LESTER WILSON
Solid Gold Choreographer
(1987 - 1988)
Lester Wilson had the most difficult task of all the Solid Gold choreographers when
he started the 1987 season.
When the producers revamped the show,
Wilson was called in to instruct a whole new troupe of dancers. Many Solid Gold fans
were outraged. Not only were many of their favorite dancers gone, but so were the
skimpy dance costumes and the weekly countdown routines.
Wilson's routines didn't have the flash that Kevin Carlisle and Anita Mann had brought to the show. He did, however, bring a very elegant and sophisticated dance style to the show. Even though many Solid Gold fans chose to tune out, Wilson's choreography for the 1987 and 1988 seasons reflected the influences of his mentors Bob Fosse and Josephine Baker.
As a young aspiring dancer, Wilson attended the Juilliard School on a scholarship he obtained through Martha Graham. He was "discovered" by Fosse while performing in a New York club. Fosse cast him in a 1963 revival of Pal Joey at the New York City Center. It was this performance that caught the eye of Baker.
As Wilson was touring London with Sammy Davis, Jr. in Golden Boy, Baker suggested he work in Paris. And he did. Wilson appeared in a musical starring Liza Minnelli and Johnny Holiday called Young Americans.
Wilson also had the opportunity to perform at the 1968 Olympic Arts Festival in Munich and was the first American to receive the German equivalent of an Emmy award.
Although Wilson had staged and choreographed numerous productions
during his career, his most well-known film credit was probably the 1977 movie "Saturday
Night Fever" for which he coached John Travolta in the gyrations and dramatic
dance steps that made Travolta a star.
Over the years, Wilson established an impressive list of celebrity clientele. He had choreographed for Barbra Steisand, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Billy Crystal, Minnelli, Davis and many others stars, including many of the dances Ann Margaret used in her Las Vegas stage spectaculars.
In 1991, Wilson was nominated for an American Emmy award for the choreography in the ABC special "American Dance Honors."
Most recently, Wilson had choreographed such movies as "Hot Shots! Part Deux", "Made In America", and "Scrooged".
In February of 1993, Lester Wilson died of a heart attack in Los Angeles at the age of 51. He is survived by his mother, sister, and a niece and nephew.
Quote Note - "If you don't have musicality, you won't be able to dance"
TELEVISION CREDITS
Marie - choreographer
FILM CREDITS
Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993) Twentieth Century Fox -- choreographer
Made In America (1993) Stonebridge Entertainment -- choreographer
Sister Act (1992) Touchstone Pictures -- musical staging
Hot Shots! (1991) Twentieth Century Fox -- choreographer
Scrooged (1988) Paramount Pictures -- choreographer, actor
The Men's Club (1986) -- choreographer
Marie (TV series) -- choreographer
Saturday Night Fever (1977) -- choreographer
Funny Lady (1975) Columbia Pictures Corp. -- assistant choreographer
