Raymond St. Jacques (born James Arthur Johnson; March 1, 1930 – August 27, 1990) was an American actor, director and producer whose career spanned over thirty years on stage, film and television. St. Jacques is noted as the first African-American actor to appear in a regular role on a Western series. He portrayed Simon Blake on the eighth season of Rawhide (1965–1966).
Raymond St. Jacques | |
|---|---|
 St. Jacques in Rawhide, 1965. | |
| Born | James Arthur Johnson March 1, 1930 Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | August 27, 1990 (aged 60) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Los Angeles, California) |
| Education | Hillhouse High School |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1959–1990 |
| Known for | Rawhide (as Simon Blake) Coffin Ed Johnson – Cotton Comes to Harlem, Come Back, Charleston Blue |
| Relatives | Sterling St. Jacques (son) |
Early life and education
editSt. Jacques was born James Arthur Johnson in Hartford, Connecticut. He had a sister, Barbara Ann. Shortly after his birth, his parents divorced; he moved with his mother and sister to New Haven, Connecticut.[1] St. Jacques' mother Vivienne later worked as a medical technician at Yale University.
After graduating from Hillhouse High School, St. Jacques attended Yale, where he studied drama and psychology.[1] Upon graduation, he worked as an assistant director, actor and fencing instructor for the American Shakespearean Festival in New Haven. St. Jacques staged all of the fencing scenes and duels while at the company. He continued to practice fencing for the rest of his life.[2]
After moving to New York City, St. Jacques continued to pursue acting and studied at the Actors Studio.[3] To support himself, he worked as a model, dishwasher, and busboy.[1]
St. Jacques's first professional acting role was in the off-Broadway play High Name Today.[2] St. Jacques was cast in the role of "Judge" in the off-Broadway performance of Jean Genet's play The Blacks at St. Mark's Playhouse in 1960.
Career
editAfter appearing in bit parts on television in the early 1960s, St. Jacques made his film debut in a small part in the 1964 film Black Like Me.[4] He followed with a role in The Pawnbroker later that year. He appeared in supporting roles in The Comedians (1967) and The Green Berets (1968).
St. Jacques's best-known film roles were that of Coffin Ed in the blaxploitation classics Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) (adapted from crime novels by Chester Himes) and Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972). In the early 1970s, St. Jacques began teaching fencing and acting at the Mafundi Institute in Watts, Los Angeles. In 1973, he produced, directed, and starred in the crime film Book of Numbers.[2]
During the 1960s, St. Jacques also guest starred on numerous television shows including East Side/West Side, Daktari, The Virginian, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. In 1965, he was cast as "Simon Blake" in the Western series Rawhide, the first African-American actor to be cast as a regular on a prime time Western series.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, St. Jacques continued with roles on stage, film and television. He became known as "The Man of a Thousand Faces" due to the varied parts he played throughout his career.[4] In 1976, St. Jacques starred as Othello in the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre production of the play of the same name. He remained active in stage work throughout his career, touring in productions of Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, A Raisin in the Sun, and the stage adaptation of The Man with the Golden Arm.[5]
From 1988 to 1989, St. Jacques had a two-year stint as Judge Clayton C. Thomas on the syndicated TV show Superior Court. In 1989, he played abolitionist Frederick Douglass in Edward Zwick's film Glory.[4] His final film role was in the 1991 science fiction film Timebomb, released after his death.
Personal life
editSt. Jacques was a lifelong bachelor.[6] In August 1969, St. Jacques granted an interview to columnist Earl Wilson and told Wilson of his plans to adopt two African-American boys who were six and seven years old.[7]
By the early 1970s, St. Jacques said he had two older sons, Raymond, Jr and Sterling, the latter being adopted.[8] In a 1973 interview, St. Jacques said that Raymond, Jr was living in Boston.[2] In May 1972, Sterling, then reported to be 22 years old, made news after four men attempted to rob St. Jacques's Bel Air home while St. Jacques was in Dallas. Sterling was reported to be the only person home at the time, and fled after calling police. The four men were apprehended after their getaway car stalled in St. Jacques's driveway.[9]
Sterling appeared in St. Jacques's 1973 film Book of Numbers.[2] In the mid to late 1970s, he became known as a high fashion model. He was briefly engaged to fashion model Pat Cleveland.[10] He also worked as a dancer and as a frequent figure in New York City nightclubs and society life.[11] In her 2016 memoir Walking with Muses, Cleveland said that their engagement ended because Sterling was gay. According to Cleveland's memoir, Sterling St Jacques died of complications of AIDS in 1984. (His death has never been officially confirmed.)[12]
In a 1988 interview with the Chicago Tribune, St. Jacques still said he had two sons and that Sterling was appearing on a television show in Düsseldorf.[13]
Activism
editSt. Jacques frequently spoke of the prejudices he and other African-American actors faced and difficulties in getting roles as non-stereotypical, thoughtful characters. He later worked to help African Americans find work behind the camera.[4] In 1977, he publicly criticized the lack of minority actors in Star Wars (which he said he saw five times) and other science fiction films.[14][15]
St. Jacques was an activist for African-American civil rights. In 1985, he and other protestors were arrested during an anti-apartheid demonstration outside of the South African embassy in Washington, D.C.[16]
Death
editOn August 27, 1990, St. Jacques died of lymphoma at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.[5][4] His funeral was held on August 31 at The Church of the Recessional at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, after which he was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills.[17]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Black Like Me | Burial Insurance Salesman | |
| 1964 | The Pawnbroker | Tangee | |
| 1965 | Mister Moses | Ubi | |
| 1966 | Mister Buddwing | Hank | |
| 1967 | The Comedians | Captain Concasseur | |
| 1968 | Madigan | Dr. Taylor | |
| 1968 | The Green Berets | Sgt. Doc McGee | |
| 1968 | If He Hollers, Let Him Go! | James Lake | |
| 1968 | Uptight | B.G. | |
| 1969 | Change of Mind | David Rowe | |
| 1970 | Cotton Comes to Harlem | Coffin Ed Johnson | |
| 1972 | Cool Breeze | Bill Mercer | |
| 1972 | The Final Comedown | Imir | |
| 1972 | Come Back, Charleston Blue | Coffin Ed Johnson | |
| 1973 | Book of Numbers | Blueboy Harris | |
| 1974 | Lost in the Stars | John Kumalo | |
| 1977 | The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover | Martin Luther King | |
| 1977 | Roots | The drummer | TV Mini-Series, Episode: "Part IV" |
| 1977 | The Baron | ||
| 1978 | Born Again | Jimmy Newsom | |
| 1980 | Cuba Crossing | Mr. Bell | |
| 1984 | The Evil That Men Do | Randolph | |
| 1985 | The Fall Guy | Ed Simmions | Episode Spring Break (S04Ep20) |
| 1987 | The Wild Pair | Ivory | |
| 1988 | They Live | Street Preacher | |
| 1989 | Glory | Frederick Douglass | Uncredited |
| 1991 | Voodoo Dawn | Claude | Released posthumously |
| 1991 | Timebomb | Det. Sanchez | Released posthumously |
References
edit- ^ a b c Flint, Peter B. (August 30, 1990). "Raymond St. Jacques, an Actor Of TV and Films, Is Dead at 60". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "AFRO talks to...Director, Producer, Actor 'Book of Numbers' Raymond St. Jacques". Baltimore Afro-American. Baltimore, Maryland. April 10, 1973. p. 14.
- ^ Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
- ^ a b c d e "Actor Raymond St. Jacques Succumbs to Cancer At 60". Jet. 78 (23). Johnson Publishing Company: 12–14. September 17, 1990. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ a b "Raymond St. Jacques; Actor was 60". Los Angeles Times. August 29, 1990. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ "Late Actor St. Jacques Leaves Estate Valued At $750,000 To Kin, Friends". Jet. 79 (26). Johnson Publishing Company: 35–36. April 15, 1991. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ Wilson, Earl (August 2, 1969). "Bachelor Actor St. Jacques To Adopt 2 Children". The Milwaukee Sentinel. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. p. 21. Retrieved March 25, 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Peterson, Maurice (May 13, 1973). "He's Making a Big Numbers ' Racket". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ "Suspects Caught In Stalled Car". Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio. May 27, 1972. p. 5. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ "A Fast Paced Ride With the Jet Set Crowd". Ebony. 21 (10). Johnson Publishing Company: 72. August 1977. ISSN 0012-9011.
- ^ Scott, Walter (November 28, 1976). "Walter Scott's Personality Parade". Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania.
- ^ Cleveland, Pat; Glennon, Lorraine (2017). Walking with the Muses: A Memoir. Simon and Schuster. p. 316. ISBN 978-1501108235.
- ^ Weaver, Maurice (September 29, 1988). "Raymond St. Jacques Ascends the Bench". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
- ^ St. Jacques, Raymond (July 17, 1977). "The Great White Void". Los Angeles Times. p. R2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Monagle, Matthew (December 14, 2015). "The Fight Over Star Wars and Racism in 1977". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017.
- ^ "Actor Arrested". Jet. 68 (2). Johnson Publishing Company: 61. March 25, 1985. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ "Funeral Rites Set for Raymond St. Jacques". Los Angeles Times. August 31, 1990. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
