He was born on October 11, 1944, in Troy, Atlanta. He was the youngest of five children, and the son of a Baptist minister.

Lamar appeared in many stage shows aside from "Godspell". He was in "Your Arms Too Short to Box With God" on Broadway in 1973. He also wrote and scored several musicals, such as "Thoughts", a musical about a black childhood in the South, and "Martin", which was about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1982, he became a dramatist-in-residence at Morehouse College in Atlanta. There, he founded the King Players theatre group.

Sadly, Lamar Alford died on Friday, April 4, 1991 at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta. His family would not disclose the cause of his death. He was 46 years old.