Ron Lester, a North Cobb High School graduate who went on to a career in movies and television, died Friday in Dallas, his agent said. He was 45.
A Kennesaw native, Lester was perhaps best known for his role as an offensive lineman in the 1999 movie “Varsity Blues.” He died of organ failure, said his agent, Dave Bradley.
Lester had been hospitalized since February for liver and kidney complications, and was removed from a ventilator, Bradley told The Associated Press.
To family and friends, Lester also was known for dramatic weight loss — and 17 plastic surgeries to remove excess skin after gastric bypass surgery in 2000.
At one point, Lester weighed over 500 pounds. In a 2008 article in People magazine, Lester said the tipping point for his size loss was when he was filming a television scene that required him to get into a limo, but he couldn't fit. The crew had to take out the front seat to make room for him. However, Lester's stomach still was so large that he got stuck behind the steering wheel. "I just broke down and started crying," Lester said in the article. "It was humiliating."
Down to 220 pounds in 2002, Lester began dating again, but the excess skin cost him a relationship, according to the People article. So Lester’s mother connected him with Atlanta-based plastic surgeon Keith Jeffords. “Under all that skin,” Jeffords told People, “there was a good-looking guy!”
Lester's other movie credits included "Not Another Teen Movie" (2001) and "Good Burger" (1997). He also appeared in a 2005 episode of "CSI: NY," according to imdb.com.
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