Lester Wilson
Lester Wilson (April 13, 1942 – February 14, 1993) was an African-American dancer, choreographer, and actor. Wilson attended the Juilliard School. Bob Fosse cast him in a 1963 revival of Pal Joey at the New York City Center.
Lester Wilson
- Name
- Lester Wilson
- Born
- 13 April 1942
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York, U.S.
- Died
- 14 February 1993
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Dancer/Choreographer and Actor
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- Juilliard School · Jamaica High School
- Honours
- American Choreography Awards
- Languages
- English
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Lester Wilson (April 13, 1942 – February 14, 1993) was an African-American dancer, choreographer, and actor. Wilson attended the Juilliard School. Bob Fosse cast him in a 1963 revival of Pal Joey at the New York City Center.
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In this article
Biography
Biography
Wilson toured London with Sammy Davis Jr. In Golden Boy. In 1969, he was responsible with 24 of his dancers for the choreography of Johnny Hallyday's show at the Palais des Sports in Paris. Lester's best known choreography was the 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever for which he coached John Travolta. Wilson had choreographed for Diana Ross, Dalida, Gladys Knight, Billy Crystal, Liza Minnelli and Ann-Margret, in her Las Vegas stage spectaculars. He also choreographed the 1992 movie Sister Act. In 1991, Wilson was nominated for an American Emmy Award for the choreography in the ABC special American Dance Honors. Lester also choreographed several Broadway musicals, including Grind with Ben Vereen.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Lester Wilson • Born — 13 April 1942 • Birthplace — New York City, New York, U.S. • Died — 14 February 1993 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Occupation — Dancer/Choreographer and Actor • Years Active — 1964–1993 (his death) • Partner — Zack Reed,
Death
Death
In February 1993, Wilson died of a heart attack in Los Angeles at the age of 50. Wilson was a major contributor to the fight against AIDS, notably in choreography created for AIDS Project/L.A. He had previously undergone a quintuple bypass in 1979 at the age of 37. He also appeared on Good Times as a grocery store manager in a 1975 episode entitled "Florida's Protest".
Personal life
Personal life
He was homosexual.
Filmography
Filmography
• Der Kommissar, episode In letzter Minute, West Germany (1970), musical act, actor • Funny Lady (1975) Columbia Pictures Corp., assistant choreographer • Saturday Night Fever (1977), choreographer • Beat Street (1984), choreographer • The Last Dragon (1985) with co-choreographer Lawrence Leritz • Scrooged (1988) Paramount Pictures—choreographer, actor • Hot Shots! (1991) Twentieth Century Fox, choreographer • Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993) Twentieth Century Fox, choreographer • Sister Act (1992) Touchstone Pictures, musical staging • Made in America (1993) Stonebridge Entertainment, choreographer
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1942
Lester Wilson born at New York City.
1993
Lester Wilson died at Los Angeles.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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New York City.
Birth place
Los Angeles.
Death place
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 28 September 2026.
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