Lester Wilson; Choreographer for Stage, Screen

Lester Wilson, a dancer and choreographer whose mentors included Bob Fosse and Josephine Baker and whose credits ranged from the musical “Pal Joey” to the recent film “Sister Act,” died Sunday in Los Angeles. A family spokesman said he was 51 and died of a heart attack.

His career ranged from stage to motion pictures. His best-known film credit was probably “Saturday Night Fever,” the 1977 picture for which Wilson coached John Travolta in the gyrations and dramatic dance steps that made him a star. On stage he performed opposite Linda Hopkins and choreographed the 1975 Broadway musical “Me and Bessie.”

Just a week ago he had directed a tribute to Peter Allen that benefited the Shanti Project, an AIDS support organization.

Wilson, who attended the Juilliard School on a scholarship he obtained through Martha Graham, was discovered by Fosse while performing in a New York club. Fosse cast him in a 1963 revival of “Pal Joey” at (New York) City Center and it was there that Miss Baker saw him. When he was in London touring with Sammy Davis Jr. in “Golden Boy,” Miss Baker encouraged him to work in Paris, where he appeared in “Young Americans,” a musical starring Liza Minnelli and Johnny Halliday.

He performed at the 1968 Olympic Arts Festival in Munich and was the first American to receive the German equivalent of an Emmy award. In 1991 he was nominated for an American Emmy for the choreography in the ABC special “America’s Dance Honors.”

Over the years he provided choreography for Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Davis, Minnelli, Gladys Knight, Billy Crystal and many other stars. He designed many of the dances Ann-Margret used in her Las Vegas spectaculars.

His survivors include his mother, Anna Wilhelmenia Bosly, a sister, Julie Anderson, and a niece and nephew.

Services are scheduled Friday at 3 p.m. at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Hollywood Hills.