Hairston’s legacy lives through choir

Kimberley McGee

Thursday, March 16, 2000 | 8:20 a.m.

He may have been best known for his role as Deacon Rolly Forbes on the NBC sitcom "Amen," but Jester Hairston was more renowned for his contribution and preservation of the black culture.

Although Hairston's life ended Jan. 19, the spirit of the 98-year-old actor and conductor lives on through what he left behind -- love and respect for early black music.

"Jester went around the world and taught spirituals," said Hairston's friend and sometime assistant, Las Vegan Simeon Holloway. "He wanted to tell the world of the Negro music."

In that spirit the Jester Hairston Music Association Inc., the local chapter of the National Association for Negro Music, was born in 1992. The 23-member choir sings at various church and community functions throughout the year.

Spirituals evolved from the prayers of Christian slaves in the 1800s and is the base of "Negro music." Slaves created the songs to communicate their feelings, create a bond and communicate without their owners understanding their strength and emotions.

In gratitude of Hairston's contribution to those spirituals, the choir will perform a memorial celebration Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the Zion United Methodist Church at 2108 N. Revere St. in North Las Vegas. It is free and open to the public.

Holloway, director of the Hairston Music Association, first met the composer and singer on the set of the sitcom "Amen," which ran from 1986 to 1991, co-starring Sherman Hemsley and Clifton Davis. As understudy to Hairston's character, Holloway came to know Hairston for his accomplishments and commitment to black culture and its music.

"He always said these (spiritual songs) are the words of his people," Holloway said. "He wanted to keep them alive. He said, 'Don't be afraid or ashamed of your background.' "

Holloway moved to Las Vegas in 1988 and felt the need for a chapter of the National Association for Negro Music, Inc., in the fast-growing community.

The NANM, founded during World War I, was established to keep black history -- especially black music -- alive. Marion Anderson was the first recipient of the NANM scholarship in the 1920s and went on to become a famous opera singer who broke many barriers in a segregated music world.

Hairston was a part of the integration of blacks into the world of mainstream entertainment.

His long story begins in Belews Creek, N.C., in 1901. He was raised by his grandmother, a former slave on the Hairston Plantation, who taught him the beauty of the moving spirituals that her ancestors had created and passed down.

Hairston evolved into a beautiful singer, Holloway said, and was discovered by a philanthropic woman who saw greatness in the young man and sent him to college. After graduating from New York's Julliard Institute of Music in the early 1930s Hairston joined the Hall Johnson choir, a prominent black group of that time.

Hairston quickly moved on to a career in Hollywood with a small role singing in the choir for the 1936 Warner Bros. movie, "Green Pastures." Later that year Hairston was asked to conduct the choir in "Lost Horizon," which won an Oscar for best score.

While continuing to sing in choirs, Hairston tried his acting ability on the popular radio show of the late '40s and early '50s, "Amos 'N' Andy," as the voice of the characters Kingfish and Leroy.

He later garnered acclaim when he wrote and sang "Amen," which Sidney Poitier's character lip-synced to in the 1963 movie "Lillies of the Field." Poitier won an Oscar for best actor.

But the music Hairston grew up on was his true life's passion.

"He wanted (black people) to be proud of where they came from, be proud of yourself and your ancestry," Holloway said. "Don't turn away from who you are."

After "Amen" was canceled Hairston gave his full attention to music. He traveled around the world to expose other cultures to the moving spirituals.

"He was a dynamic storyteller," Holloway said.

And a dynamic personality. On Hairston's 90th birthday he attended a mass music production in Russia and directed a choir of 25,000 people from many different cultures.

"They sang happy birthday to him and he loved it," Holloway said. "All those different voices, all together."