Raymond St Jacques
| Raymond St. Jacques | |
|---|---|
 St. Jacques as Simon Blake in 1965.
| |
| Born |
James Arthur Johnson March 1, 1930 Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died |
August 27, 1990 (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; he moved with his mother and sister to New Haven, Connecticut. Johnson's mother Vivienne later worked as a medical technician at Yale University. After graduating from Hillhouse High School, Johnson attended Yale, where he studied drama and psychology.
Upon graduation, he worked as an assistant director, actor and fencing instructor for the American Shakespearean Festival in New Haven. He 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, Johnson continued to pursue acting and studied at the Actors Studio. To support himself, he 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 a small part 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) (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.
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