ABOUT JESTER J. HAIRSTON
Composer and actor who rose to mainstream fame for portraying Collie Forbes on the TV sitcom Amen.
He worked as a choir conductor for various choirs on Broadway.
"Mary's Boy Child" was his Christmas jingle, one of the very few to be written by an African American and be accepted.
He married Isabelle Margaret Swanigan in 1912.
He was in Family Matters with Jaleel White .
