When Don Reed was growing up in 1970s Oakland, he had no idea his father was a pimp -- he thought he just had a penchant for flashy hats. Reed won two NAACP Awards, for Best Actor and Best Playwright, for East 14th Street, an autobiographical work about growing up with his father in a milieu of drugs and prostitutes, which was a sharp contrast to life with his stepfather, a strict, abusive Jehovah's Witness. With two brothers -- one a gay brawler always looking for a fight, the other a womanizer -- Reed lacked for role models, but he found inspiration in the dancing and soul music of the era. The New York Times called East 14th Street "Hilarious. Energetic. Enchanting." See Reed's acclaimed hit, part of The Best of San Francisco Solo Series, at the San Leandro Main Library.