Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs

Biography

Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs is an American Actor, Singer, Director, Writer, Producer and Music composer. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs is known for playing roles such as- Jon Chance in L.A. Heat, Joseph Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream, Detective Jon Chance in Angels of the City, Noah in Roots, Cameran Sanders in A House Divided, Edward in Shooting Heroin, Donny in Players at the Poker Palace, Sergeant Dobbs in Alien Nation, Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington in Welcome Back, Kotter.

Hilton-Jacobs was born on September 4th 1953 in New York City, United States to Hilton Agustus Jacobs(Father) & Clothilda Jacobs(Mother).

He is 5th of the 9 children of his parents, he has two brothers Rodney & Richard.

Education

• Education (High School): Lawrence has completed his High School education from New York City Public schools.
• High School of Art and Design: Lawrence graduated from the school in 1971.
• Wilkes University: Lawrence attended Wilkes University (named after English politician John Wilkes), a private non-denominational university situated in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania after High school. 
• Freelance Artist: Lawrence started as a freelance artist after the menial jobs. It is in acting that he found himself.
• Acting: Lawrence joined Al Fann's Theatrical School to be trained in Acting, later joined Negro Ensemble Company. Both Al Fann's & Negro Ensemble Company are all black acting companies which created experimental content and played shows in New York City.

Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs Interesting Facts & Trivia

• He is one of the 9 children of his parents.
• Name: Hilton is the first name of his father, Lawrence is the name of a relative of his mother's. He was a young guy who helped Lawrence's mother Clothilda with chores when he stayed with them.
• Pianist: He can play Piano and sing as well.
• Ethnicity: Lawrence is of West Indian ancestry. His parents came from there.
• Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs: Lawrence released a debut named 'Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs' in 1978
• Singing: Some of the songs he has worked in are: Fly Away (to My Wonderland), What Kind of Man, 'Holdin' On', 'Time Machine' , 'Wonder Woman', 'Larry's Theme', 'I Never Been Here Before'.
• All the Way...Love: An ABC album by Lawrence released in March of 2019, produced by Freddie Perren
• Looking for Mr. Right: Lawrence appeared in the TV ad for Gospel play 'Looking for Mr. Right' in 1999
• Backup singer: Lawrence has worked as a singer to bands and singers such as- Rick James, The Gap Band, The Impressions, The Sylvers.
• Let Me Do It: He produced the record 'Let Me Do It' for Halo in 1981
• Screenwriting: Lawrence has written screenplay in projects- L.A. Vice, Angels Of The City
• Eddie Murphy gave tributes to LHJ in his TV series The PJs, by naming the public housing 'Hilton Jacobs'
• Lawrence has two daughters
• LHJ Films: He has started production team in LHJ Films
• He is the recipient of TV Land Anniversary Award
• He has a facebook account, but rarely posts on there, he doesn't have any other social media presence
• Memory power: He has great memory wrt dates, he can remember dates of meeting people even decades later
• Odd Jobs: After High School, Lawrence worked at miscellaneous odd jobs before entering film industry. Some of the odd jobs Lawrence has worked are:
  • Delivery Boy
  • Florist
  • Messenger Boy
  • Stock Boy (Department Store)
• Packaging Design: Lawrence changed his career line and started as a package designer after a series of small jobs
• Theater: Lawrence acted in numerous plays with both Al Fann's Theatrical school & Negro Ensemble Company . Some of the plays he was part of, are:
  • Cora's Second Cousin
  • Mask in Black
  • The Dean
  • The Exterminator
  • What the Wine Sellers Buy
• Big Breakthroughs: Lawrence's first hit movie was Cooley High (1975), it earned him enough recognition to be casted in Welcome Back, Kotter (1975), in which he played 'Boom Boom Washington', a role which went on to become a cult figure.
• Musician: Lawrence is proficient in musical arts as well. He can play Piano, writes songs and can sing as well.
• Advertisements: Lawrence has appeared in ads for:
  • Sony/ Walkman (Music/ audio gadgets)
  • Ames (American chain of discount stores)
  • Cingular Wireless (A mobile phone company now owned by AT & T)
  • Salon Selectives (Haircare products)

Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs Quotes

• [About sudden rise to fame] It was like an explosion. You just don't get ready for it. I don't even know how you can, because you just don't expect it.. it was just nuts. It was overwhelming, insane, wonderful and scary all at the same time
• People see you on television and then think they have a personal relationship with you. So, they want to touch you, and grab you, and sit down and have lunch with you. It is strange, and you never get used to that.
•  I want to direct a lot more, especially feature films as opposed to television. With a film, you get a chance to tell a story the way you envision it and how you feel it
• [His advice for aspiring actors] you have to make a commitment to yourself to make it a part of your nature like the air you breathe. I don't mean that lightly. It’s hard..You can never study enough, and you can never learn enough.

Sources:

• Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs-Wikipedia
• LHJ- Soul Walking
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