Actor Ron Lester, who played Billy Bob in Varsity Blues and appeared in the likes of Freaks & Geeks, Popular and Not Another Teen Movie, died on Friday in Dallas, Texas, after suffering liver and kidney failure. He was 45.
Lester had been in hospital for four months, and had kept fans updated about the state of his health before that. He was transferred from an intensive care unit to hospice care late in the day, passing away soon after.
In 2001, two years after Varsity Blues, Lester underwent gastric bypass surgery, losing almost 158 kilos. After this procedure, he underwent 18 different plastic surgeries, to remove excess skin.
Lester, who only acted sporadically in the last decade, would later tell Grantland that he regretted getting the procedures done, saying:
“Did I throw away my career to be skinny? Yes. 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 agent Dave Bradley told media that his fiancee Jennifer Worland was with him at the time of his death, and that “he was mediated enough to be able to go peacefully.””
Source: Entertainment Tonight.
Photo: Steve Granitz / Getty.
