Lester Wilson (April 13, 1942 – February 14, 1993) was an African-American dancer, choreographer, and actor. Wilson attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and stage director. Known for his work on stage and screen, he is arguably the most influential figure in the field of jazz dance in th ...

cast him in a 1963 revival of

Pal Joey Pal Joey may refer to: * ''Pal Joey'' (novel), a 1940 epistolary novel by John O'Hara * ''Pal Joey'' (musical), a 1940 musical based on the novel * ''Pal Joey'' (film), a 1957 film, loosely adapted from the musical of the same name * ''Pal Joey' ...

at the New York City Center. Wilson toured London with

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

in ''Golden Boy''. In 1969, he was responsible with 24 of his dancers for the choreography of Johnny Hallyday's show at the Palais des Sports in Paris. Lester's best known choreography was the 1977 movie ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...

'' for which he coached

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...

. Wilson had choreographed for

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida (, ; ), was an Italian naturalized French singer and actress. Leading an international career, Dalida has sold over 140 million records worldwide. Some ...

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...

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and

Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born 28 April 1941), credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer with a career spanning seven decades. Her many screen roles include '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' Bye Bye B ...

, in her Las Vegas stage spectaculars. He also choreographed the 1992 movie ''

Sister Act ''Sister Act'' is a 1992 American musical crime comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (billed as Joseph Howard). It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to hide in a convent after being placed in a witn ...

''. In 1991, Wilson was nominated for an American

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for the choreography in the ABC special ''American Dance Honors''. Lester also choreographed several Broadway musicals, including ''

Grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from Blade#Knife blade profiles .28Patterns.29, blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and ...

'' with

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (né Middleton; October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received ...

Death

In February 1993, Wilson died of a heart attack in Los Angeles at the age of 50. Wilson was a major contributor to the fight against AIDS, notably in choreography created for AIDS Project/L.A. He had previously undergone a quintuple bypass in 1979 at the age of 37. He also appeared on Good Times as a grocery store manager in a 1975 episode entitled "Florida's Protest".

Personal life

He was homosexual.

Filmography

*'' Der Kommissar'', episode ''In letzter Minute'', West Germany (1970), musical act, actor *''

Funny Lady ''Funny Lady'' is a 1975 American biographical film, biographical musical film, musical comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1968 film ''Funny Girl (film), Funny Girl''. The film stars Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowa ...

'' (1975) Columbia Pictures Corp., assistant choreographer *''

'' (1977), choreographer *''

Beat Street ''Beat Street'' is a 1984 American dance drama film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Set in the South Bronx, the film follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to vari ...

'' (1984), choreographer *''

The Last Dragon ''The Last Dragon'' (sometimes listed as ''Berry Gordy's'' ''The Last Dragon'') is a 1985 American musical Martial arts film directed by Michael Schultz, written by Louis Venosta, and produced by Rupert Hitzig for Berry Gordy. The film star ...

'' (1985) with co-choreographer

Lawrence Leritz Lawrence Leritz (born September 26, 1952) is an American actor, dancer, singer, producer, director, fitness expert and choreographer. Life and career Born in Alton, Illinois, Leritz made his stage debut in the children's chorus of the world stag ...

*''

Scrooged ''Scrooged'' is a 1988 American Christmas fantasy black comedy film directed by Richard Donner and written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. Based on the 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dickens, ''Scrooged'' is a modern re ...

'' (1988) Paramount Pictures—choreographer, actor *''

Hot Shots! ''Hot Shots!'' is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Jim Abrahams, co-writer and co-director of ''Airplane!'', and written by Abrahams and Pat Proft. It stars Charlie Sheen, Cary Elwes, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges, Jon Cryer, Kevin ...

'' (1991) Twentieth Century Fox, choreographer *''

Hot Shots! Part Deux ''Hot Shots! Part Deux'' is a 1993 American parody film directed by Jim Abrahams and written by Abrahams and Pat Proft. It stars Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino, Richard Crenna, Brenda Bakke, Miguel Ferrer, Rowan Atkinson, a ...

'' (1993) Twentieth Century Fox, choreographer *''

'' (1992) Touchstone Pictures, musical staging *'' Made in America'' (1993) Stonebridge Entertainment, choreographer

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Lester 1942 births 1993 deaths Artists from New York City American male musical theatre actors American choreographers African-American male dancers African-American LGBTQ people American male film actors American male television actors Juilliard School alumni 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American male dancers American gay actors American gay musicians American LGBTQ singers Gay dancers Gay singers 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American LGBTQ people