Buddy Lester
| Buddy Lester | |
|---|---|
Buddy Lester in a 1944 advertisement
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| Born |
January 16, 1917 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | October 4, 2002 (aged 85) Van Nuys, California |
| Occupation | Comedian; film/TV actor |
| Years active | 1920s - 1980s |
Buddy Lester (January 16, 1917 – October 4, 2002) was an American comedian and actor who played dozens of character roles in films and television. Though probably best known for his appearances in Jerry Lewis's comedy films, he was also regularly seen on popular television shows (such as The New Phil Silvers Show and Barney Miller) in the 1960s and 1970s. As a comedian, he was a fixture on the international nightclub circuit for several decades and was the brother of comedian Jerry Lester.
William "Buddy" Lester was born Jan. 16, 1917 (some sources state 1916), in Chicago, Illinois. He began performing in variety shows in Chicago theaters at the age of seven, with his older brother Jerry, who later became host of Broadway Open House, the television forerunner of The Tonight Show. He claimed in interviews that an early booster was the notorious mobster Al Capone, who helped the underage entertainers get jobs in nightclubs. After serving in the Navy during World War II, Lester, already an established stand-up comedian, stage actor, and radio host, eventually began appearing in films and on TV, becoming a popular character actor. His first film role was playing himself, as a nightclub entertainer, in the 1959 movie The Gene Krupa Story, which starred Sal Mineo.
He regularly appeared in Jerry Lewis features, including The Patsy, The Ladies Man, The Nutty Professor, Three on a Couch, Cracking Up, Hardly Working and The Big Mouth.
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