Mark Lesly (April 19, 1959, in Manhattan, New York) appeared in the
credits of The Wanderers, and is recognized to this day for his role
as "Ducky Boy Number 2" because of his menacing demeanor, most notably
as he stands on the sidelines at the beginning of the climactic
football sequence. He later served on the Bernie Goetz jury and wrote
a book about it called Subway Gunman.Mark Lesly grew up in
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, where he discovered two important
passions of his life, Taekwondo and acting. While studying acting at
New York University, an open-casting call looking for short,
fair-haired, physically fit young men in their late teens or early 20s
aired on WNEW radio. He was immediately cast as a Ducky Boy and was
the focus of the most memorable of the gang's scenes.He apprenticed
with The Bond Street Theatre Coalition, then formed his own street
theater company, Questers & Jesters, with J. David Brimmer and Beverly
Branum, performed Shakespeare (Kings County Shakespeare Company,
Actors Classical Troupe), wrote, produced and acted in his own plays
(Clockworks Theatre) and paid his bills by becoming a Taekwondo
teacher.A student of the legendary Grand Master Dong Keun Park
(undefeated Korean Champion and Head Coach of the USA Olympic
Taekwondo Team at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992), he founded the NYU
Sport Taekwondo Club in 1987, and continues to serve as the team's
Head Coach. He is currently an 8th Dan Black Belt, certified by the
World Taekwondo Headquarters (Kukkiwon) in South Korea, and recently
received his 9th Dan from the Jidokwan, one of the original Kwans of
Taekwondo, which makes him officially a Grand Master in Taekwondo. GM
Lesly was the USA Taekwondo Forms Champion for 4th Degree Black Belts
and higher in 1996 after winning the Silver Medal in 1995. At
different times he has served as the Northeast Regional Director for
the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association, as Vice President of
the National Association of State Taekwondo Organizations and as Vice
President of the NJ State Taekwondo Association. He was a Member of
the Board of the East Coast Taekwondo Conference (formerly known as
the Ivy/Northeast Collegiate Taekwondo League) from its founding in
1991 until he retired from the position in 2004. In 2016, GM Lesly was
selected to be the Chair for Maccabi USA Taekwondo, and his team won
five bronze medals in the 2017 World Maccabi Games held in Israel. In
2018 he became the Chairman of Jewish American Taekwondo, a 501(c)(3)
non-profit to raise funds to support Jewish athletes. He has trained
over one hundred students to the rank of Black Belt and beyond,
including Master Albert Lee (6th Dan), who coached the NYU Team for 8
years, and Master Andre Chi (5th Dan).
credits of The Wanderers, and is recognized to this day for his role
as "Ducky Boy Number 2" because of his menacing demeanor, most notably
as he stands on the sidelines at the beginning of the climactic
football sequence. He later served on the Bernie Goetz jury and wrote
a book about it called Subway Gunman.Mark Lesly grew up in
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, where he discovered two important
passions of his life, Taekwondo and acting. While studying acting at
New York University, an open-casting call looking for short,
fair-haired, physically fit young men in their late teens or early 20s
aired on WNEW radio. He was immediately cast as a Ducky Boy and was
the focus of the most memorable of the gang's scenes.He apprenticed
with The Bond Street Theatre Coalition, then formed his own street
theater company, Questers & Jesters, with J. David Brimmer and Beverly
Branum, performed Shakespeare (Kings County Shakespeare Company,
Actors Classical Troupe), wrote, produced and acted in his own plays
(Clockworks Theatre) and paid his bills by becoming a Taekwondo
teacher.A student of the legendary Grand Master Dong Keun Park
(undefeated Korean Champion and Head Coach of the USA Olympic
Taekwondo Team at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992), he founded the NYU
Sport Taekwondo Club in 1987, and continues to serve as the team's
Head Coach. He is currently an 8th Dan Black Belt, certified by the
World Taekwondo Headquarters (Kukkiwon) in South Korea, and recently
received his 9th Dan from the Jidokwan, one of the original Kwans of
Taekwondo, which makes him officially a Grand Master in Taekwondo. GM
Lesly was the USA Taekwondo Forms Champion for 4th Degree Black Belts
and higher in 1996 after winning the Silver Medal in 1995. At
different times he has served as the Northeast Regional Director for
the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association, as Vice President of
the National Association of State Taekwondo Organizations and as Vice
President of the NJ State Taekwondo Association. He was a Member of
the Board of the East Coast Taekwondo Conference (formerly known as
the Ivy/Northeast Collegiate Taekwondo League) from its founding in
1991 until he retired from the position in 2004. In 2016, GM Lesly was
selected to be the Chair for Maccabi USA Taekwondo, and his team won
five bronze medals in the 2017 World Maccabi Games held in Israel. In
2018 he became the Chairman of Jewish American Taekwondo, a 501(c)(3)
non-profit to raise funds to support Jewish athletes. He has trained
over one hundred students to the rank of Black Belt and beyond,
including Master Albert Lee (6th Dan), who coached the NYU Team for 8
years, and Master Andre Chi (5th Dan).
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