Joseph Alexander Walker (February 24, 1935 – January 25, 2003) was an American playwright and screenwriter, theater director, actor and professor.

He is best known for writing The River Niger, a three-act play that was originally produced Off-Broadway in 1972 by the Negro Ensemble Company, before being transferred to Broadway in 1973 and then adapted into a 1976 film of the same name starring James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson.

His efforts and talents drew him critical acclaim at the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC), with Douglas Turner Ward as the artistic director.

In 1958–60, while stationed at Loring Air Force Base, Walker became founder and artistic director of Pine Tree Theatre Guild.

That same year, Walker was discharged and decided to pursue an MFA in Theatre with a minor in Elizabethan Drama at Catholic University.

Also in 1969 he met Moses Gunn, who introduced him to Douglas Turner Ward, the artistic director of The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC), which led to the production of The Harangues, opening the 1969–70 season.

The response to The River Niger was so overwhelming that the play was moved to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway in 1973, where it won the Tony Award in 1974.

Walker spent his last years continuing his writings while maintaining full tenure at Rutgers University's Camden, N.J., campus, where he was chair of the theater arts department.