Biography
Jester Joseph Hairston (9 July 1901 – 18 January 2000) was an American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor and actor. He was regarded as a leading expert on African-American spirituals and choral music. His compositions include the song 'Amen' from the film Lilies of the Field (1963) and the Christmas song 'Mary's Boy Child'.
Hairston sang with the Hall Johnson Choir and moved to Hollywood in 1936. He collaborated for thirty years with composer Dimitri Tiomkin, arranging and collecting music for films. He also acted in more than twenty films, including The Alamo (1960) as Jethro, To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) as Spence Robinson (uncredited), and In the Heat of the Night (1967) as Endicott's Butler. In 1939 he married Margaret Swanigan.
