Merrell Jackson (April 26, 1952 – February 23, 1991) was an actor who played one of the apostles in the film '' Godspell'' (1973). He sang "All Good Gifts".

Life

Jackson graduated from Chicago's Calumet High School in 1971, where he was a soloist for the

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

chorus, and had leading roles in two stage productions for which he won the "best actor" award. During his senior year he played King Melchior in a school production of the Christmas opera ''

Amahl and the Night Visitors ''Amahl and the Night Visitors'' is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer.Menotti, Gian-Carlo: ''Amahl and the Night Visitors (piano-vocal score)'', G. Schirmer, Inc., 1997. It was commission ...

'' that was shown on local television TV 26, and was an understudy in the Chicago production of the rock musical '' The Me Nobody Knows''. He also sang in the All-City High School Chorus. In the summer of 1971 he was awarded a scholarship to go to the National Youth Chorus Workshop at

Wolf Trap A wolf trap (Spanish ''lobera'', Italian ''luparia'') was a chase ending in a pit with trapdoor and stakes used by beaters in hunting wolves in medieval Europe.Towards a History of the Basque Language José Ignacio Hualde, Joseba A. Lakarra, Rob ...

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

Academy for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and was one of 25 selected performing arts students who appeared with

Lloyd Haynes Samuel Lloyd Haynes (September 19, 1934 – January 1, 1987) was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the Emmy Award-winning series ''Room 222''. Biography A native of South Bend, Indiana, Haynes served in the U.S. Marines from ...

on the WMAQ-TV musical special ''The New Performers: Chicagoland '71''. His fellow performers voted him "Best Trouper" among the supporting cast members for which he won a $500 scholarship. He joined the Goodman Theatre's touring company later in 1971, appearing in the children's musical comedy ''The Magic Isle''. He auditioned for the Chicago production of ''Godspell'' in May 1972, but was cast in the movie instead, filming in New York from August to November, 1972. He joined the Chicago production in November, but was called back to New York for additional location shots and then continued in the cast until the show's run ended in August 1973. Jackson then joined Nell Carter in the Chicago cast of the musical '' Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope''. He was with the national touring company in Baltimore a year later. While living in New York City, Jackson performed with dance companies, appeared in Broadway musicals, and did commercial spots for 7 Up soft drink. He was also a painter."Services Held for Singer Jackson," ''Chicago Defender'', February 27, 1991, p. 5. Has a child named David Clayton Jackson.

References

External links

A tribute site for Merrell Jackson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Merrell 1952 births 1991 deaths African-American male actors American male film actors American male musical theatre actors Male actors from Illinois Singers from Chicago 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century African-American male singers