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Seth Lesser (3 January 1903 to 29 October 1939) was an American actor, singer and vaudeville performer, best known as the leader of the comedy/singing trio Lesser People, with younger twin brothers William Lesser and Louie Lesser. Although the group was known for its good delivery of slapstick routines, it was Seth’s characteristic tenor voice and comedy skits that were the hallmarks of the trio’s success.
Seth Lesser was born in Darby, Pennsylvania to parents who settled down in the area several years before the Lesser children were born. The oldest of the three, Seth began rubbing off his knack in singing and impersonation to William and Louise when they were little. When Seth Lesser turned 17 and his younger brothers turned 15, they began performing in vaudeville houses in Pennsylvania. They found themselves performing in Hollywood a few years afterward.
Between the years 1925 to 1934, the Lesser brothers had appeared in numerous minor feature films produced by Fox Studios and MGM. They finally landed their first major break with Warner Brothers’ production The Lesser People of Newville, a film released in 1935.
Seth Lesser short life and career ended on Christmas Eve of 1939 when he suffered a heart attack. He died at the age of 36, leaving the movie “King of the Nuts” unfinished.
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Abolitionist Seth Lesser was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 18, 1837. Seth was an abolitionist through and through although he was born a Southerner.
Lesser was the oldest son of tobacco plantation and slave owner, Justin Lesser, and Illinois-born intellectual Sally Bell who was influential in forming Seth’s strong anti-slavery opinions. Mr Lesser grew up despising the very system that had given the Lesser family the power and influence to thrive in Louisiana.
Seth Lesser, gifted with intellect, strong character, and good moral judgment, recognized immediately the conflict that may ensue between him and his father who strongly objected of his anti-slavery sentiments. Thus, when Seth turned 17, he requested for an appointment at West Point Academy and enrolled in 1856.
The following years saw Seth Lesser’s growing tendency to support abolitionism. By the end of his studies at the Academy, Mr Lesser already became an ardent advocate of emancipating the slaves in the South. He thus served the Union Army during the Civil War as lieutenant in the Mississippi River Squadron. Under the command of Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote, Seth Lesser helped in subduing Fort Henry in Western Tennessee in preparation for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Gran invasion. He continued to serve the Union Army until the end of the Civil War in 1865. Several years following the end of the war, Lesser published his own anti-slavery novel, “Witnessing Oppression”.
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