Thomas William Lester (September 23, 1938 – April 20, 2020) was an American actor and
evangelist. He was best known for his role as farmhand
Eb Dawson on the television show ''
Green Acres
''Green Acres'' is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to '' Petticoat Junction'', the series was first broad ...
''. He appeared in two feature animal films, ''
Gordy
''Gordy'' is a 1994 American family comedy-drama film directed by Mark Lewis, about a livestock piglet named Gordy who searches for his missing family (who are taken away to a slaughterhouse in Omaha, Nebraska). He experiences the lives of other ...
'' and ''
Benji
Benji is a fictional character created by Joe Camp. He has been the focus of several movies from 1974 through the 2000s. It is also the title of the first film in the ''Benji'' franchise.
Benji is a small, lovable mixed-breed dog with an un ...
''.
Early life and education
Lester was born in
Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city in and the second county seat of Jones County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 17,161. It is located northeast of Ellisville, the first county seat, which contains the first coun ...
, one of two children (both sons) of Pat Lester (1913–2009), an accountant with
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...
, and Mary Sue (Thornton) Lester (1914–2009), a manager with
Home Interiors and Gifts
Home Interiors and Gifts was a direct sales company specializing in decorating accessories, which were sold by more than 140,000 representatives through home parties in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Highland Capital Managem ...
.
In 1948, he became a
born-again Christian
Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...
, and became involved in the
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...
church. At that time he said he thought the Lord's plan for his life would deliver him to
Hollywood, California
Hollywood is a neighborhood in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a metonymy, shorthand reference for the Cinema of the United States, U.S. film industry and the people associated with i ...
, to embark on an acting career. He discussed his plans and his dream of becoming an actor with his parents.
After he graduated from
Laurel High School, he attended the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...
, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity, and received a B.Sc. degree in chemistry and biology. He briefly attended graduate school at the
University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...
, but acting became his main interest.
After college he taught school in
Purcell, Oklahoma
Purcell is a city in and the county seat of McClain County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,651.
Founded in 1887, Purcell was a railroad town named after Edward B. Purcell, who was an official with the ...
, but he left for Los Angeles. In his early 20s he attended the First Baptist Church of
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
.
"Eb Dawson" role
After moving to Hollywood, Lester met radio and character actress
Lurene Tuttle
Lurene Tuttle (August 29, 1907 – May 28, 1986) was an American actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatile a ...
, who became his friend and acting coach. She suggested he begin work in the Little Theater, which he did, acting in showcases at the North Hollywood Playhouse.
In the early 1960s, Lester appeared in a play with
CBS producer
Paul Henning
Paul William Henning (September 16, 1911 – March 25, 2005) was an American TV producer and screenwriter. Most famous for creating the television sitcom ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', he was also crucial in developing the "rural" comedies ''Pett ...
's daughter
Linda Kaye Henning
Linda Kaye Henning is an American actress and singer most notable for starring in the 1960s sitcom ''Petticoat Junction''.
Career
Henning began to focus on acting in her late teens. Her career began in 1953. Her earliest acting roles include ' ...
(Betty Jo Bradley of ''
Petticoat Junction
''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and B ...
''), and Lester soon found himself auditioning for the role of
Eb Dawson, farmhand to
Oliver Wendell Douglas
Oliver Wendell Douglas was the main character in the 1960s CBS situation comedy ''Green Acres''. Portrayed by Hollywood veteran Eddie Albert, Oliver Wendell Douglas was a New York City attorney acting out his long-harbored dream of moving to the ...
(played by
Eddie Albert
Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...
) on ''
Green Acres
''Green Acres'' is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to '' Petticoat Junction'', the series was first broad ...
''. Lester beat around 400 other actors to play the character after a screen test.
Lester later said he won the role because he was the only actor who auditioned who knew how to milk a cow since he grew up on a farm in Mississippi. His recurring role soon became a regular character due to the character's and the show's popularity, which made Lester a household name.
As several ''Green Acres'' characters also appeared in episodes of two other CBS series – ''Petticoat Junction'' and ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' – Lester, as Eb Dawson, also occasionally appeared on those shows. Even during the height of ''Green Acres popularity, Lester lived modestly in a small apartment over a garage in the
San Fernando Valley. Each year during the show's summer hiatus he would travel the country and speak at churches, youth rallies and revival meetings and at one time worked for the Reverend
Billy Graham
William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
's organization.
Lester appeared in nearly every ''Green Acres'' episode between 1965 and 1971, with the exception of the first half of the 1967–68 season when he was ill with
mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...
. The show's explanation for Eb's absence was that he had eloped and was on his honeymoon. After six seasons, ''Green Acres'' was cancelled in 1971 as part of CBS's "
rural purge
The "rural purge" of American television networks (in particular CBS) was a series of cancellations in the early 1970s of still-popular rural-themed shows with demographically skewed audiences, the majority of which occurred at the end of the ...
".
Career after ''Green Acres''
After ''Green Acres'', Lester was
typecast
In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...
as Eb Dawson. In 1990, he reunited with Albert and
Eva Gabor
Eva Gabor ( ; February 11, 1919 – July 4, 1995) was a Hungarian-American actress, businesswoman, singer, and socialite. She voiced Duchess and Miss Bianca in the animated Disney Classics, ''The Aristocats'' (1970), '' The Rescuers'' (1977), ...
to reprise his role in ''
Return to Green Acres''.
He returned to his parents' home in Laurel, Mississippi, but continued to do an occasional movie or TV role. During the mid-1970s to early 1980s, his roles included guest spots in ''
Little House on the Prairie
The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...
'', ''
Marcus Welby, M.D.'', ''
Knight Rider
''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original '' Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series '' Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...
'' and ''
Love, American Style
''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...
''. In 1991 he played the adult
Pete Maravich
Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and raised i ...
in the film about the future basketball hall-of-famer's youth, ''
The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend''.
In 2004, he was the voice of the unseen DJ for KCOW radio station in the movie ''
Christmas Child'' (starring
William R. Moses and
Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman (born November 21, 1962) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist.
Chapman began his career in the late 1980s as a songwriter and performer of conte ...
). In 2014, he starred with
Ray Stevens
Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...
and
Victoria Jackson
Victoria Jackson (born August 2, 1959) is an American actress, comedian, and singer who was a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) from 1986 to 1992.
Early life
Jackson was born in Miami, Florida ...
in the comedy ''Campin' Buddies''.
Lester was a farmer and for many years had been a Christian speaker who traveled the nation, preaching a message of faith and obedience.
He still participated in autograph shows and fan forums, often dressed as Eb Dawson.
With the death of
Mary Grace Canfield
Mary Grace Canfield (September 3, 1924 – February 15, 2014) was an American theatre, film and television actress.
Early life and career
Mary Grace Canfield was born in Rochester, New York, the second child of Hildegard (née Jacobson) and ...
, who portrayed
Ralph Monroe
Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf").
The most common forms ...
, on February 15, 2014, Lester was the last surviving regular cast member of ''Green Acres.''
Friendship with Eddie Albert
Lester referred to Eddie Albert as his "surrogate father". The two guest-starred on ''
The Beverly Hillbillies
''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family ...
'', which featured Albert's good friend,
Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS ...
, for one episode. When ''Green Acres'' was canceled in 1971, Albert and Lester remained close friends and continued to stay in touch until Albert's death in 2005.
Both Albert and Lester attended Gabor's funeral in 1995. On May 26, 2005, Albert died of complications from Alzheimer's disease and Lester was the only surviving ''Green Acres'' star not to attend Albert's funeral.
Personal life and death
Lester was married for the only time in July 2007 at the age of 68. He and his wife Kaylie lived on the 250-acre family farm in
Vossburg, Mississippi
Vossburg is an unincorporated community in Jasper County, Mississippi, United States. Its ZIP code is 39366.
History
Vossburg is located on the Norfolk Southern Railway. The community was incorporated in 1900. The incorporation charter was repe ...
.
In 1997, Lester was the recipient of Mississippi's "Wildlife Farmer of the Year" award.
On April 20, 2020, Lester died from complications of
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
. He was 81. He was survived by his wife, Kaylie, and one brother.
Filmography
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Tom
1938 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American male actors
Actors from Jackson, Mississippi
American male film actors
American male television actors
Baptists from Mississippi
Baptists from Oklahoma
Neurological disease deaths in Tennessee
Deaths from Parkinson's disease
Male actors from Mississippi
People from Laurel, Mississippi
People from Purcell, Oklahoma
University of Mississippi alumni
University of Southern Mississippi alumni