Lester Vail

Lester Vail was an American actor, director, and radio producer whose career in theater, film, and radio began in the 1920s and lasted into the 1940s. Born in Denver, he first gained notice on the New York stage in the mid-1920s with the drama Caught, then spent the next decade in more than fifteen Broadway productions. His stage credits included Behold the Bridegroom, written and directed by George Kelly, and Are You Decent? In 1931 he paused his stage work to make eight films in a single year, almost all in starring or featured parts. He made his film debut in Beau Ideal (1931), the sequel to Beau Geste, and starred in Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) with Joan Crawford. Later he directed Broadway plays, including Chicken Every Sunday in 1945, and produced NBC radio programs such as Cyrano de Bergerac. He died in 1959.