Syracuse in focus (SIF)

Actor, director, writer Lawrence Hilton Jacobs spoke at Syracuse University on Wednesday.

Lawrence Hilton Jacobs, aka Cochise, aka Papa Joe, aka Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington, aka Larry FORD (friend of Richard Dubin) was the latest celebrity to participate in the Conversation on Race and Entertainment Media at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School.  During the more than 1 hour talk, Dubin and Jacobs reminisced about their days as actors in New York City, 70s sitcoms and blaxploitation flicks.

Jacobs has starred in film, television and on Broadway in his over 40-year career, from The Jacksons to Welcome Back Carter and Cooley High.

Both men dropped pearls of wisdom for the students.

“You have to have raw nerve. There is no easy road.” Jacobs said. “Acting is a business. It’s a craft, it’s work. ”

Dubin added that Hollywood is not a place where you go to apply for a job, but rather somewhere where you use entrepreneurial skills to create opportunity for yourself.

It’s hard to believe this series has been running for over a decade. The last Conversation I saw was with Chappelle Show Director Rusty Cundieff a few years ago.