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Famous Like Me > Actor > L > Mark Lester

Profile of Mark Lester on Famous Like Me

 
Name: Mark Lester  
   
Also Know As:
   
Date of Birth: 11th July 1958
   
Place of Birth: Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
   
Profession: Actor
 
 
From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
This article does not cite its references or sources. You can help Wikipedia by including appropriate citations.

Mark Lester (b. July 11, 1958) is an actor known for playing innocent looking English children in movies from the 1960s and 70s.

The son of actor and producer Michael Lester and actress Rita Lester, Mark attended Corona Stage School in London, England and had supporting roles in several British television series, including The Human Jungle and Danger Man. At the age of nine Lester was cast in Oliver! (1968). He played the lead in the multiple Oscar winning musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel, which co-starred Jack Wild. These two child actors later reunited for Melody (1970), which depicted British schoolchildren in love. Tracy Hyde played the role of Melody in the film, which was scored by music from the Bee Gees and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Lester received critical acclaim for his portrayal of a withdrawn only child in Run Wild, Run Free, starring opposite Sir John Mills. However, after starring in Black Beauty (1971), he found good roles harder to come by. Night Hair Child and Redneck were considered by many critics as innappropriate vehicles for the young actor. After making The Prince and the Pauper at the age of 18--which reunited Lester with Oliver Reed from Oliver!--he stopped acting and became an alcoholic and drug addict. Having exhausted his earnings, he later took his A Levels at the age of 28 and became a chiropractor. He married in 1993 but filed for divorce in 2004, with both sides accusing the other of destroying the marriage through excessive drinking and not putting forth effort.

Lester is a close, long-time friend of the troubled pop superstar Michael Jackson, and spent Christmas 2003 at the Neverland Ranch. While Lester was willing to testify in Jackson's defense at the trial, he was not called to do so. Lester has consistently supported his friend by phone and in interviews.

Lester should not be confused with film director Mark L. Lester.

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Mark Lester