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Mark Lester

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For the film director, see Mark L. Lester.

Mark Lester
Lester in 1977
Born
Mark A. Letzer

(1958-07-11) 11 July 1958 (age 66)
Oxford, England
Occupation(s)Child actor, musician
Years active1964–1977, 2015-present
Spouse(s)Jane (1993–2005, divorced)
Lisa (2006–present)
Children4

Mark Lester (born Mark A. Letzer;[1] 11 July 1958) is an English former child star and actor known for playing the title role in the 1968 musical film version of Oliver! and starring in a number of other British and European films of the 1960s and 1970s and in a number of television series.

Early life

Lester was born in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire in southern England, to actress Rita Keene Lester and actor and producer Michael Lester (originally Michael Boris Letzer).[2] His father was Jewish and his mother Anglican.[2]

Lester was educated at three independent schools: at Corona Theatre School in Ravenscourt Park in West London, followed by Tower House School, a boys' preparatory school near Richmond Park (also in West London), and at Halliford School in Shepperton in Surrey.

Career as child actor

Lester initially had supporting roles in several British television series, including The Human Jungle and Danger Man.

In 1964, at the age of six, Lester was cast in Robert Dhéry's film Allez France! (English title The Counterfeit Constable) with Diana Dors (who appeared in the 1948 film version of Oliver Twist). He played a small part as the second schoolboy in Fahrenheit 451.

In 1967, at the age of eight,[3] Lester was cast in the title role in the film version of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver!. The multiple Academy Award-winning adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel co-starred Jack Wild, Ron Moody, Harry Secombe, Shani Wallis and Oliver Reed and was directed by Sir Carol Reed. Since Lester could not sing, all of his singing in the movie was dubbed by Kathe Green, daughter of the film's music arranger Johnny Green.[4] Lester was good friends with Wild throughout the making of the film and their friendship continued after production, with Lester describing Wild as a "long lost brother". When Wild was nominated for an Academy Award for the film, they were flown together to the United States for the ceremony.[citation needed]

These two child actors later reunited for Melody (1971), which depicted British schoolchildren in love. Tracy Hyde played the role of Melody in the film, which used music from the Bee Gees and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

In 1969, Lester received critical acclaim for his portrayal of a dysfunctional and withdrawn only child in Run Wild, Run Free, starring opposite John Mills, and then as a disturbed child in the first regular episode of Then Came Bronson. Lester's acting roles peaked as he starred in Eyewitness (1970), with Susan George, Night Hair Child with Britt Ekland, Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?, with Shelley Winters, Melody and a film version of Black Beauty (all 1971). After this period, his acting roles in the UK would begin to wane as he found good roles harder to come by. He extended his range with roles in a series of films in Italy including Redneck (1972) with Telly Savalas and the Western Scalawag (1973) with Kirk Douglas. The final film of his Italian-based career was in the costume drama La Prima volta sull'erba (English title The First Time on the Grass, 1974), which was nominated for the Golden Bear prize at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival.

Lester wrapped up his British film career with the lead role in the all-star film Crossed Swords aka The Prince and the Pauper (1977), starring Raquel Welch, Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison, George C. Scott, and Oliver Reed, who had played Bill Sikes in Oliver!.

Adult life

After the poor reception of Crossed Swords Lester gave up acting at the age of 19. He took his A Levels at the age of 28 and became an osteopath, studying at the British School of Osteopathy. In 1993, Lester opened the Carlton Clinic, an acupuncture clinic in Cheltenham.[5][6]

Lester has four children with his first wife, whom he married in January 1993 and divorced in 2005. In 2006 married Lisa, a psychiatric nurse.

He is a patron of the theatre charity The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America.

Lester was a close friend of Michael Jackson and is godfather to Jackson's three children. In August 2009, after Jackson's death, Lester gave an interview to the British tabloid newspaper News of the World in which he claimed that he could be the biological father of Paris Katherine Jackson, the late singer's daughter. Lester claimed to have been a sperm donor for Jackson in 1996, and announced that he was willing to take a paternity test to determine whether he was the father.[7] Brian Oxman, former lawyer for the Jackson family, rejected the claim in a television interview, stating, “The thing I always heard from Michael was that Michael was the father of these children, and I believe Michael."[8]

Return to acting

Lester returned to acting in the 2015 film 1066, starring as King Harold II.[9] The film also contained the acting debut of his son Felix.[9]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1964 The Counterfeit Constable Gérald aka Allez France
1965 Spaceflight IC-1: An Adventure in Space Don Saunders
1966 Fahrenheit 451 schoolboy (uncredited)
1967 Our Mother's House Jiminee
1968 Oliver! Oliver Twist
1969 Run Wild, Run Free Philip Ransome
1970 The Boy Who Stole the Elephant Davey (TV movie)
1970 Eyewitness Ziggy
1971 Melody (released as S.W.A.L.K.) Daniel Latimer
1971 Black Beauty Joe Evans
1971 Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? Christopher Coombs
1972 Night Hair Child Marcus
1973 Redneck Lennox Duncan
1973 Little Adventurer Mike Richard
1973 Scalawag Jamie
1975 The First Time on the Grass Franz Schmidt aka La prima volta sull'erba
1977 Crossed Swords Prince Edward/Tom Canty
TBA 1066 King Harold II (pre-production)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1964 The Human Jungle Small boy TV series (1 episode The Twenty-Four Hour Man)
1966 Danger Man A boy TV series (1 episode Someone is Liable to Get Hurt)
1966 Court Martial Paolo Stevens TV series (1 episode Retreat from Life)
1969 Then Came Bronson John Beaman TV series (1 episode The Runner)
1969 The Ghost & Mrs. Muir Mark Helmore TV series (2 episodes Puppy Love and Spirit of the Law)
1970 Disneyland Davey (film in two parts)

References

  1. ^ BFI | Film & TV Database | LESTER, Mark
  2. ^ a b McNeill, Ruby Simonson (1982). Cain Connections. ISBN.
  3. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Oliver! (1968)". Screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  4. ^ ABC News: "Oliver Twist's voice dubbed by girl: report", 19 December 2004. Accessed 6 November 2013
  5. ^ "Carlton Clinic". Carlton Clinic. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  6. ^ http://www.mercurynews.com/celebrities/ci_13022554. Retrieved 8 August 2009. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)[dead link‍]
  7. ^ "Jackson friend claims paternity". BBC News. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  8. ^ "Michael Jackson lawyer rejects Mark Lester claims he is Paris' father". The Daily Telegraph. London. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Former child star Mark Lester brings son Felix along for his first role in 30 years". This Is Gloucestershire. 19 March 2013.

Bibliography

  • Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, pp. 323-324.
  • Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, pp. 130-131.

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