Les was a seaman, and ran motels, bars and a drugstore before opting for art in the early fifties. He studied painting and interior design at Chouinard Art Institute in California. Gropius, Frank Lloyd Wright and Jackson Pollock opened his eyes to new directions. He then went on to work in advertising, painting after hours. Les started West Coast Designers (1958) and began to get recognition before moving to Australia in 1961. In 1962 he opened his own studio, where most of his work was in packaging and corporate design. In 1967 he was appointed Art Director for Epicurean, magazine of the Food and Wine Society of Australia. Acknowledged as a leading authority in Australia on packaging and corporate design, he was appointed the first Hall of Fame member (1992) by the Australian Graphic Design Association, and in 1999, appointed a Hall of Fame member by the Australian Society of Illustrators for his editorial illustrations.