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Raymond St. Jacques

Raymond St. Jacques
Raymond St, Jacques Rawhide 1965.jpg
St. Jacques as Simon Blake in 1965.
Born James Arthur Johnson
(1930-03-01)March 1, 1930
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Died August 27, 1990(1990-08-27) (aged 60)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death Lymphoma
Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills
Education Hillhouse High School
Alma mater Yale University
Occupation Actor, director, producer

Raymond St. Jacques (March 1, 1930 – August 27, 1990) was an American actor, director and producer. He was the first African American actor to appear in a regular role on a western series, playing Simon Blake on Rawhide.

St. Jacques was born James Arthur Johnson in Hartford, Connecticut. He had a sister, Barbara Ann. Shortly after his birth, his parents divorced and he and his mother and sister moved to New Haven, Connecticut. 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. Upon graduation, St. Jacques 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 and would continue to practice fencing for the rest of his life.

After moving to New York City, he continued to pursue acting and studied at the The Actors Studio. To support himself, St. Jacques worked as a model, dishwasher and a busboy. His first professional acting role was in the off-Broadway play High Name Today.

After appearing in bit parts on television in the early 1960s, St. Jacques made his film debut in the 1964 film Black Like Me. He followed with a role in The Pawnbroker later that year. In 1968, he appeared in a supporting role in The Green Berets. His best known film roles were that of Coffin Ed in the blaxploitation classics Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) and Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972). In the early 1970s, St. Jacques began teaching fencing and acting at Mafundi Institute in Watts, Los Angeles. In 1973, he produced, directed and starred in the crime film Book of Numbers. 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. St Jacques was the first African American actor to ever 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.


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