Tom Lester
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas William "Tom" Lester (born September 23, 1938 in Jackson, Mississippi) is an American actor and purports to be an evangelist. The naturally brown-headed Lester may be best remembered for his role as Eddie Albert's and Eva Gabor's outrageous twenty-something farmhand, Eb Dawson, in the television series Green Acres, and appeared in the movie Gordy.
[edit] Biography
Lester was raised in Laurel, Mississippi. As a young boy in 1948, he became a Born-again Christian. At that time, he thought the Lord would deliver him to Hollywood, California to embark on an acting career.He discussed his plans and his dream of becoming an actor with his parents. His teenaged years were very lonely. A tall, lanky country boy who became the brunt of many skinny jokes,his few friends stated that he would fail at a acting career. He was too tall, too skinny, too unpopular, too ugly and he had a Southern accent. Though people continued to discourage him, he was determined not to stop dreaming. After he graduated from Laurel High School, he attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, where he received a B.A. degree in Chemistry and Biology. He also attended graduate school at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, but did not earn a degree.
During his college years, he was teasingly called "Tiger" because of his constant chasing after campus coeds. After college, he taught school in Purcell, Oklahoma for one season, but he left for Los Angeles, California in 1961 with meager finances, driving all the way there. In his early 20s, he attended the First Baptist Church of Beverly Hills, California and was rewarded with many Christian experiences that helped mold his commitment to the Lord.
After Green Acres, Lester was unable to find success in Hollywood, because he was completely typecasted with his character "Eb". He returned home to live with his mother and father in Laurel, Mississippi. On May 26, 2005, his "Green Acres" co-star and close friend Eddie Albert had died. He was the only Green Acres star not to attend his funeral. Albert had once said that Lester was his best and closest friend on the show, and had kept in touch with him until Albert died.
In July of 2007, Lester wed at the age of 68. He continues to reside with his mother and father in the family home where he grew up. His wife lives on the family farm in the neighboring town of Vossburg, Mississippi.
[edit] Career
In the early 1960s, Lester did a play with CBS producer Paul Henning's daughter Linda Kaye (Betty Jo of Petticoat Junction) in the 1960s, and soon found himself auditioning for the "Eb" role that audiences will best remember on Green Acres. Lester beat out 400 other young actors to play the character after a screen test. In 1990, he was reunited with Albert & Gabor to reprise his role in Return to Green Acres.
