By Al Quartemont, Special to the Message
Dawson took time to speak with some of the students at the Martin Performing Arts Center after coming to campus to meet with the administration about preliminary plans for an academic film program.
[img_assist|nid=6414|title=Actor Tom Lester, Eb Dawson from TV comedy Green Acres, speaks to LC students about plans for an academic film program.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]“It’s sad to see how TV has changed,” Lester told the students. “Back then, there wasn’t a show that I couldn’t do. Now, there’s probably not a show that I could do.”
Lester makes it clear as soon as you meet him. The reason for his strong stance is his faith in Jesus Christ. That faith relationship began when Lester was 10 years old. Now 71, the only thing that has changed about that stance is that it is graced with more wisdom. Some of that wisdom he is sharing with colleges like LC in the hope, he said, that Hollywood might someday see its own “revival” and a return to wholesome programming that all age groups can enjoy.
“The industry doesn’t realize they’re missing out on billions of dollars because they won’t make family-friendly films,” Lester said. “It’s so important that we take a stand for what is right. God will honor that.”
Lester said he is living proof. Born a country kid in Mississippi, Lester said he knew God had put a call on his life for him to become an actor. Everyone doubted it. And why not? A tall, skinny guy with a Southern accent and no acting experience when he moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s, Lester knew no one in the industry, and no one knew him. Most of those he met told him to go back home.
But Lester pressed on. After connecting with radio legend Lurene Tuttle for acting lessons, he soon was cast in a community play that also featured the daughter of legendary writer Paul Henning.
Actor Tom Lester, better known as Eb Dawson from the 1960s hit TV comedy Green Acres, speaks to LC students recently after meeting with LC administration about preliminary plans for an academic film program.
Henning liked Lester’s country boy personality and told him he might have a part for him on the show he created, produced and wrote: “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Time passed without a call and Lester decided if something didn’t happen soon, he was heading back home.
Before that happened, however, Lester was playing the part of a wizard in another play, a play which this time featured Henning’s niece. A few days later, Lester received a call from Henning. He wanted the country boy to try out for a part in a new series he was writing, “Green Acres.” The perfect match, right? Not exactly.
Lester recalled that his reading for the part was a disaster. He knew it hadn’t gone well, but even so, when
Green Acres from page eightit was all done, he wanted to know if he got the part. It was that moment that captured his interviewers’ hearts.
“I was Eb in real life,” Lester said. “Only Eb would do that horrible and think he did really good. They asked me if I wanted to do a screen test that next Monday. I said, ‘Golly, would I?’ And they started writing “golly” into the show.”
One more point of detail. More than 400 others tried out for the part. But it was the too-tall, too-skinny kid with the country accent who got it.
Six years and 170 episodes of “Green Acres” later, Tom Lester was part of television history. As the lovable farm hand for Oliver and Lisa Douglas, played by Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor, Lester endeared himself to an audience that still remembers the show fondly today and continues to endear himself to a new audience through reruns and DVDs.
His life is simple once again. Lester lives in his boyhood town of Laurel in Mississippi with the woman he married when he was 68. He loves to hear from fans, he said, and even has his own website:www.gollymisterdouglas.com.
Lester will be the first to tell you being an actor was never what defined him. Being a Christian was and still is. A man passionate about the work of the Lord, Lester is unashamedly evangelistic as he talks with students, church groups and anyone else who comes within an earshot.
“He attests to the fact that there are no insignificant people, and that one does not have the right to do less than the best he can,” according to the website. “Tom says, ‘Each person has the opportunity to choose and make quality decisions that can change and affect our lives forever. … Tom says true success is becoming everything God has gifted you to become. He works toward accomplishing this each day with God’s help.”
Following “Green Acres,” Lester’s only major role came in the children’s movie, “Benji.” He had some other small parts here and there. And he turned down a number of potential projects because they did not reflect the moral code by which he lives. But you don’t get the sense Lester feels as though he has missed out on anything.
“When you’re saved, the Holy Spirit lives in you,” he said. “And where ever you are, you represent God. Let’s don’t disgrace God.”
It’s that message Lester hopes Hollywood and America might embrace again some day.