Lawrence Hilton Jacobs, also credited as Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, is an American actor and singer. Best known for playing Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington in Welcome Back Kotter (1975–79), he has also appeared in a number of films and television shows, including Claudine (1974), Cooley High (1975), Roots (1977), Bangers and Mash (1983), Alien Nation (1989–90), The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992), and 31 (2016).

Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, set during and after the era of slavery in the United States. The series first aired on ABC in January 1977 over eight consecutive nights.