- Born
- Died
- Birth nameThomas William Lester
- Height6′ 4″ (1.93 m)
- Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Lester was brought up on his grandfather's farm, shucking corn, fishing, hunting, and picking cotton. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, majoring in Chemistry. He taught science and biology at a school in Purcell, Oklahoma, before moving to California. He divided his time between Southern California and Laurel, Mississippi. He spoke to youth groups and at religious gatherings about his faith, and shared the stage three times with Billy Graham. Lester died in 2020, aged 81. He was survived by his wife, his brother, two great-nieces, one great-great niece, and one great-great-nephew.- IMDb mini biography by: John Jameson
- SpouseKaylie Lester(July 20, 2007 - 2019) (divorced)
- ChildrenNo Children
- ParentsPat William LesterMary Sue Thornton Lester
- Towering height and menacing frame
- Gravelly voice
- Sarcastic world weary sense of humour
- Lester, along with Eddie Albert, Frank Cady, Mary Grace Canfield and Sid Melton, attended the funeral of Eva Gabor, when the actress passed away in 1995.
- Lester played the same character ("Eb Dawson") on three different series: The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Petticoat Junction (1963), and Green Acres (1965).
- Lester was a motivational speaker well into the 21st-century, maintaining an office and personal effects at his parents' home in Laurel, Mississippi. He also owned a 250-acre timber farm in nearby Vossburg in the same county. In 1997, he was named Mississippi's Wildlife Farmer of the Year.
- Lester's acting mentor and series' lead, Eddie Albert, died on May 26, 2005, at age 99. However, Lester was the only credited surviving actor not to attend Albert's funeral.
- He divorced his 1st wife Kaylie Lester in 2019 after 12 years of marriage and was engaged to be married to his girlfriend Jackie Peters at the time of his death. He died at Peters' house in Nashville Tennessee in 2020.
- I have a farm and I raise vegetables. I speak a good bit across the country. I have some investments. I stay busy.
- [after turning down a beer commercial, resulting in his agent dropping him] I couldn't go into a church and share my faith and be in a movie downtown that people in the church wouldn't see because of the subject matter or language.
- [about being told in Hollywood about his looks] They said, "You are too tall, too skinny, too ugly, you have a Southern accent and you don't look like Rock Hudson".
- If, with God's help, I wasn't living the Christian life, then me speaking across the country wouldn't have the effect that it has.
- [How he found his faith and values after Green Acres (1965)] I had all the fun of being on "Green Acres" and laughing every day and having a great time. I had all the fun of traveling across the country and meeting wonderful people in churches. God gets all the credit, and I get all the fun. What a great deal!
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