Raymond St. Jacques

Biography: St. Jacques, born James Johnson, is a tall, elegant, imposing black actor with a deep, resonant voice. He gained stage experience by touring with several productions, including Shakespeare; he acted with the American Shakespeare Theater in Stratford, Connecticut, and also served as assistant director and fencing director there. He moved to New York and in 1954 got a role in an off-Broadway production. He studied at the Actors Studio, and gradually got better stage roles; he also did a great deal of work on TV, including a regular role on the series Rawhide. He debuted onscreen in Black Like Me (1964); except for a dry period from 1981-86, he sustained a steady screen career from 1964 on, becoming one of the top black actors of the American cinema. He produced and directed the film Book of Numbers (1973). He died of cancer at 60.