Lon Satton (born Alonzo Louis Lee Staton; February 11, 1927 – October 30, 2020) was an American

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

based in the United Kingdom. He is widely known for originating the role of Poppa in

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

's musical ''

Starlight Express '' Starlight Express'' is a 1984 musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern locomotives of diesel and el ...

,'' for which Satton received a 1984 Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. He is sometimes credited as Lonnie Sattin.

Early life

One of nine children, Satton was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, in 1927, the son of

Church of God in Christ The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is an international Christian perfection#Holiness Pentecostalism, Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and a large Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi ...

minister C. T. Staton. His family moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

at an early age. Satton attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, and initially considered following in his father's footsteps as an evangelist, but developed an interest in entertainment after winning a singing contest.

Career

As a singer, Satton performed in many jazz clubs, and for a time was a vocalist under

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

and the Cotton Club Revue. In Chicago, he joined a theatre troupe that saw him begin a career in

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

and

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

. He starred opposite

Barbara McNair Barbara Jean McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) was an American singer and theater, television, and film actress. McNair's career spanned over five decades in television, film, and stage. McNair's professional career began in music dur ...

in the 1958 musical ''

The Body Beautiful ''The Body Beautiful'' is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock. The first collaboration by Harnick and Bock, and the only one to have a contemporary setting, its plot focuse ...

''. He also recorded several records for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. Satton made his film debut with an uncredited part in the B-movie '' The Human Duplicators'' (1965). He was the second actor to play Lt. Jack Neal on the soap opera ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

''. In the early 1970s, he relocated to the United Kingdom. He played a supporting role as a CIA agent in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film ''Live and Let Die'' (1973). In 1971, he acted in Emil Dean Zoghby and Ray Pohlman's musical ''

Catch My Soul ''Catch My Soul'', also known as ''Santa Fe Satan'', is a 1974 film produced by Jack Good and Richard M. Rosenbloom, and directed by Patrick McGoohan. It was an adaptation of Good's stage musical of the same title, which itself was loosely adap ...

'', at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

in London with Lance LeGault and Sylvia McNeill. The following year, Satton acted in ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'', at the same venue. In 1977, he acted in

Loften Mitchell James Loften Mitchell (April 15, 1919 – May 14, 2001) was an American playwright and theatre historian who was part of the black American theatre movement of the 1960s. Life and career Mitchell was born in Columbus, North Carolina, to an Af ...

's musical ''

Bubbling Brown Sugar ''Bubbling Brown Sugar'' is a musical revue written by Loften Mitchell based on a concept by Rosetta LeNoire and featuring the music of numerous African-American artists who were popular during the Harlem Renaissance, 1920–1940, including Duke El ...

'' in London. He sang the

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, ...

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' D ...

song “Move ‘Em Out” in 1978’s ''

Revenge of the Pink Panther ''Revenge of the Pink Panther'' is a 1978 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards. It is the sixth film in ''The Pink Panther'' comedy film series. Released in July 1978, it is the final on-set performance of Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector ...

''. Arguably his best known role was as Ramblin' Poppa McCoy in

's musical ''

'', which satton continuously played from the show's opening in 1984 until 1996. His performance earned him an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

nomination for an Best Actor in a Musical.

Personal life

Satton had two children with his wife, actress Tina Sattin. His cousin was jazz singer

Dakota Staton Dakota Staton (June 3, 1930 – April 10, 2007) was an American jazz vocalist who found international acclaim with the 1957 No. 4 hit "The Late, Late Show". She was also known by the Muslim name Aliyah Rabia for a period due to her conversion to ...

Filmography

Film

*1968: '' For Love of Ivy'' - Harry *1970: '' The Invincible Six'' - Mike *1970: '' Hello-Goodbye'' - Cole Strutter *1971: ''Welcome to the Club'' - Marshall Bowles *1972: ''

Steptoe and Son ''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black a ...

'' - Pianist *1973: '' Live and Let Die'' - Harold Strutter *1978: ''

'' - Sam Spade and the Private Eyes #1 *1990: ''

The March ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' - Jack Harris

Television

*1969: ''One Life to Live'' - Lieutenant Jack Neal *1975: ''

Space 1999 ''Space: 1999'' is a British science-fiction television programme that ran for two series from 1975 to 1977. In the premiere episode, set in the year 1999, nuclear waste stored on the Moon's far side explodes, knocking the Moon out of orbit an ...

'' - Benjamin Ouma (1 episode) *1975: '' Quiller'' - Jim Lane (2 episodes) *1994: ''

The Lenny Henry Show ''The Lenny Henry Show'' is a comedy sketch show (and in its 1987–1988 incarnation, a sitcom) featuring Lenny Henry. It was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1988, and was later revived twice, in 1995 and 2004–2005. History Original vers ...

'' - Chief of police (1 episode)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Satton, Lon 1929 births 2020 deaths African-American male actors African-American male singers American expatriate male actors American expatriates in the United Kingdom American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors Church of God in Christ Male actors from Jacksonville, Florida Male actors from Philadelphia Singers from Jacksonville, Florida Singers from Philadelphia Temple University alumni