John A. Lester

John is more than just a rare breed; he's a California native.

Multi-talented, he has tasted numerous careers: in the family’s Mexican restaurants (mom was Consuelo Castillo, a graduate of USC with a degree in law and a great cook), Top 40 disc jockey, radio news reporter, stage, film and television actor (Screen Actors Guild member). He worked nearly two decades as a television news reporter for San Francisco’s KGO (ABC) and KPIX (CBS), focusing on crime and feature stories.

After realizing that there was life after television news, he built his own advertising agency, winning numerous local awards for his creative bent, including a national CLEO Award for a winery. John enjoys the single life in San Jose, is a marketing director for The Garden City Casino, where he often sings the classic songs of Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin. A Marx Brothers fan, he recently produced and played the lead role as “Groucho: A Life in Revue.”

He has three adult children, Christian, Maria Faber, and Sean, and grandson, Hunter. John’s favorite color is gray and he thinks he is a “pretty good’ Catholic.

John holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Santa Clara University - Class of 1957.