Bruce Lester
| Bruce Lester | |
|---|---|
Bruce Lester in Above Suspicion (1943)
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| Born |
Bruce Somerset Lister 6 June 1912 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Died | 13 June 2008 (aged 96) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Westwood Memorial Park |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1934–1958 |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Lester |
Bruce Lester (6 June 1912 – 13 June 2008) was a South African-born English film actor with over 60 screen appearances to his credit between 1934 and his retirement from acting in 1958. Lester's career divided into two distinct periods. Between 1934 and 1938, billed as Bruce Lister, he appeared in upwards of 20 British films, mostly of the cheaply shot and quickly forgotten quota quickie variety. He then moved to the U.S., where he changed his surname to Lester, and found himself for a time appearing in some of the biggest prestige productions of their day, alongside stars such as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn. Lester himself never achieved star-billing, but was said to have remarked that this at least meant that if a film was a flop, no blame ever fell on his shoulders.
Born in Johannesburg to English parents, Lester was educated at Brighton College in Sussex. He dabbled in amateur dramatics, but also showed potential as an exceptionally talented tennis player, and was considering trying to make a living from the sport until friends convinced him that acting offered far greater earning potential.
After spending some time as a stage actor, Lester obtained his first minor film role in the 1934 quota quickie The Girl in the Flat. His performance was noticed and a good career opportunity presented itself straight away when he was offered the male romantic lead in To Be a Lady, opposite Chili Bouchier, one of Britain's top female stars of the time. Far from a quota quickie, this was a quality production with a generous budget, but failed to perform as well as expected at the box-office. This was followed by another romantic lead, this time with Valerie Hobson, in Badger's Green, a film in which cricket played a major part and which was praised for its "Englishness". Both of these films are believed lost, but are deemed of great interest by the British Film Institute and are both included on its "75 Most Wanted" list of missing British feature films.
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