1948, and his master of sacred theology from Yale Divinity School in 1957.

A public memorial service is planned at 2 p.m. Dec. 14 at Riverside Church in New York.

November 29, 1999

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, New York, and Washington.