| Biography | Lester Ferguson began singing as a boy in upstate Fountain Springs. His family moved to Philadelphia when he was 6. He attended Northeast High School for a time, then left to enter old Brown Prep. Then came singing lessons, and to pay for them, Mr. Ferguson became a heavyweight boxer. Technically, he was an amateur, but he made a buck or two by selling his prizes. He had 36 fights, of which he won 27.
Later came Westminster Choir College and a variety of jobs. At 23, he began singing full time. Then the Army grabbed him and eventually sent him to Officer Candidates School, and from there to England in 1943. He served in the Normandy campaign.
Not long before D-Day, Sir Thomas Beecham, conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, heard Mr. Ferguson sing and arranged for him to join the New London Opera after the war.
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