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Red and Black: The Lester Jackson Manifesto > WHO WAS LESTER JACKSON? top
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 Lester Jackson's is one of the most fascinating accounts in all of modern history. Some facets of which can never be known, but that which has been documented (mostly through statements from those who knew him personally), illustrate the story of a passionate man, determined to make a difference in the world. He did so, in his own way, by utilizing a great deal of resources through various media, including film, books, the world of sports, as well as the political ring. Either because of or in spite of being a controversial Russian-African-American, Lester Jackson never felt limited in what he could acheive in his lifetime. In the end, this may have brought enemies to him, determined to stop a man who had the tenacity of a well-oiled machine. We may never know if they succeeded. One thing is for certain, and that is that Lester Jackson has been missing for more than 30 years and no one seems to know where or why.
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Lester Jackson was born in the Soviet Union on May 17, 1925. There is no existing record which documents either his true birth name (or when he changed it), nor the names of either of his parents. Over the course of his life and career, Lester himself refused to address much of it. Given accounts from those closest to him, it is clear that Lester did talk, but kept the information closely guarded.
In the early 1930s, Lester was bitten by the acting bug and joined an acting troupe, where he quickly received kudos from family and friends. This led to his personal expression on the soccer field as well, a few years later. At this, too, he excelled greatly and was actively pursued by scouts for professional teams. In 1935, it is rumored that Lester may have encountered a young American drama student named Frances Farmer, who had garnered national attention with a hightly controversial, albeit prize-winning essay regarding the existence of God. This essay won Miss Farmer, a Seattle, WA, native, a trip to Russia via New York and due to perceived Communist connections, this trip would be the catalyst for many infamous trials which would befall her later when she became one of Hollywood's brightest stars.
Although no known records exist of his citizenship status, it is reported that Lester came to the U.S. in September of 1943. He settled in, in the Harlem area of New York, where he quickly became a fixture in the jazz scene - visiting numerous clubs, making friends, and occasionally sitting in on a few numbers on the guitar belonging to whichever house band happened to rule the roost on those particular nights. [Again, some friends of Lester Jackson's claim that the young boy first learned of New York City, through conversations with Frances Farmer... and had likekly committed to the idea of moving at that very moment. There are no accounts indicating that Lester had ever seen Miss Farmer again, once he came to the States, but she does figure into a theory regarding his later disapperance.]. This new kid caught the attention of many well-respected artists in the area, including Hugh Bell of the Duke Ellington Band. Over the next year, these acquaintances proved to be instrumental in Lester's seemingly flawless infiltration of the entertainment circle, where he quickly established very important relationships crucial to his life's work in the next two decades.
Most notably, Jackson met the 20 year-old German filmmaker Paul Mueller at a party held at The Palace in the Autum of 1944. Paul was taken by the "Black Russian" and initiated their fruitful creative partnership, by asking Lester to star in a feature film called Juice Jones. In August of the following year, the film opened to excellent reviews, and Lester soon celebrated by moving in to a luxurious penthouse apartment on the Upper East Side. Over the next fiver years, Mueller and Jackson made three more films, which established Lester as somewhat a cult star, and director a noted director within the New York Independent Film scene: Black Like The Night (1947), The Juiciest (1948), Nothing Orange About The Juice (1950). In 1951, Lester and Paul had a falling out, which briefly brought upon an end to their working relationship, but within four months, the pair had teamed up for yet another film, Don't Squeeze The Juice (1952).
1954 brought the sixth collaboration, Juice Jones, Not Sambo. On the set of Lester's newest film, Juice of All Trades, he met an attractive young lady named Dee Montgomery, who promptly was swept off her feet by the "charming man with the 'delipcious kissable puckers'". Theirs was a swift courtship, with 'Deedie" moving with with Lester a few months later, followed by a wedding in Boston by August.
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