Gen-u-wine country-boy Lester was born on September 23, 1938 in Jackson, Mississippi. He was brought up a devout Baptist on his "Granddaddy's farm," where he shucked corn, fished, hunted, and worked the fields picking cotton. He graduated from the University of Mississippi with a major in Chemistry, and taught science and biology at a school in Purcell, Oklahoma, before moving to Hollywood.

Lester has very fond memories of his days on Green Acres - despite being the butt of many practical jokes on the set, and being affectionately ribbed by the cast and crew about his intention to remain celibate until he married - and has thick scrapbooks full of mementos from the series (he's also saved Eb's plaid jacket and cap.)

On occasion, he speaks to youth groups and at religious gatherings about his faith. He's shared the stage three times with Billy Graham, and feels his fame from the show enables him to spread the word of God. Lester owns a 250-acre timber farm in Vossburg, Mississippi. In 1997, he was selected as Mississippi's Wildlife Farmer of the Year.