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Jester Hairston
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jester Hairston (July 9, 1901 - January 18, 2000) was an American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor, and actor.
Hairston was born in Forsyth County, North Carolina. His grandparents had been slaves.
He graduated cum laude from Tufts University and studied music at the Juilliard School as well. He worked as a choir conductor in the early stages of his career. His work with choirs on Broadway eventually led to his singing and acting in plays, films, radio programs, and television shows.
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Hairston wrote the song Mary's Boy Child in 1956. He also wrote the song "Amen", which he dubbed for actor Sidney Poitier in the film Lilies of the Field (1963).
Most of Hairston's film work was in the field of composing, arranging, and choral conducting. Hairston also acted in over twenty films, mostly in small parts, some of which were not credited to him. Among the films he appeared in were The Alamo (1960) and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), and In the Heat of the Night (1967).
Hairston appeared on The Amos 'n' Andy Show. He had been in the radio program that was the basis for the TV show. He also played the role of Wildcat (1974-1975) on the show That's My Mama. In his senior years he appeared in the show Amen as Rolly Forbes (1986-1991). His last television appearance was in 1993 in the program Family Matters.
Hairston died January 18, 2000 of natural causes in Los Angeles, California.