Adolph Lestina

He received positive notice for his performance in Justin McCarthy's If I Were King and in Laurence Irving's The Fool Hath Said There Is No God.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=32dJAQAAMAAJ&q=lestina|title=The Index|date=1907|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XXBWeNWeVLAC&q=adolph+lestina&pg=PA301|title=Life|date=1908|publisher=Life}}

Lestina's performance in the play A Citizen's Home was noted as being "sympathetic".{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2-xDAQAAIAAJ&q=lestina|title=Theatre Magazine|date=1909|publisher=Theatre Magazine Company|language=en}}

Lestina was credited with "discovering" D. W. Griffith. "This gentleman saw to it that young Griffith played the role of Old Man Marks in The Lights o' London with the Meffert company [...] The gentleman who "discovered Griffith as an actor, Adolphe Lestina, later appeared in many D. W. Griffith film productions, including Hearts of the World (1918) and The Love Flower (1920)".{{cite news|title=Mr. Griffith's Films: Pioneer Director Has Taken to Dialogue In His Latest Picture|work=New York Times|date=24 Feb 1929|page=120}} Griffith, speaking of his time with the Meffert Stock Company, said that Lestina told him that to be a playwright, one first had to be an actor.{{cite news|author=Croy, Homer|title=Pictures: A Sad Ending For D.W.|work=Variety|location=Los Angeles|volume=225|issue=7|date=Jan 10, 1962|pages=18, 258}}

Adolph Lestina was married to Bessie Lee Lestina.{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Clipper|date=June 28, 1922|page=30}}

He died of heart disease in New Rochelle, New York on August 23, 1923.{{Cite news|date=1923-09-04|title=Adolph Lestina death article|pages=5|work=The Kansas City Star|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56492656/adolph-lestina-death-article/|access-date=2020-08-01}}{{Cite news|date=1923-09-10|title=Adolph Lestina death|pages=6|work=Santa Cruz Evening News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56492812/adolph-lestina-death/|access-date=2020-08-01}}{{Cite news|date=1923-09-02|title=Adolph Lestina death|pages=52|work=The Boston Globe|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56492914/adolph-lestina-death/|access-date=2020-08-01}}

• Children of the Ghetto (October 16, 1899 – December 1899){{cite news|title=Chit Chat|work=The Stage|location=London|issue= 976|date=Nov 30, 1899|pages=15–16}}
• The School for Scandal (January 31, 1902 – January 31, 1902)
• The Eternal City (November 17, 1902 – February 1903)
• Our American Cousin (January 27, 1908 – April 25, 1908){{cite news|title=Greater New York News|work=The Billboard|location=Cincinnati|volume=20|issue=5|date=Feb 1, 1908|pages=6, 58}}
• A Citizen's Home (October 1, 1909 – October 1909)

• On the Reef (1910) (Short) as The Priest
• The Cord of Life (1909) (Short)
• The Honor of His Family (1910) (Short) as Servant
• The Last Deal (1910) (Short) as At Card Game
• Winning Back His Love (1910) (Short) as A Waiter
• The Two Paths (1911) (Short) as The Tempter
• The Italian Barber (1911) (Short) as Buying Newspapers / At Ball
• His Trust: The Faithful Devotion and Self-Sacrifice of an Old Negro Servant (1911) (Short) as Black Servant / Confederate Soldier
• His Trust Fulfilled (1911) (Short) as Freed Slave
• Fate's Turning (1911) (Short) as The Minister
• A Wreath of Orange Blossoms (1911) (Short) as At Party
• Heart Beats of Long Ago (1911) (Short) as Courtier
• What Shall We Do with Our Old? (1911) (Short) as The Doctor
• The Lily of the Tenements (1911) (Short) as One of the Father's Friends
• A Decree of Destiny (1911) (Short) as The Doctor
• Conscience (1911) (Short) as Detective
• Through Darkened Vales (1911) (Short) as Oculist's Assistant
• The Miser's Heart (1911) (Short) as The Miser
• A Woman Scorned (1911) (Short) as The Sneak Thief
• The Failure (1911) (Short) as The Bank Manager / In Tavern
• A Terrible Discovery (1911) (Short) as A Thug / One of the District Attorney's Friends
• The Old Bookkeeper (1912) (Short) as In Office
• The Sunbeam (1912) (Short) as 1st Health Inspector
• A String of Pearls (1912) (Short) as The Doctor
• A Lodging for the Night (1912) (Short) as A Deputy
• The Narrow Road (1912) (Short) as The Bartender
• The Inner Circle (1912) (Short) as The Widower
• So Near, Yet So Far (1912) (Short) as In Club
• A Feud in the Kentucky Hills (1912) (Short) as Second Clan Member
• The Chief's Blanket (1912) (Short) as The Doctor
• The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) (Short) as The Bartender / On Street
• My Baby (1912) (Short) as At Table
• My Hero (1912) (Short) as Settler
• The Burglar's Dilemma (1912) (Short) as The Butler
• The God Within (1912) (Short) as In Other Town
• An Adventure in the Autumn Woods (1913) (Short) as At Trading Post
• Brothers (1913) (Short) as The Doctor
• A Chance Deception (1913) (Short) as The Visitor
• Love in an Apartment Hotel (1913) (Short) as The Young Woman's Father
• Fate (1913) (Short) as In Bar
• A Welcome Intruder (1913) (Short) as The Construction Boss
• The Lady and the Mouse (1913) (Short) as The Doctor
• A Timely Interception (1913) (Short) as Uncle James's Friend
• Red Hicks Defies the World (1913) (Short) as Second Creditor
• The Mothering Heart (1913) (Short) as The Doctor / Club Patron
• Her Mother's Oath (1913) (Short) as The Justice of the Peace / In Church
• The Coming of Angelo (1913) (Short) as Teresa's Father
• The Adopted Brother (1913) (Short) as The Sheriff – Outside Sheriff's Office
• Her Wedding Bell (1913) (Short) as Wedding Guest
• Fruits of Desire (1916) as Rev. Courtenay
• The Yellow Passport (1916) as Chief of Police
• Hearts of the World (1918) as The Grandfather
• The Hun Within (1918) as Beth's father{{cite news|title=Right off the Reel|work=Pictures and The Picturegoer|location= London|volume=17|issue=302|date=Nov 29, 1919|pages=635–636}}
• Battling Jane (1918) as Mr. Pollett
• The Greatest Thing in Life (1918) as Leo Peret{{cite news|title=Pictures: Premiere Showing|work=The Billboard|location=Cincinnati|volume=30|issue=52|date=Dec 28, 1918|page=50}}
• A Romance of Happy Valley (1919) as Vinegar Watkins
• The Girl Who Stayed at Home (1919) as Mr. France{{Cite news|date=1919-04-21|title=New Feminine Players Score at Liberty|pages=5|work=The Spokesman-Review|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56493250/new-feminine-players-score-at-liberty/|access-date=2020-08-01}}
• Scarlet Days (1919){{cite news|title=Scarlet Days|work=Variety|location=Los Angeles|volume=56|issue=12|date=Nov 14, 1919|page=58}} as Randolph's Friend
• The Idol Dancer (1920) as Black Slave{{cite news|title=Moving Pictures: The Idol Dancer|work=Variety|location=Los Angeles|volume=58|issue=5|date=Mar 26, 1920|page=51}}
• Mary Ellen Comes to Town (1920) as Col. Fairacres
• The Love Flower (1920) as Bevan's Old Servant
• Orphans of the Storm (1921){{cite news|title=Picturegoer's Guide|work=Pictures and The Picturegoer|location=London|volume=5|issue=26|date=Feb 1, 1923|pages=54–56, 58}} as doctor

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|name=Adolph Lestina|id=nm0504551}}
• {{IBDB name|id=68096|name=Adolph Lestina}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20200217045449/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9fa80dee Adolph Lestina] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
• [https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Adolph-Lestina/ Adolph Lestina] at Broadway World

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Category:1861 births

Category:1923 deaths

Category:American male silent film actors

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:American male stage actors