Willie Tyler is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 ventriloquist, comedian

Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

 and actor. Most of the time, he is credited as Willie Tyler and Lester or Willie Tyler & Lester. He has appeared in many television commercials, sitcoms, and movies. He got his first big break in 1972 on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...

.

Personal life

Tyler was born in Red Level

Red Level, Alabama

Red Level is a town in Covington County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 556. The small town is regionally well-known because of the home of Surgeon General Luther Terry who put the cancer warnings on cigarette packages....

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. He is the father of Tarince Tyler and actor Cory Tyler

Cory Tyler

Cory Tyler is an American actor and dancer. He is best known for his role as Terrence Taylor, the son of Col. Taylor on the sitcom A Different World. In 1989, he co-hosted the pilot episode of the former Nickelodeon series Wild & Crazy Kids with Matt Brown and Leslie Hibbard...

.

Appearances

Tyler has had guest roles in The Parent 'Hood

The Parent 'Hood

The Parent 'Hood is an American sitcom that aired on The WB airing from January 18, 1995 to July 25, 1999. The series starred Robert Townsend and Suzzanne Douglas....

, Pacific Blue

Pacific Blue (TV series)

Pacific Blue is an American crime drama series about a team of police officers with the Santa Monica Police Department who patrolled its beaches on bicycles. The show ran for five seasons on the USA Network, from March 2, 1996 to April 9, 2000, with a total of one hundred and one episodes...

, What's Happening Now!!

What's Happening Now!!

What's Happening Now!! is an American television sitcom spinoff of What's Happening!!. It ran in syndication from 1985 to 1988. Like the previous series, What's Happening Now!! is loosely based on the motion picture Cooley High...

, The White Shadow

The White Shadow

The White Shadow is an American drama television series that ran on the CBS network from November 27, 1978, to March 16, 1981.-Overview:...

 and The Jeffersons

The Jeffersons

The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...

, as well as serving as host of the popular Saturday morning children's anthology series The ABC Weekend Special throughout the early 1980s. He appeared in the 1978 movie Coming Home. He appeared as himself in the 2004 BET

Bet

Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...

 Comedy Awards, Frank McKlusky, C.I., For Da Love of Money, In the House, the 4th Annual Black Gold Awards, The 1st Annual Soul Train Music Awards

Soul Train Music Awards

The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual award show which previously aired in national television syndication, and honors the best in Black music and entertainment...

, Motown Returns to the Apollo, Lou Rawls Parade of Stars, Powerhouse

Powerhouse (TV series)

Powerhouse is a United States television series produced by the Educational Film Center at Northern Virginia ETV and aired on PBS for 16 episodes in 1982. It billed itself as "a 16-part series for young people and their families," with the target audience being primarily preteens and teenagers, and...

, The White Shadow, American Bandstand

American Bandstand

American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...

, Vegetable Soup

Vegetable Soup

Vegetable Soup is an American educational children's television program produced by the New York State Education Department that originally ran on PBS from September 22, 1975 to December 14, 1978.-Concept:...

, The Flip Wilson Show

The Flip Wilson Show

The Flip Wilson Show is a variety show that aired in the U.S. on NBC from September 17, 1970 to June 27, 1974. The show starred American comedian Flip Wilson; the program was one of the first American television programs starring a black person in the title role to become highly successful with a...

, and The Hollywood Palace

The Hollywood Palace

The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. It began as a mid-season replacement for the short-lived Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months...

. On September 18, 2006, Tyler was the first ventriloquist to appear on the Late Show with David Letterman

Late Show with David Letterman

Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...

s Ventriloquist Week.

Quotes

• "The reason lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place is that the same place isn't there the second time." - Willie Tyler

• "Read my lips." - Lester
• "I gotta see this" - Lester

External links

• Official website
• Willie Tyler at Richard De La Font Agency
• Willie Tyler at Funny Business Agency
• Willie Tyler on Tom Green Live