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Famous Hairstons
Carl
Hairston
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Born
December 15, 1952 Carl Hairston is one of the finest defensive ends
of his era, enjoying a stellar 15-year pro playing career. He appeared
in 224 NFL contests (184 starts), registering 1,141 tackles and
94.0 sacks. A first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles
and first-year head coach Dick Vermeil, Hairston went on to start
all eight seasons he was in Philadelphia, captaining the defense
from '79-83 and racking up 100 or more tackles five straight years
('77-81). In '79, he led the Eagles and the NFC with a career-best
15 sacks.
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The
Martinsville, Virginia, product participated in 15 career playoff
contests and was a member of the Eagles Super Bowl XV squad. Hairston
was also a defensive line coach for Kansas City from '95 to '96
and has recently returned to the Kansas coaching staff in 2001.
Prior to his time in Kansas City, Hairston spent three seasons ('91-93)
as a college scout for the Arizona Cardinals. Carl has a wife named
Cindy, and two children Carl, Jr. and Crystal.
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Jerry
Hairston, Jr.
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Jerry
Hairston, Jr.'s father, grandfather and an uncle all played in the
majors. His father Jerry played 13 of 14 big league seasons with
the White Sox and his late grandfather Sam Hairston was the first
African-American to play for the Chicago Sox in July, 1951.
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Jerry
was originally signed by Orioles scout Fred Petersen. Jerry Hairston,
Jr. attended Southern Illinois University and was Missouri Valley
Conference freshman of the year and earned All-Conference honors.
In his spare time, he enjoys basketball, movies and music. He and
his wife, Tanaha made Baltimore their home in 2001.
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Harold
"Happy" Hairston
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Harold
"Happy" Hairston was a member of what many consider the
greatest basketball team of all time. After a fractious start, the
team went on to win 69 games, including a record 33 straight a winning
streak that has never been broken in any professional sport. The
team also collected its first championship after moving from Minneapolis
to Los Angeles in 1960. Hairston played tough defense and had 13
rebounds a game, helping Chamberlain control the defensive boards.
They were considered perfect role players on a team that put a premium
on unselfishness.
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The
Lakers didn't lose for more than two months, from Nov. 5, 1971 to
Jan. 9, 1972, and most of the victories were by comfortable margins.
On Dec. 22, the Lakers won their 27th straight victory, giving them
the longest winning streak in major pro sports history, surpassing
the 26 in a row by baseball's New York Giants in 1916. In the years
that followed, Hairston led the Lakers in both rebounds and field
goal percentage during the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons.
Against
the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 15, 1974, he established the NBA
record of 13 defensive rebounds in one quarter. He remained with
the Lakers until he was waived in October 1975. Hairston settled
in Marina del Rey and established the Happy Hairston Youth Foundation
in Century City. With financial help from celebrities like Kelsey
Grammer, the foundation found bright children from broken homes
and paid for their college education.
He
also hosted a celebrity golf tournament. Harold Hairston died May
1st 2001 he was 58. He has a 17-year-old daughter, Amber, and three
sisters, living in North Carolina.
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Jester
Hairston
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Jester
Hairston was a singer, a conductor, a composer; an actor in radio,
movies, and television; a storyteller with a wicked wit, but most
of all, Jester Hairston was a friend to the world of music at large.
Jester Hairston (born Jestie, nicknamed by a first grade teacher)
was born in Belews Creek, North Carolina, in 1902. He spent most
of his 98 years as a choral director, educator, actor, singer, composer
and arranger.
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His
first experience spreading his love of music was in the summer after
his freshman year at the University of Massachusetts - while working
on the Boston docks, he taught his fellow workers to sing. He later
went off to study music at Tufts University, performing in the school's
musical theatre organizations and graduating in 1929. He returned
to Tufts in 1979 to accept an honorary Doctorate in Music, one of
four honorary degrees he was awarded.
His first paying job teaching music was at a music school in Harlem,
a job he obtained through the post-Depression U.S. Government Works
Program Administration. At the same time he joined the Hall Johnson
Choir, the most prominent Black singing group of the 1930s.
While in Los Angeles with the choir, Jester met Russian film composer
Dimitri Tiomkin, and a 30-year collaboration was begun. Hairston
arranged the music for every one of Tiomkin's, films, including
the Academy Award winner "Lost Horizon." The two of them
were also responsible for "Guns of Navarone," "Gunfight
at the OK Corral" and "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,"
among many others - some of the many accomplishments that Hairston's
star on the Walk Of Fame.
Through
Jester appeared in many films and TV shows in the ensuing decades,
some of what he was best known for were his roles in the radio and
TV shows of "Amos and Andy" - he played Leroy and Henry
Van Porter - and his role as Deacon Rollie Forbes in the TV show
"Amen." Other credits include the words and lyrics to
the Harry Belafonte hit "Mary's Little Boy Chile," and
the voice of Sydney Poitier in the film, "Lilies in the Field."
The song, "Amen" reflected Hairston's lifelong dedication
to preserving old Negro spirituals. He was a sought-after choral
director who organized Hollywood's first integrated choir and composed
more than 300 spirituals.
Although
many of his early acting jobs portrayed less than flattering images
of blacks, Hairston never apologized for playing racial stereotypes.
"We had a hard time then fighting for dignity," he said
years later. "We had no power. We had to take it, and because
we took it the young people today have opportunities."
When Jester Hairston passed away on January 18, 2000, many of Hairston's
students began to recall a man they say can never be replaced. They
talk of his uncanny ability to inspire a choir with a few taps of
his feet. They remember how he taught them to love music.
One of his former students wrote, "I know Jester Hairston is
in Heaven, and if you want to find him there, look for the biggest
crowd of young people he will be in the middle. And before
long you'll hear him start to sing . . . and everyone will sing
with him."
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