Terry Lester

Terry Lester began his acting career while in the Army, and upon completing his service, decided to move to Hollywood to pursue acting. He had no problem finding work with his acting, singing, and piano playing. After a few bit parts, he found a starring role on Ark II (1976), and was soon courted by The Young and the Restless (1973) to fill in for departing stars, but insisted he would only take a new role, which was finally offered to him as "Jack Abbott", a role which garnered him a long string of Daytime Emmy nominations. Although a perennial nominee, he was outspoken against the Academy and, unsurprisingly, never won a Daytime Emmy. He left Y&R for Santa Barbara (1984), to replace fellow actor and friend Lane Davies as "Mason Capwell". With that show in its twilight, Lester took some time off before moving to New York to take a role on As the World Turns (1956), where he was close with the head writers. As that show's writing team changed, his role decreased, and Lester left in frustration in 1994. Moving back to Hollywood, he made a few appearances on television, but spent most of his time either acting on stage or composing music for various media. In 2003, Terry Lester died at age 53, following two heart attacks.