Lester Vail
{{short description|American actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lester Vail
| image = File:LesterVail.1932.BigTown.jpg
| caption = Vail in Big Town (1932)
| birth_date = {{birth date|1899|6|29}}
| birth_place = Denver, Colorado, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1959|11|28|1899|6|29}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| occupation = Actor
| spouse =
| yearsactive = 1919–1945
}}
Lester Vail (June 29, 1899 – November 28, 1959) was an American actor of the stage, screen, and radio from the 1920s through the 1940s. In addition to acting in all three mediums, Vail also saw success as director on the Broadway stage, as well also being a producer of radio programs.
Life and career
Born on June 29, 1899, in Denver, Colorado, Vail rose to prominence on the New York stage during the mid-1920s in the drama, Caught.{{cite web | url=http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=16385 | publisher=Internet Broadway Database | title=Lester Vail | accessdate= March 28, 2015| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128164054/http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=16385 | archivedate=January 28, 2013}} Over the next ten years he appeared in over fifteen plays on the Great White Way;{{cite web | url=http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=9920 | publisher=Internet Broadway Database | title=Caught | accessdate= March 28, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914183503/http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=9920 | archivedate=September 14, 2015}} his more notable plays being Behold the Bridegroom, which ran in 1927 and 1928, written and directed by George Kelly,{{cite web | url=http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=10527 | publisher=Internet Broadway Database | title=Behold the Bridegroom | accessdate= March 28, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716094332/http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=10527 | archivedate=July 16, 2014}} and 1934's Are You Decent?.{{cite web | url=http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=11864 | publisher=Internet Broadway Database | title=Are You Decent? | accessdate= March 28, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712085505/http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=11864 | archivedate=July 12, 2014}}
File:LesterVailRalphForbesInBeauIdeal.jpg
In 1931 he took a brief hiatus from the stage, focusing on performing in films. In the year he spent in Hollywood, Vail made eight films, with starring or featured roles in all but one of them. His film debut came in Beau Ideal, the 1931 sequel to the 1926 silent film, Beau Geste, starring alongside Frank McCormack and Ralph Forbes.{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4959 | title=Beau Ideal: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= January 26, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329191650/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4959 | archivedate= March 29, 2014}} Other notable films include starring roles in Dance, Fools, Dance (1931), with Joan Crawford;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4865 | title=Dance, Fools, Dance: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= January 26, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108222005/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4865 | archivedate= November 8, 2014}} Victor Schertzinger's The Woman Between, which co-starred Lili Damita;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4500 | title=The Woman Between: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= January 26, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402165413/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=4500 | archivedate= April 2, 2014}} and 1932's Big Town, directed by Arthur Hoerl.{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=6369 | title=Big Town: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= January 26, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402160348/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=6369 | archivedate= April 2, 2014}} Other films in which he had a featured role included Consolation Marriage (1931), starring Irene Dunne and Pat O'Brien;{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=3988 | title=Consolation Marriage: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= January 26, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329225912/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=3988 | archivedate= March 29, 2014}} and I Take This Woman, starring Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard.{{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=7741 | title=I Take This Woman: Detail View | publisher=American Film Institute | accessdate= January 26, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328172545/http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=7741 | archivedate= March 28, 2014}}
After his short stint in films, Vail returned to the stage in 1932. He took another break from the stage in 1935, not returning until the war years of 1941–45, at which point he changed hats, directing, rather than acting. His biggest Broadway success as a director, was his last play, 1945's Chicken Every Sunday, by Julius and Philip Epstein. Beginning in the mid-1930s he entered a new medium: radio. From the 30s through the start of the 1950s, he acted and produced in that arena. He produced several shows for NBC, including Cyrano de Bergerac as part of the Great Plays series.{{cite book | url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/557568538 | publisher=WorldCat | title=Great plays. Season 2, episode 21, Cyrano de Bergerac. Part 2 of 4 [Great plays. Season 2, episode 21], Cyrano de Bergerac. Part 4 of 4 | oclc=557568538 | accessdate=March 28, 2015}} Other shows he would produce for the Great Plays series included Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines,{{cite book | url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5820501 | publisher=WorldCat | title=Captain Jinks of the Horse marines | oclc=5820501 | accessdate=March 28, 2015}} William Tell,{{cite book | url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5820489 | publisher=WorldCat | title=William Tell | oclc=5820489 | accessdate=March 28, 2015}} and Elizabeth the Queen.{{cite book | url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5818941 | publisher=WorldCat | title=Elizabeth the Queen | oclc=5818941 | accessdate=March 28, 2015}} Vail would also be one of the directors of the radio serial, The Aldrich Family, which ran from 1939 to 1953.{{cite web | url=http://www.rusc.com/old-time-radio/Lester-Vail.aspx?t=2711 | title=Lester Vail | publisher=RUSC | accessdate=March 28, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329033023/http://www.rusc.com/old-time-radio/Lester-Vail.aspx?t=2711 | archivedate=March 29, 2015}}
Late in his career, Vail made several appearances on episodic television, including performances on Perry Mason, Father Knows Best and The Donna Reed Show.{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0883199/ | publisher=imdb.com | title=Lester Vail | accessdate=March 28, 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150117145445/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0883199/ | archivedate=January 17, 2015}} Vail died on November 28, 1959, in Los Angeles, California.
Filmography
(as per AFI's database){{cite web | url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/SearchResult.aspx?s=&TBL=PN&Type=CA&ID=98408 | publisher=American Film Institute | title=Lester Vail | accessdate=May 17, 2017}}
- Beau Ideal (1931) as Otis Madison
- Consolation Marriage (1931) as Aubrey
- Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) as Bob Townsend
- I Take This Woman (1931) as Herbert Forrest
- It's a Wise Child (1931) as Roger Baldwin
- Murder by the Clock (1931) as Thomas Hollander
- The Woman Between (1931) as Victor Whitcomb
- Big Town (1932) as James Wyley
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Lester Vail}}
- {{IMDb name|0883199}}
- {{IBDB name|16385}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vail, Lester}}
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male radio actors
Category:American radio producers
Category:American male stage actors
Category:American theatre directors