   richard lester (born january 19, 1932)the times 19 january 2009, retrieved 2010-01-09 is an american film director based in britain. lester is notable for his work with the beatles in the 1960s and his work on the superman film series in the 1980s. ==early years and television== lester was born in philadelphia, pennsylvania. a child prodigy, he began studies at the university of pennsylvania at the age of 15. he started in television in 1950, working as a stage hand, floor manager, assistant director and then director in less than a year, because no one else was around who knew how to do the work. in 1953, lester moved to london and began work as a director in independent television, working for the legendary low cost television producers the danziger brothers on episodes of mark saber, a half-hour detective series. a variety show he produced caught the eye of peter sellers, who enlisted lester's help in translating the goon show to television as the idiot weekly, price 2d. it was a hit, as were two follow-up shows, a show called fred and son of fred. pp.169-170 lester recalls that a show called fred was "broadcast live and that's why i went into film directing where you can do a second take!"{{cite book | title=spike milligan: his part in our lives |author=ventham, maxine | chapter=richard lester | editor=â¦ | year=2002 | publisher=robson | locat
1932_births American_atheists American_expatriates_in_the_United_Kingdom American_film_directors Living_people People_from_Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania