Lashonda Lester
Born1975 or 1976
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died(2017-04-06)April 6, 2017 (age 41)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
OccupationStand-up comedian
Years active2008–2017

Lashonda Lester (died April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian from Austin, Texas. Her posthumous debut album, Shondee Superstar, was released by Dan Schlissel's Stand Up! Records in 2019, and was critically praised. John-Michael Bond of Paste magazine called her "a rare talent with a preternatural gift for razor-sharp storytelling."[1][2] Marc Maron called her a "funny, authentic, hard-working comic who had her own voice... That’s an honest comic. The best kind."[3]

Early life

Lester was born in Detroit, Michigan. As a child, she was a voiceover actress in local commercials. She developed an early interest in comedy, memorizing routines by Redd Foxx, Slappy White, George Carlin, and Richard Pryor.[4] She worked various jobs, including as a wrestling promoter and a madam.[5][6]

Career

Lester moved to Austin in 2004 to work in politics, and began performing stand-up in 2008.[7][4] She became known for creating and starring in the darkly comic biography series Weird! True Hollywood Tales, which ran for five seasons at Austin's Salvage Vanguard Theater.[8][9]

She performed frequently on television, including NickMom Night Out in 2013, the PBS series Stand Up Empire in 2016, and Fox's Laughs in 2017.[10][11][12] She was one of the top 100 comics on season 9 of the NBC show Last Comic Standing in 2015.[13]

In 2016, Lester won the prestigious annual "Funniest Person in Austin" competition at Austin's Cap City Comedy Club, becoming the first black comedian to win the award.[14][9] Her win was captured in the 2016 documentary Funniest, directed by Katie Pengra and Dustin Svehlak.[15] In 2016, the Austin Chronicle gave Lester a special award in its Best of 2016 issue, "Best Unstoppable Comedy Dynamo".[16]

Lester was increasingly well known nationally when she died in 2017.[14] She had recently received critical praise for a high-profile performance with Marc Maron and was due to record her first special for the TV series Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents later that year.[6][17][18] Several national publications, including Paste and Vulture, published lengthy obituaries after her death.[1][19]

Personal life

Lester and her husband, Dana, had a son.[17][9]

Health issues and death

Lester was diagnosed with a chronic kidney disease in 2015, and had been hospitalized prior to her death.[20] She underwent dialysis four times a week, often using the time to write new material.[9]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Paste[1]

Discography

Shondee Superstar was well received by critics. Writing in Paste, Bond called the album "a lovely introduction to a voice that’s both purely unique and universally relatable."[1] Valerie Lopez and Lara Smith of Comedy Wham called the album "superb" and praised Lester's "knack for storytelling" and ability to "turn a simple phrase with perfect timing and absolutely slay an audience."[2]

Podcast appearances

  • Comedy Wham, "Lashonda Lester: The Kitten From Murder Mitten" (April 19, 2016)[4]
  • The Savage and Starbuck Show, "A Conversation With Lashonda Lester" (Oct. 23, 2014)[10]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 Bond, John-Michael (April 26, 2019). "Lashonda Lester's Posthumous Shondee Superstar Documents A Comedy Genius Taken Too Soon". Paste. Atlanta, Georgia. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    2. 1 2 Smith, Lara; Lopez, Valerie (April 19, 2019). "Review: Shondee Superstar". Comedy Wham. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    3. ↑ Maron, Marc (2017-04-10). "One of the Best". WTF With Marc Maron. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
    4. 1 2 3 Valerie Lopez (April 19, 2016). "Lashonda Lester: The Kitten From Murder Mitten". Comedy Wham (Podcast). Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    5. ↑ Heilbron, Brently (2017-04-06). "A Day With the Queen of Austin Comedy". Austin American-Statesman. Austin, Texas. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    6. 1 2 Magyar, Carina. "In Memoriam: Lashonda Lester - Remembering the Queen of Austin Comedy, who died April 6". Austin Chronicle. Austin, Texas. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    7. ↑ McCarthy, Sean L. (April 6, 2017). "RIP Lashonda Lester". The Comic’s Comic. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    8. ↑ Moreno, Ashley (2017-03-31). "A Guide to Austin Stand-Up Comics: Lashonda Lester". Austin Chronicle. Austin, Texas. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    9. 1 2 3 4 Grant Davis, Lisa (June 1, 2016). "Lashonda Lester: Hustler First, Comedian Second". Soulciti. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    10. 1 2 Joie Savage, S.B. Starbuck (2014-10-23). "A Conversation With Lashonda Lester". The Savage and Starbuck Show (Podcast). Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    11. ↑ "Stand Up Empire". Austin PBS. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    12. ↑ "Stand Up Empire on PBS". Rob Gagnon Comedy. June 20, 2016. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    13. ↑ Pena, Jessica (March 21, 2017). "The Half Hour: Comedy Central Series Renewed for Season Six; Renamed". TV Series Finale. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    14. 1 2 Perchick, Michael (April 6, 2017). "Austin comedian Lashonda Lester dies". KVUE-TV. Austin, Texas. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    15. ↑ "Interview with director/producer Dustin Svehlak". We Are Moving Stories. 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    16. ↑ "Best of 2016: Best Unstoppable Comedy Dynamo: Lashonda Lester". Austin Chronicle. Austin, Texas. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
    17. 1 2 Gross, Joe (2017-04-17). "Comedian Lashonda Lester was Funniest Person in Austin". Austin American-Statesman. Austin, Texas. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    18. ↑ "Comedy Central Announces Talent Lineup For Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents... Stand-Up Series". Comedy Central. 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    19. ↑ Lies, Erica (April 7, 2017). "Remembering Lashonda Lester, the Funniest Person in Austin". Vulture. New York City. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
    20. ↑ "Lashonda Lester, Austin's Funniest, Passed Away". The Interrobang. April 6, 2017. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
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