
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 25, 1995                   TAG: 9503270007
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: MIAMI                                LENGTH: Short

'50S TELEVISION HOST JERRY LESTER DIES

Jerry Lester, a host of the early 1950s TV show ``Broadway Open House,'' the forerunner of the ``Tonight Show,'' died after a long illness. He was 85.

Lester died Thursday at a nursing home, said his widow, Alice. He had suffered from Alzheimer's disease for several years.

``Broadway Open House,'' a vaudeville-style mixture of music and jokes, ran for 15 months on NBC in 1950-51, becoming the first network late-night show.

Lester was host three nights a week, splitting the chores with comedian Morey Amsterdam. Amsterdam went on to TV fame on ``The Dick Van Dyke Show.''

NBC later refined the late-night concept, and ``Tonight'' premiered in 1954.

- Associated Press

by CNB