Willie Tyler (& Lester) - Black ventriloquist Willie Tyler performed funny routines with his smart-alecky black ventriloquist dummy named Lester on the comedy variety program ROWAN & MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN/NBC/1968-73. Lester was a hip, 42-inch dummy with a big afro hair style (since trimmed) who always dressed in super-cool fashions to attract the ladies.

When Willie Tyler was ten-years-old in the early 1940s he saw a magazine advertisement for a correspondence course teaching ventriloquism. He sent away for the information and began to practice throwing his voice with a doll discarded by his sister. His first real dummy was a Jerry Mahoney doll that he painted brown.

Lester got his name one day when Willie Tyler's brother came home and commented "there's a guy in study hall named Lester and he looks just like your dummy."

Willie used his talents to entertain his Air Force buddies while in the service and later toured with such Motown singers as the Supremes, and the Temptations in the 1960s.

He debuted on THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW in 1970 and then was picked as a regular on LAUGH-IN for 1972-73 seasons.

In the fall of 1981 Lester and Willie Tyler hosted a Saturday morning ABC WEEKEND SPECIAL anthology of popular short children's stories. He since has performed in Las Vegas.

TRIVIA NOTE: When buying clothes for Lester, Willie goes to the boy's clothing section at local department stores. (Ebony 10/81).