Chester August Delacruz II was born on July 12, 1934, in Biloxi, Mississippi.

His parents were Chester Louis Delacruz of Violet, Louisiana, and Lettie Gloria Hendrix of Waynesboro, Mississippi, who met on the Mississippi Gulf Coast after their families moved to Biloxi and Gulfport, respectively.

Chester attended Biloxi Public Schools and was graduated from high school in 1951.  Following five years of study at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Art with a minor in Theatre while acquiring enough credits for an equivalent of a minor in Music:  piano and pipe-organ, 1957.

           An interest in Theatre began in high school when Chester was asked to paint backgrounds for stage productions.  This continued into college where, after being scenic artist for many Southern Players presentations, he designed the first all-campus musical theatre production of “Brigadoon.”  His interest in Theatre also found expression as an actor and later as a director when he received the Best Student Director award.  This interest carried him into community, opera, and dinner theatre productions in his hometown where he soon received awards for acting, directing and scenic design. 

            Chester's earliest employment was payroll clerk for his family’s seafood packing plant and then, upon graduation from university, art director for a local television station.

While pursuing an education as a scholarship Theatre student in the mid-1960s at H-B Studio in New York City, he was chosen to be Production Manager for the first Playwright’s Showcase.  It was during this period that he was cast as the “second banana” by Surflight Summer Theatre in Beach Haven, New Jersey, appearing in musicals such as “Camelot,” “Flower Drum Song,”  “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” and “A Funny Thing Happened…”  While in NYC he appeared off-off Broadway at the Bridge Theatre in “God Wants What Men Want,” featuring a young Bobby DeNiro.  During this time he designed program covers for the Amato Opera and a poster for the first Kennedy Era play “Hail to the Chief.”  This poster was accepted to the Kennedy Museum, Hyannisport; and he designed and/or painted sets at the Phil Gioconda, Renata, Mermaid, and Wurlitzer Hall Theatres.

Returning to the South, Chester was cast as an actor and worked as make-up artist for several productions at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre in New Orleans and was hired for the 1968-69 season to design/paint sets, design/construct costumes, and design/apply theatrical make-up, working with director Stocker Fontelieu. 

Also, Chester has appeared with, designed/painted sets, costumes, and make-up for:  Marietta Marich Productions and Country Playhouse in Houston, Texas; Gulf Coast Opera Theatre, Center Stage, KNS Theatre, First Day Theatre, and Riviera Productions, all in Biloxi; in Louisiana at Gallery Circle in New Orleans and the Shreveport Little Theatre, Shreveport Opera and Opera on Wheels, Shreveport Symphony Musical Theatre, Centenary College, and Shreveport Parks and Recreation Summer Youth Theatre; Mobile Opera Theatre Workshop and Joe Jefferson Players in Mobile, Alabama; Caribbean Community Theatre on St. Croix, Virgin Islands; and Bitburg AFB, Germany.

During the mid-1970s, while working as Art and Film Director for General Electric Cablevision in Biloxi, he won the Best Entertainment Cablevision Award, Southeastern Region, for creating the series “History of Black Music.”  It was during the late-1970s that Chester restored/repainted the Muehler frescoes in Beauvoir House, last home of Jefferson Davis. 

Among the organizations for which Chester has held office include Greater Gulf Coast Arts Council and Shreveport Regional Arts Council, Friends of the Saenger Theatre, Inc., Biloxi, Theatre Guild of Shreveport, the Mississippi Theatre Association for which Chester was president in the mid-1980s, and numerous theatre groups -- Biloxi Little Theatre, Gulfport Little Theatre, Center Stage, Gulf Coast Opera Theatre, KNS Theatre, Actors' Alliance (NYC).

The need for employment had found him as the Resident Artist for the City of Shreveport, Louisiana, Advertising Art Director for the Biloxi-Gulfport Sun Herald, and Art Director for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians enterprise First American Printing and Direct Mail in Ocean Springs prior to his retirement in 1998.

Chester has performed as a church organist and a pianist for restaurants and hotels.  His interest in acting has netted roles in two videos.  The first was “Walkin’ Gall,” an 88-minute video created by George Sewell and Dan Baldwin in Shreveport, 1980.  The following year the film was named best comedy in the Shreveport Cablevision Ace Awards and in the Baton Rouge Mardi Gras Film Festival; Chester's role  was Dutch Treat and Anna Holbrook, later a Daytime Emmy-award winning actress, was featured in one of the four other leading roles.  The second feature-length video, “Cremains,” 2001, saw Chester as a crematorium director.

At present Chester is single, having been married four times to three women (Linda, Sandra, and Altha) and fathered four children (Heather, Rachel, Christopher, and Allison) of whom three survive; and his eldest daughter has provided him with four grandchildren (Brittany, Raymond, Alicia, and Scott).  In late August of 2004, he moved to Gulf Breeze, Florida.

 
 
Text Box: Chester August Delacruz II was born on July 12, 1934, in Biloxi, Mississippi. His parents were Chester Louis Delacruz of Violet, Louisiana, and Lettie Gloria Hendrix of Waynesboro, Mississippi, who met on the Mississippi Gulf Coast after their families moved to Biloxi and Gulfport, respectively. Chester attended Biloxi Public Schools and was graduated from high school in 1951.  Following five years of study at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Art with a minor in Theatre while acquiring enough credits for an equivalent of a minor in Music:  piano and pipe-organ, 1957.            An interest in Theatre began in high school when Chester was asked to paint backgrounds for stage productions.  This continued into college where, after being scenic artist for many Southern Players presentations, he designed the first all-campus musical theatre production of “Brigadoon.”  His interest in Theatre also found expression as an actor and later as a director when he received the Best Student Director award.  This interest carried him into community, opera, and dinner theatre productions in his hometown where he soon received awards for acting, directing and scenic design.              Chester's earliest employment was payroll clerk for his family’s seafood packing plant and then, upon graduation from university, art director for a local television station. While pursuing an education as a scholarship Theatre student in the mid-1960s at H-B Studio in New York City, he was chosen to be Production Manager for the first Playwright’s Showcase.  It was during this period that he was cast as the “second banana” by Surflight Summer Theatre in Beach Haven, New Jersey, appearing in musicals such as “Camelot,” “Flower Drum Song,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” and “A Funny Thing Happened…”  While in NYC he appeared off-off Broadway at the Bridge Theatre in “God Wants What Men Want,” featuring a young Bobby DeNiro.  During this time he designed program covers for the Amato Opera and a poster for the first Kennedy Era play “Hail to the Chief.”  This poster was accepted to the Kennedy Museum, Hyannisport; and he designed and/or painted sets at the Phil Gioconda, Renata, Mermaid, and Wurlitzer Hall Theatres. Returning to the South, Chester was cast as an actor and worked as make-up artist for several productions at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre in New Orleans and was hired for the 1968-69 season to design/paint sets, design/construct costumes, and design/apply theatrical make-up, working with director Stocker Fontelieu.  Also, Chester has appeared with, designed/painted sets, costumes, and make-up for:  Marietta Marich Productions and Country Playhouse in Houston, Texas; Gulf Coast Opera Theatre, Center Stage, KNS Theatre, First Day Theatre, and Riviera Productions, all in Biloxi; in Louisiana at Gallery Circle in New Orleans and the Shreveport Little Theatre, Shreveport Opera and Opera on Wheels, Shreveport Symphony Musical Theatre, Centenary College, and Shreveport Parks and Recreation Summer Youth Theatre; Mobile Opera Theatre Workshop and Joe Jefferson Players in Mobile, Alabama; Caribbean Community Theatre on St. Croix, Virgin Islands; and Bitburg AFB, Germany. During the mid-1970s, while working as Art and Film Director for General Electric Cablevision in Biloxi, he won the Best Entertainment Cablevision Award, Southeastern Region, for creating the series “History of Black Music.”  It was during the late-1970s that Chester restored/repainted the Muehler frescoes in Beauvoir House, last home of Jefferson Davis.  Among the organizations for which Chester has held office include Greater Gulf Coast Arts Council and Shreveport Regional Arts Council, Friends of the Saenger Theatre, Inc., Biloxi, Theatre Guild of Shreveport, the Mississippi Theatre Association for which Chester was president in the mid-1980s, and numerous theatre groups -- Biloxi Little Theatre, Gulfport Little Theatre, Center Stage, Gulf Coast Opera Theatre, KNS Theatre, Actors' Alliance (NYC). The need for employment had found him as the Resident Artist for the City of Shreveport, Louisiana, Advertising Art Director for the Biloxi-Gulfport Sun Herald, and Art Director for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians enterprise First American Printing and Direct Mail in Ocean Springs prior to his retirement in 1998. Chester has performed as a church organist and a pianist for restaurants and hotels.  His interest in acting has netted roles in two videos.  The first was “Walkin’ Gall,” an 88-minute video created by George Sewell and Dan Baldwin in Shreveport, 1980.  The following year the film was named best comedy in the Shreveport Cablevision Ace Awards and in the Baton Rouge Mardi Gras Film Festival; Chester's role was Dutch Treat and Anna Holbrook, later a Daytime Emmy-award winning actress, was featured in one of the four other leading roles.  The second feature-length video, “Cremains,” 2001, saw Chester as a crematorium director. At present Chester is single, having been married four times to three women (Linda, Sandra, and Altha) and fathered four children (Heather, Rachel, Christopher, and Allison) of whom three survive; and his eldest daughter has provided him with four grandchildren (Brittany, Raymond, Alicia, and Scott).  In late August of 2004, he moved to Gulf Breeze, Florida.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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