Ron Lester obit

Actor Ron Lester, Billy Bob from ‘Varsity Blues,’ Dead at 45

He was not on the list.

Actor Ron Lester, who portrayed Billy Bob in the 1999 football film Varsity Blues, died Friday at a Dallas hospital following liver and kidney failure. He was 45.

Lester “passed away peacefully” while surrounded by friends and family after being taken off life support around 8:30 p.m. CST, the actor’s agent wrote in a Facebook post, NBC News reports. The actor had spent the last four months in the Dallas hospital, where his condition continued to decline.

Lester was best known for playing heavyset offensive lineman in the film Varsity Blues alongside actors James Van Der Beek, Paul Walker, Scott Caan and Jon Voight. In addition to being the film’s resident party animal (“Puke and rally!”), Lester’s character is also remembered for his struggle with repetitive concussions, a fairly prescient subplot given what would happen in the NFL in the decade that followed. Two years later, Lester somewhat reprised the Billy Bob role, this time as “Reggie Ray,” in the teen movie spoof Not Another Teen Movie starring Chris Evans.

In the year between 1999 and 2001, Lester also landed roles on Freaks & Geeks (including the pilot episode), Popular and Sabrina the Teen Witch. In 2000, as Lester’s weight crested at over 500 pounds, the actor decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery; the actor flat-lined during the procedure, Lester once told Grantland.

“Did I throw away my career to be skinny? Yes,” Lester said of his 300-pound drop after recovering from the surgery. “I wouldn’t do [the surgery] again. I would much rather have died happy, rich and kept my status and gone out on top.”

Lester’s last major role was a one-episode appearance on CSI: NY in 2005.

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1997      Good Burger       Spatch Film debut

1999      Varsity Blues      Billy Bob, #69    

1999      Dill Scallion         Earl Langston    

2001      Not Another Teen Movie              Reggie Ray          Spoof of his role as Billy Bob in Varsity Blues

2002      The Greenskeeper           Styles   

2010      The Fat Boy Chronicles   Dr. Jeffords         Also co-Executive Producer

2015      Racing Legacy    Roger Hardwick                 Also Writer, Director and Executive Producer

2017      Bomb City           Coach Kaz            Filming, final role

Short films

Year       Title       Role       Notes

2001      Drum Solo                          

2013      I Think My Mom's Trying to Kill Me           Son        Also Associate Producer

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1999      Cousin Skeeter Kung Fu Dermatologist   Episode: "Kung Fu Dermatologist"

1999–2000          Freaks and Geeks             Seidleman           Episodes: "Pilot", "Looks and Books", and "Noshing and Moshing"

1999–2001          Popular                Michael 'Sugar Daddy' Bernardino            43 episodes

2001      Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996 TV series)         Wally     Episodes: "Really Big Season Opener" (uncredited) and "Humble Pie"

2005      The Karate Dog Edward Cage      TV movie

2005      CSI: NY Officer Murphy Episode: "Dancing with the Fishes"