A former divinity student at Ohio Wesleyan University, Rex Lease entered films in 1922. He was able to parlay his slight resemblance to actor Richard Barthelmess into a brief starring career, appearing in such productions as Frank Capra's first talking feature The Younger Generation (1929). Signed by small but ambitious Tiffany Studios in 1929, Lease tried out all sorts of leading roles, eventually achieving a degree of success as a cowboy star. By 1935 he was playing character roles and occasional leads in serials like Custer's Last Stand and The Clutching Hand. One of his last sizeable parts was as William B. Travis in the independent quickie Heroes of the Alamo (1937). Rex Lease remained in films as a secondary villain and bit player until 1956.