Adam Jeffries (born 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Lester Freeman on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

series '' True Colors'' (1990−92) and Jarvis Turrell Jr. on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's '' Thea'' (1993−94), both of which are sitcoms. Jeffries won two

Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

during his career.

Early life

Jeffries was born in

Tuskegee, Alabama Tuskegee () is a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. It was founded and laid out in 1833 by General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, and made the county seat that year. It was incorporated in 1843. ...

around 1976. He was raised in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. As a child, Jeffries performed in community theater and school productions. In the mid-1980s, he and his mother moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, embarking on an acting career.

Career

Jeffries first began acting in 1989 in the role of Eddie in the educational short film '' A Nightmare on Drug Street'', which was released on VHS as a teaching tool for schools. After appearing in several television series and television movies, Jeffries landed the role of Lester Freeman in the

sitcom '' True Colors'', a series about an interracial couple and their children from previous marriages. The creator of the show,

Michael J. Weithorn Michael J. Weithorn is an American writer, director, and producer whose works include the long-running sitcom ''The King of Queens''. Early life Weithorn was raised first in the Fresh Meadows neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens, ...

, stated

Dulé Hill Karim Dulé Hill (; born May 3, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as personal presidential aide and Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series ''The West Wing'', for whi ...

auditioned for the part, but Jeffries was chosen based on his sense of humor. John J. O'Connor, a reviewer for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', viewed Jeffries as charming in the role of Lester. He received two consecutive

for his work in the series. The series was canceled in 1992. The next year, he portrayed

Thea Vidale Thea R. Vidale (born November 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. Vidale is perhaps best known for her role as Thea Armstrong-Turrell in the ABC sitcom '' Thea'', which originally aired from 1993 until 1994. Vidale is noted as ...

's oldest son, box boy Jarvis Turrell, Jr., in the short-lived

series '' Thea''. Jeffries received his third Young Artist Award nomination, in the category of best ensemble alongside his television siblings. In 1995, he appeared in an episode of ''

The Client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...

'', another short-lived series that was based on the 1994 hit film. In it, Jeffries portrayed an expelled student who burned the American flag. Jeffries made guest appearances on ''

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers ...

'' and ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age story, coming-of-age situation comedy, comedy/Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol L. Black, Carol Black. It ran on American Broadcasting Company ...

'', and had a small role in ''

Ghost Dad ''Ghost Dad'' is a 1990 American fantasy comedy film directed by Sidney Poitier (in his final directorial effort) and starring Bill Cosby, in which a widower's spirit is able to communicate with his children after his death. It was critically pan ...

'' (1990), his only role in a feature film. After his appearance on ''The Client'', Jeffries took a five year hiatus from acting. In 2000, he had a role in the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'', and guest starred on sitcom ''

Just Shoot Me! ''Just Shoot Me!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 4, 1997, to November 26, 2003, with a total of 145 half-hour episodes spanning seven seasons. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive pr ...

''. His last acting role was in the 2003 television movie ''Newton''.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffries, Adam Place of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors 21st-century African-American people 1976 births