Lester Rawlins
Encyclopedia
Lester Rawlins was an American
stage
, screen
, and television
actor
.
Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania
, Rawlins appeared in off-Broadway
productions of Hamlet
, Macbeth
, Romeo and Juliet
, Richard III
, Winterset
, In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel
, and Nightride, for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance. His Broadway
credits included A Man for All Seasons
and Da
, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
and was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
.
On television, Rawlins had recurring roles on The Defenders, Kojak
, and Ryan's Hope
. His feature film
s included Diary of a Mad Housewife
and They Might Be Giants
. Rawlins was a regular on the CBS soap opera, The Edge of Night
for several years, where he played the role of wealthy Orin Hillyer.
Rawlins died of cardiac arrest
in New York City
in 1988.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, screen
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania
Sharon, Pennsylvania
Sharon is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, northwest of Pittsburgh. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
, Rawlins appeared in off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
productions of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, Winterset
Winterset (play)
Winterset is a play by Maxwell Anderson.A verse drama written largely in poetic form, the tragedy deals indirectly with the famous Sacco-Vanzetti case, in which two Italian immigrants with radical political beliefs were executed...
, In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel
In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel
- Synopsis :Mark is an alcoholic painter on the verge of a nervous breakdown who is trying to boost his sagging career by developing a new style in his Tokyo hotel room...
, and Nightride, for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance. His Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
credits included A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.It was...
and Da
Da (play)
Da is a 1978 comedy play by Irish playwright Hugh Leonard.NOTE: Performed by the Queensland Theatre Company in Brisbane Australia in 1975....
, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. The award has been presented since 1949.-1950s:* 1951: Eli Wallach – The Rose Tattoo* 1952: John Cromwell – Point of No Return...
and was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
.
On television, Rawlins had recurring roles on The Defenders, Kojak
Kojak
Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
, and Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
. His feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s included Diary of a Mad Housewife
Diary of a Mad Housewife
Diary of a Mad Housewife is a 1967 novel that was adapted into 1970 drama film about a frustrated wife, portrayed by Carrie Snodgress, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe award in the same category. The film was adapted by Eleanor Perry from the 1967...
and They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants (film)
They Might Be Giants is a 1971 film based on the play of the same name starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward. Occasionally cited mistakenly as a Broadway play, it never in fact opened in the USA...
. Rawlins was a regular on the CBS soap opera, The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
for several years, where he played the role of wealthy Orin Hillyer.
Rawlins died of cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1988.