Jeff Lester (born May 4, 1955) is an American actor known for his

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

appearances. In 1996, Lester transitioned from acting to producing, writing and directing where he has created award-winning commercials and

short films A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

Career

Actor

Television

Lester played the lead role in '' Once a Hero'', as superhero Captain Justice and his alter-ego archeologist, Brad Steele. The show was widely promoted and critically acclaimed, but was a ratings failure, and was cancelled after only three episodes were broadcast (seven episodes were developed). Among his other performances, Lester played Raymond in a ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' episode called " The Note". In the episode, Lester played a masseur who gave

George Costanza George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic rel ...

a massage which makes George extremely uncomfortable and later becomes frantic that he may now be

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. Lester was also in ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

'' episodes, ''

Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that ran on ABC for seven seasons from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The series follows the misadventures of the Seaver family, including psychiatrist and fathe ...

'' and ''

Lou Grant Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Ed Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character ...

''.

Film

He appeared as an FBI Agent in '' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'', as well as '' The Little Drummer Girl'' and ''

In the Cold of the Night ''In the Cold of the Night'' is a 1990 American erotic thriller film produced and directed by Greek filmmaker Nico Mastorakis, who also wrote the screenplay with Fred C. Perry. It stars Jeff Lester, Adrianne Sachs, Marc Singer, Brian Thompson ...

''.

Directing

Since the start of the 1990s Lester has worked as an executive producer, writer and director for several commercials, stage productions and films. In 1996, Lester began his directing career with the program “Sundance Dailies” where he worked with

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

’s

Sundance Channel Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly known as Sundance Channel (United States). * Sundance Channel (Canada) * Sundance Channel (Netherlands) * Sundance Channel (Europe) Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV Sundance TV ...

. He then went on to create, write, produce and direct “The Shorts Show,” a series about filmmakers of short films, hosted by

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

winner,

Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born ...

. In 1997, Lester and his wife,

Susan Anton Susan Anton is an American actress and singer. Her debut film, " Goldengirl," earned her a Golden Globe nomination, leading to a contract with NBC for her variety show, "Presenting Susan Anton." Later, ABC signed her for the drama series " ...

, opened production company Big Picture Studios. Film work includes the short western ''The Last Real Cowboys'' (2000), the thriller '' Broken'' (2006), the short drama ''Mr. President'' (2007) and the short film ''Speed of Life'' (2008). ''The Last Real Cowboys'' (2000), starring

and

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

winner

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker, singer and songwriter. He received international attention after writing, directing and starring in the independent film, independent Drama (film and television), drama f ...

and actor

Mickey Jones Mickey Jones (June 10, 1941 – February 7, 2018) was an American musician and actor. He played drums with acts such as Trini Lopez and Bob Dylan, with whom he played on his 1966 world tour. He became a founding member of The First Edition ...

was Big Picture Studios’ debut film. Lester directed, produced and co-authored the story line with screenwriter Rudy Gaines. It premiered at the

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California in February annually, since 1986. The festival screens over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. ...

. It also went on to air at

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

and the Aspen Shortsfest. The film has won multiple awards at festivals including the New York's Shorts International Film Festival ("Best Comedy"), Telluride Mountain Film Festival ("Best Short Film") and

CineVegas CineVegas was a film festival held annually at the Palms Casino Resort in Paradise, Nevada, that ran from 1999 to 2009, typically in early June. CineVegas was originally held at Bally's. The first Festival featured “The Best of the Fests”, sh ...

Film Festival ("Best Short Film Cinematography”). ''Mr. President'' (2007) depicts a fictitious presidential debate between a Black senator and President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. The film premiered at the Los Angeles-based ELEVATE Film Festival (ELEVATE) where it won three awards including the audience award for best narrative film and the jury award for most elevating narrative. Lester also shared the honor of “Best Narrative Director” with Jason Roberts, director of the short ''10 Seconds to''. At the time of the premiere, ELEVATE was the largest single screen film festival event in the world and filmmakers were challenged to, “create works that inspire people and societies to break out of the limited thinking and prejudices that persistently divide mankind.” The festival was judged by Michel Shane, A. Kitman Ho and

Martha De Laurentiis Martha De Laurentiis ( and credited as such until 1995; July 10, 1954 – December 4, 2021) was an American film producer. De Laurentiis was known for producing films such as '' Breakdown'', '' U-571'', ''Hannibal'', and '' Red Dragon'' with her ...

. ''Speed of Life'' (2008) premiered at the 2008

Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival is held in Los Angeles in late February and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization. The organization ...

. The documentary was shown with four other short films as part of the “A Chance at Slamdance 2008” contest. The five films were chosen out of more than 115 submissions.

Awards

Lester has received several awards, including Telly Awards, Addy Awards and Summit Awards. His film ''The Last Real Cowboys'' (2000) won multiple awards including “Best Comedy” at the New York's Shorts International Film Festival, “Best Short Film” at the Telluride Mountain Film Festival and "Best Short Film Cinematography” at the

Film Festival. His film ''Mr. President'' (2007) also won multiple awards including the audience award for a narrative, the jury award for most elevating narrative and “Best Narrative Director” at the ELEVATE Film Festival. In 2014, Lester received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

Nomination for Vegas PBS program ''Frank Wildhorn & Friends'' (Arts/Entertainment – Program category) along with Myron Martin, Kevin Robinson, Adam McCarthy, Cade Cridland and Jessey Riley.

Partial filmography

*1984: '' The Little Drummer Girl'' - American *1986: '' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' - FBI Agent *1990: ''

'' - Scott Bruin *1990: ''

'' - Lance Jarvis -Season 1 Episode 21 "Old Friends" *1992: ''

'' - Lane Brody -Season 2 Episode 20 "The Big Spill"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Jeff 1955 births Living people American male television actors