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 performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals '' The Paja ...

cast him in a 1963 revival of Pal Joey at the New York City Center. Wilson toured London with Sammy Davis Jr. 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-American man from the Brookl ...

'' for which he coached

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (1 ...

. Wilson had choreographed for

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys K ...

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

and

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

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

''. 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 American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

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 profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and the centre contour of the blade's back (m ...

'' with

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

. 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 gay.

Filmography

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

Funny Lady ''Funny Lady'' is a 1975 American biographical musical comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1968 film '' Funny Girl''. The film stars Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall and Ben Vereen. Herbert Ross, who helmed the ...

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

'' (1977), choreographer *''

Beat Street ''Beat Street'' is a 1984 American drama dance 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 v ...

'' (1984), choreographer *''

The Last Dragon ''The Last Dragon'' (sometimes listed as Berry Gordy's ''The Last Dragon'') is a 1985 American martial arts comedy film produced by Rupert Hitzig for Berry Gordy and directed by Michael Schultz. The film stars Taimak, Vanity, Julius Carry, ...

'' (1985) with co-choreographer

Lawrence Leritz Lawrence Leritz (born September 26, 1962) 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 st ...

*'' Scrooged'' (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, K ...

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

Hot Shots! Part Deux ''Hot Shots! Part Deux'' is a 1993 American parody film directed by Jim Abrahams. It stars Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino, Richard Crenna (parodying his Colonel role in the ''Rambo'' franchise), Brenda Bakke, Miguel Ferr ...

'' (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 LGBT African Americans American male film actors American male television actors Juilliard School alumni 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male singers American male dancers American gay actors American gay musicians American LGBT singers Gay dancers Gay singers 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American LGBT people