{{Short description|American actor and evangelist (1938–2020)}} {{for|the American football coach|Tom Lester (American football)}} {{Infobox person | name = Tom Lester | image = Tom Lester.jpg | image_size = | caption = Lester in an undated photo | birth_name = Thomas William Lester | birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1938|9|23}} | birth_place = Laurel, Mississippi, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2020|04|20|1938|9|23}} | death_place = Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | occupation = {{hlist|Actor|evangelist}} | spouse = {{marriage|Kaylie Lester|2007}} | years_active = 1965–2014 | signature = TomLester.png }}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} '''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'' as well as crossover appearances on ''Petticoat Junction'', which was set near ''Green Acres<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' fictional town of Hooterville. He appeared in two feature animal films, ''Gordy'' and ''Benji''.
==Early life and education== Lester was born in Laurel, Mississippi, one of two children (both sons) of Pat Lester (1913–2009), an accountant with Gulf Oil, and Mary Sue (Thornton) Lester (1914–2009), a manager with Home Interiors and Gifts.<ref>[https://www.memorychapellaurel.com/m/obituaries/Thomas-William-Lester/Memories Obituary], memorychapellaurel.com. Accessed June 6, 2024.</ref>
In 1948, he became a born-again Christian, and became involved in the Baptist church.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cfgSFGcC_n0C&q=billy+graham+tom+lester&pg=PA99|title=A Book of Prayers: To the Heavens From the Stars|first=Chuck|last=Spinner|date=11 January 2008|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4670-8337-9|accessdate=June 8, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref> At that time he said he thought the Lord's plan for his life 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.<ref name="americanprofile.com">{{cite web|url=http://americanprofile.com/articles/sharing-his-faith|title='Green Acres' Star Tom Lester|date=March 5, 2007|website=Americanprofile.com|accessdate=June 8, 2018}}</ref>
After he graduated from Laurel High School, he attended the University of Mississippi, 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, but acting became his main interest.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} After college he taught school in Purcell, Oklahoma, but he left for Los Angeles. In his early 20s he attended the First Baptist Church of Beverly Hills, California.<ref name="americanprofile.com"/>
=="Eb Dawson" role==
After moving to Hollywood, Lester met radio and character actress Lurene Tuttle, 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.<ref name="lester_start">{{cite web |title=There's a surprising link between Green Acres' Eb Dawson and The Andy Griffith Show's Barney Fife |url=https://www.metv.com/stories/theres-a-surprising-link-between-green-acres-eb-dawson-and-the-andy-griffith-shows-barney-fife |website=MeTV |accessdate=14 February 2020 |language=en}}</ref> In the early 1960s, Lester appeared in a play with CBS producer Paul Henning's daughter Linda Kaye Henning (Betty Jo Bradley of ''Petticoat Junction''), and Lester soon found himself auditioning for the role of Eb Dawson, farmhand to Oliver Wendell Douglas (played by Eddie Albert) on ''Green Acres''. Lester beat around 400 other actors to play the character after a screen test.<ref name="real_lester"/>
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.<ref name="real_lester" />
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's organization.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=348&dat=19690813&id=2LNMAAAAIBAJ&pg=7257,5498351| title=Actor Tom Lester Lives his religion| agency=United Press International| newspaper=Rome News-Tribune| page=29| accessdate=June 20, 2023| via=Google News}}</ref>
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. 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".<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.elliottwave.com/freeupdates/archives/2013/11/04/Television-s-Rural-Purge-Reflected-a-Change-in-Social-Mood.aspx#axzz2sIEVWzc0| title=Television's Rural Purge Reflected a Change in Social Mood| first=Bob| last=Stokes| date=November 4, 2013| website=Elliott Wave International| accessdate=June 20, 2023}}</ref>
==Career after ''Green Acres''== After ''Green Acres'', Lester was typecast as Eb Dawson. In 1990, he reunited with Albert and Eva Gabor to reprise his role in ''Return to Green Acres''.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.maggiore.net/greenacres/ga171.asp| title=Return To Green Acres| website=Maggiore.net| accessdate=June 8, 2018}}</ref>
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'', ''Marcus Welby, M.D.'', ''Knight Rider'' and ''Love, American Style''. In 1991, he played the adult Pete Maravich 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 radio station KCOW in the movie ''Christmas Child'' (starring William R. Moses and Steven Curtis Chapman). In 2014, he starred with Ray Stevens and Victoria Jackson in the comedy ''Campin' Buddies''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/04/tom-lester-dead/ |title=Tom Lester Dead: 'Green Acres' Actor Dies at 81 |website=Heavy |date=April 20, 2020 |first=S.M. |last=Walsh |access-date=April 20, 2020 }}</ref>
Lester was a farmer and for many years had been a Christian speaker who traveled the nation, preaching a message of faith and obedience.<ref name="americanprofile.com"/><ref>{{YouTube|_UKYsTQNIo8}}</ref> He still participated in autograph shows and fan forums, often dressed as Eb Dawson.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.maggiore.net/greenacres/current.asp| title=Green Acres Recent Encounters| website=Maggiore.net| accessdate=June 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.impactads.com/view/full_story/22445359/article-My-Green-Acres-book-signing-in-Laurel| title=My Green Acres book signing in Laurel| website=Impactads.com| accessdate=June 8, 2018}}</ref>
With the death of Mary Grace Canfield, who portrayed Ralph Monroe, on February 15, 2014, Lester was the last surviving regular cast member of ''Green Acres.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maggiore.net/greenacres/gacast.asp|title=The People of Hooterville|website=Maggiore.net|accessdate=June 8, 2018}}</ref><ref name="real_lester">{{cite web| title=Even at the height of Green Acres fame, Tom Lester lived above a garage| url=https://metv.com/stories/even-at-the-height-of-green-acres-fame-tom-lester-lived-above-a-garage| website=MeTV| accessdate=February 14, 2020| language=en}}</ref>
==Friendship with Eddie Albert== Lester referred to Eddie Albert as his "surrogate father". The two guest-starred on ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', which featured Albert's good friend, Buddy Ebsen, 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.<ref name="kxrb.com"/> They both 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 who did not attend the funeral.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.retrostarz.com/green_acres_tv_show_then_and_now_showid-40.aspx.aspx| title=Cast of Green Acres| website=RetroStarz.com| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225354/http://www.retrostarz.com/green_acres_tv_show_then_and_now_showid-40.aspx.aspx| archive-date=3 March 2016| access-date=}}</ref>
==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.<ref name="kxrb.com">{{cite web| url=https://kxrb.com/what-ever-happened-to-eb-from-green-acres| title=Whatever Happened To Eb from 'Green Acres'| website=KXRB News| first=Mark| last=Tassler| date=August 19, 2015| accessdate=June 20, 2023}}</ref>
In 1997, Lester was the recipient of Mississippi's "Wildlife Farmer of the Year" award.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.connectionmagazine.org/2002_09/ts_promised_land.htm|title=From TV Land to The Promised Land| magazine=Connection Magazine| first=Brian| last=Israel| date=September 2002| accessdate=June 20, 2023}}</ref>
On April 20, 2020, Lester died from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 81. He was survived by his wife, Kaylie, and one brother.<ref>{{cite news |last=Shafer|first=Ellise |title='Green Acres' Actor Tom Lester Dies at 81 |url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/tom-lester-dead-dies-green-acres-eb-1234585075/ |accessdate=April 20, 2020 |magazine=Variety |date=April 20, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Tom Lester, the Wide-Eyed Farmhand Eb Dawson on 'Green Acres,' Dies at 81 |first=Mike |last=Barnes |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tom-lester-dead-wide-eyed-farmhand-eb-dawson-green-acres-was-81-1290946 |date=April 20, 2020 |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=June 20, 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="death">{{cite news |title=Tom Lester, 'Green Acres' star, dies at 81 at Nashville home |url=https://www.wkrn.com/entertainment-news/tom-lester-green-acres-star-dies-at-81-at-nashville-home/ |accessdate=20 April 2020 |work=WKRN News |date=20 April 2020 |df=mdy}}</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1965–71|| ''Green Acres'' || Eb Dawson/Gus, Jr. || Main cast<br>150 episodes |- |1966–67|| ''Petticoat Junction'' || Eb Dawson || 6 episodes |- |1968|| ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' || Eb Dawson || 3 episodes |- |1974|| ''Love, American Style'' || Fleetus (from segment "Love and the Competitors") || 1 episode |- |1974|| ''Marcus Welby, M.D.'' || Will MacAllister || 1 episode |- |1974|| ''Benji'' || Riley || |- |1976|| ''Charo and the Sergeant'' || Sgt. Hank Palmer || TV movie |- |1981|| ''Little House on the Prairie'' || Mr. Wilder || Episode: "A Christmas They Never Forgot" |- |1982|| ''Knight Rider'' || Ted Moore || 1 episode |- |1987|| ''Santa Barbara'' || 2nd Deputy || 1 episode |- |1989|| ''Intruder'' || Officer Mathews || |- |1990|| ''Return to Green Acres'' || Eb Dawson || TV movie |- |1991|| ''The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend'' || Pete Maravich (Adult) || |- |1995|| ''Gordy'' || Cousin Jake || |- |2004|| ''Christmas Child'' || Radio Announcer || Voice |- |2008|| ''Huntin' Buddies'' || Tom || Also served as writer |- |2009|| ''Beyond the Forest'' || Mr. Alexander || Short |- |2014|| ''Campin' Buddies'' || Tom || Also served as producer<br>Final film role |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|name=Tom Lester|id=0504534}} * {{tcmdb name|id=112587|name=Tom Lester}} * {{Discogs artist|Tom Lester (2)}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Tom}} Category:1938 births Category:2020 deaths Category:20th-century American male actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:Baptists from Mississippi Category:Baptists from Oklahoma Category:Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Tennessee Category:Male actors from Mississippi Category:People from Laurel, Mississippi Category:People from Purcell, Oklahoma Category:University of Mississippi alumni Category:University of Southern Mississippi alumni