Biography

Richard Lester is an author/historian and documentary producer who has appeared in a number of major motion pictures, including Silverado with Kevin Costner (Columbia), American Anthem (Columbia), Police Academy 5 (Warner Bros), White of the Eye (Paramount), Operation Nam (Fulvia-Rome) with Ethan Wayne, and in Corpse-Grinders 3 with John Martino (The Godfather). His film acting career began in 1970 in Berlin, Germany in the CBS TV Movie of the Week, Berlin Affair, starring Darren McGavin. Lester appeared in the climactic gunfight scene at Templehof Airport.

Lester is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).

In the 1980's, Lester worked as a documentary producer for WLRN-TV in Miami, Florida. He is the author of "Buford Pusser's Last Ride: Accident or Murder?" a True Detective magazine story depicted in the Bing Crosby production of Walking Tall: Final Chapter. As an executive producer, Lester has completed a number of documentary projects for Blue Heron International Pictures, including Courtney, Fuzzy Little People, Eyewitness To History, Bogart & Friends, The Cleansing, A Night With Johnny Duncan, Deliver Us From Evil, The Weatherwax Legacy, and Our Forever Friends, and Hollywood & Beyond.

Lester also produced a short horror feature titled Henry Blackhart is Dead, as well as a project for the Producers Guild of America titled The Hit, starring John Martino. In June, 2011, his animal documentary, The Weatherwax Legacy, earned an Honorable Mention from the Los Angeles Movie Awards.

More recently, he served as associate producer on the Spanish production of the comedy/horror spoof, The Corpse-Grinders 3 (Tyrannosaurus Productions, Barcelona).

Lester's current Holocaust documentary, Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo, had its world premiere in August 2009 at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California, where it won a Special Juror Award. It was also named Best Documentary by the Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood. The documentary was broadcast on Israeli television for nine consecutive years.

Lester holds a bachelors degree from The College of William & Mary, and a masters degree from the University of Southern Mississippi.
- IMDb mini biography by: Gary Lester