Lester spent the past four months in the hospital, where sources say his health had been in a steady decline. (Instagram/ron_lester)
Actor Ron Lester, famous for playing the iconic role of Billy Bob in the 1999 football film,Varsity Blues, died on Friday evening from liver and kidney failure. His agent, Dave Bradley, confirmed the news to Entertainment Weekly. Lester was 45 years old.
The actor spent the past four months in the hospital, where sources told TMZ his health was in a “steady decline”. On Friday, the Good Burger star was moved from the ICU to hospice care in a Dallas hospital. According to EW, his breathing tubes were removed at that time.
Liver & kidneys are starting to heal, Came close to dying! With out my fiancé Jennifer Worland, I wouldn’t be alive!
As a young boy, Ron Lester struggled with obesity. In 2001, he weighed 508 pounds, and underwent gastric bypass surgery. Within two years of getting the procedure, he had lost a total of 349 pounds. After losing the weight, Lester told BodyBuilding.com,
The difference is that I am no longer the ‘funny fat guy’. I sold my ‘niche’ for my chance to live. … I would never trade the life I have now with… the endless opportunities I have in store for me, with my old life.
Last November, the Georgia native was hospitalized with liver issues. In January, he informed TMZ that he was also having complications with his heart.
Lester passed away at roughly 9pm central time. His fiancée, Jennifer Worland, was with him at the time.
