Adolph Lestina

Adolph Lestina (1861 – August 23, 1923) was an American stage and film actor who was a member of D. W. Griffith's stock company of film actors.

Career He received positive notice for his performance in Justin McCarthy's If I Were King and in Laurence Irving's The Fool Hath Said There Is No God.

Lestina's performance in the play A Citizen's Home was noted as being "sympathetic".

Lestina was credited with "discovering" D. W. Griffith. "This gentleman saw to it that young Griffith played the role of Old Man Marks in The Lights o' London with the Meffert company [...] The gentleman who "discovered Griffith as an actor, Adolphe Lestina, later appeared in many D. W. Griffith film productions, including Hearts of the World (1918) and The Love Flower (1920)". Griffith, speaking of his time with the Meffert Stock Company, said that Lestina told him that to be a playwright, one first had to be an actor.

Personal life Adolph Lestina was married to Bessie Lee Lestina.

He died of heart disease in New Rochelle, New York on August 23, 1923.

Broadway credits Children of the Ghetto (October 16, 1899 – December 1899) The School for Scandal (January 31, 1902 – January 31, 1902) The Eternal City (November 17, 1902 – February 1903) Our American Cousin (January 27, 1908 – April 25, 1908) A Citizen's Home (October 1, 1909 – October 1909) Battling Jane (1918) as Mr. Pollett The Greatest Thing in Life (1918) as Leo Peret A Romance of Happy Valley (1919) as Vinegar Watkins The Girl Who Stayed at Home (1919) as Mr. France Scarlet Days (1919) as Randolph's Friend The Idol Dancer (1920) as Black Slave Mary Ellen Comes to Town (1920) as Col. Fairacres The Love Flower (1920) as Bevan's Old Servant Orphans of the Storm (1921) as doctor