Jerry Lester

Jerry Lester (1910-1995) was a comedian who was a frequent guest on The Mike Douglas Show. He appeared on appeared on the July 22, 1966 broadcast co-hosted by the Muppets, joining Rowlf, Mike Douglas, and Buddy Greco for a song medley. He also did a bit with a Muppet robot, about the mechanical age. The skit ended with Lester trying to turn off the Muppet, but unplugging himself instead.

Lester began his career on stage, doing comedy in clubs and near the end of vaudeville, and performing on the radio on Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall (1941-1942). On television, he hosted Broadway Open House, the earliest late night show, from 1950 until 1951. Actual Broadway credits included substituting for Zero Mostel in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He made guest appearances on The Jackie Gleason Show, The Monkees, and Barnaby Jones, and played Pappy Yokum in a 1967 Li'l Abner sitcom pilot.