Beetlejuice (entertainer) facts for kids

Lester Green (born June 2, 1968), better known as Beetlejuice, is an American comedian and actor. Green rose to prominence in 1999 due to his appearances on The Howard Stern Show, becoming a member of Stern's Wack Pack. He was named the greatest Wack Packer of all time in 2015. He has also appeared in such feature films as Bubble Boy (2001) and Scary Movie 2 (2001).

Early life

Lester Green was born in Browns Mills, New Jersey, on June 2, 1968. Green was born with dwarfism and microcephaly, a condition that caused his small head relative to his small body and an intellectual disability. He is the second youngest of six children by his mother Lillie and was raised in the Marion Section of Jersey City.

On the October 2, 2007, broadcast of The Howard Stern Show, Jerry O'Connell revealed that he knew Green while he was growing up. O'Connell's mother was Green's special education teacher at PS 31 in Jersey City, New Jersey, and Green was such a good student that he did special work as her "assistant".

Career

Green was discovered in a neighborhood bar by Sean Rooney who became his manager. He would go on to become an entertainer and joined Rooney's dwarf-tossing company where he was given his nickname because of his resemblance to a character in the movie Beetlejuice (1988). Sean Rooney died in 2009 and management of Green's career fell to his brother, Bobby Rooney.

1999–2000: Early appearances and The Howard Stern Show

Green made his debut on The Howard Stern Show on July 14, 1999, making an appearance with Frank "Third Degree" Burns, who also has dwarfism, while Rooney was promoting his dwarf tossing business. Stern immediately took a liking to Beetlejuice and saw his potential for stardom, calling him a "once in a lifetime guest". Green would go on to make numerous appearances on the show and became one of Stern's most popular guests. Despite his popularity, some have been more critical of his appearances on the show.

2001–2016: Rise to fame

Green portrayed a fictional character in the 2001 cult comedy film Bubble Boy named Lil' Zip, a member of a freak show that Jake Gyllenhaal's character Jimmy Livingston meets. Another member of Stern's Wack Pack, Matthew McGrory, also appeared alongside Green. That same year he would make a cameo appearance as himself in Scary Movie 2.

In 2009, Green was featured in his own five-episode reality television show entitled This is Beetle on the Howard TV.

Since 2017: Recent appearances

In February 2021, Green made his first appearance on The Howard Stern Show in over five years. He informed Stern that he relocated to Georgia with his mother, and also debuted a remixed version of his 2015 song "Beetle in the House", featuring Snoop Dogg, Sean Paul, and Big Freedia.

In February 2022, Green's manager launched an NFT on the Goldin's Auction platform, which allowed the winning bidder to receive a physical rookie card signed by Green as well as a video of Green telling his life story. It sold for $15,000 after 21 bids.

In 2023, a video clip of Green dubbed "Just Hanging Around" became a viral meme on TikTok and other video sharing sites.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games