Raymond St. Jacques (born James Arthur Johnson; March 1, 1930 – August 27, 1990) was an American actor, director and producer whose career spanned over thirty years on stage, film and television. St. Jacques is noted as the first African American actor to appear in a regular role on a western series, portraying Simon Blake on the eighth season of Rawhide (1965–1966).
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. 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, he 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, St. Jacques continued to pursue acting and studied at the Actors Studio. To support himself, he worked as a model, dishwasher and a busboy. St. Jacques first professional acting role was in the off-Broadway play High Name Today. St. Jacques was cast in the role of "Judge" in the off-Broadway performance of Jean Genet's play The Blacks at St. Mark's Playhouse in 1960.
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, St. Jacques was cast as "Simon Blake" in the Western series Rawhide, 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. In 1976, St. Jacques starred as Othello in the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre production of the play of the same name. He remained active in stage work throughout his career, touring in productions of Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, A Raisin in the Sun, and the stage adaptation of The Man with the Golden Arm. From 1988 to 1989, St. Jacques had a two-year stint as Judge Clayton C. Thomas on the syndicated television show Superior Court. In 1989, he played abolitionist Frederick Douglass in Edward Zwick's Glory. His final film role was in the 1991 science fiction film Timebomb released after his death.
St. Jacques frequently spoke of the prejudices he and other African American actors faced and the difficulties in being cast in non-stereotypical, thoughtful roles. He later worked to help African Americans find work behind the camera. In 1977, he publicly criticized the lack of minority actors in Star Wars (which he stated he saw five times) and other science fiction films. St. Jacques was also an activist for African American civil rights. In 1985, he and other protestors were arrested during an anti-apartheid demonstration outside of the South African embassy in Washington, D.C.
Raymond St. Jacques, an Actor Of TV and Films, Is Dead at 60
Raymond St. Jacques, an actor who helped lower racial barriers for blacks in television and films, died Monday in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 60 years old and lived in Beverly Hills.
He died of cancer of the lymph glands, a hospital spokeswoman said.
On television, Mr. St. Jacques played a cattle driver in the 1960's western series ''Rawhide'' and appeared often in many other prime-time series. In films, he earned wide praise in ''The Pawnbroker'' (1965), ''Up Tight'' (1968), ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' (1970), ''Lost in the Stars'' (1974) and ''The Evil That Men Do'' (1984). Reviewers repeatedly said his talents exceeded the merits of most of his two dozen films.
The actor, who stood 6 feet 3 inches tall and had a resonant baritone voice, specialized in villains like a coolly terrifying Haitian police chief in ''The Comedians'' in 1967, but he also adjusted easily to heroic roles. He portrayed the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1977 film ''The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover.''
In 1973, Mr. St. Jacques earned praise for directing, producing and starring in the film ''Book of Numbers,'' a comedy-melodrama about two entrepreneurs who bring the numbers game to a small Arkansas town in the 1930's.
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Shakespeare to Genet
The actor, whose original name was James Arthur Johnson, was born on March 1, 1930, in Hartford. His parents were divorced soon after, and his mother moved her son and daughter to New Haven. She worked as a medical technician to help put him through Yale College, where he studied psychology and then drama.
After college, he appeared in many Shakespearean festival roles in Stratford, Conn., San Diego and New York. At Stratford, he also served as fencing master, staging duels and battle scenes.
He then settled in New York, where he worked as a dishwasher, stock boy, model and salesman while studying at the Actors Studio and seeking acting jobs. His first major breakthrough occurred in 1961 in ''The Blacks,'' Jean Genet's long-running Off-Broadway play. He made his film debut in ''Black Like Me'' (1964) and began getting many television roles.
In Los Angeles, he conducted many classes for aspiring actors in Watts .
Survivors include his mother, Vivienne, and his sister, Barbara Birt, both of New Haven.
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