Ron Leibman | |
|---|---|
 Leibman as Morgenstern inNight Falls on Manhattan | |
| Born | (1937-10-11)October 11, 1937 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 6, 2019(2019-12-06) (aged 82) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Ohio Wesleyan University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1963–2016 |
| Spouses | |
Ron Leibman (/ˈliːbmən/; October 11, 1937 – December 6, 2019) was an American actor. He won both theTony Award for Best Actor in a Play and theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1993 for his performance asRoy Cohn inAngels in America. Leibman also won aPrimetime Emmy Award in 1979 for his role as Martin 'Kaz' Kazinsky in his short-lived crime drama seriesKaz.
Leibman appeared in films such asWhere's Poppa? (1970),The Hot Rock (1972),Norma Rae (1979), andZorro, The Gay Blade (1982). Later in his career, he became widely known for his recurring role asDr. Leonard Green onFriends (1996–2004), and for providing the voice of Ron Cadillac onArcher (2013–2016).
Leibman was born October 11, 1937, inManhattan to Grace (née Marks), who was of Russian-Jewish descent, and Murray Leibman, a Russian-Jewish immigrant who worked in thegarment business.[1][2] Leibman graduated fromOhio Wesleyan University.[3]
Leibman was a member of theCompass Players in the late 1950s, and he was admitted to theActors Studio shortly thereafter.[4]
Leibman made his film debut alongsideGeorge Segal in the dark comedyWhere's Poppa? (1970). He then starred alongsideRobert Redford and Segal in the heist filmThe Hot Rock (1972) and he was featured as a northern Jewish union organizer in the award-winning filmNorma Rae (1979). In 1980, he starred inUp The Academy, a "gross-out" comedy set at a reform school and produced byMad magazine. (Reaction to the film was so poor that it was repudiated by bothMad and Leibman himself, who had his name expunged from the credits and promotional material.)[citation needed]
His other film appearances includeSlaughterhouse-Five (1972),Your Three Minutes Are Up (1973) withBeau Bridges andJanet Margolin,Zorro, The Gay Blade (1981),Auto Focus (2002) andGarden State (2004). A TV movie role of Leibman's was the 1988 legal thrillerTerrorist On Trial where he plays a Jewish lawyer who defends an Arab defendant accused of a terrorist attack in Spain and extracted to Virginia. Leibman costars in that with Robert Davi as the defendant, and Sam Waterston as the prosecuting attorney. It may be found asIn The Hands Of The Enemy.
Leibman won anEmmy Award, Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series, in 1979[5] for his convict-turned-lawyer character inKaz (1978–79), a series which he also created and co-wrote.[6] He was later nominated for aGolden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for the role of Morris Huffner inChristmas Eve.[citation needed]
He co-starred with his second wife,Jessica Walter, inTartuffe at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in 1986,[3] and they co-starred again inNeil Simon's playRumors in 1988 on Broadway.[7] They also appeared together as husband and wife in the filmDummy (2003)[8][9] and in the TV seriesLaw & Order in the episode "House Counsel" in 1995.[10]
Leibman received a 1993Tony Award for his performance asRoy Cohn in thePulitzer Prize-winning playAngels in America.[11][12]
He playedDr. Leonard Green,Rachel Green's overbearing father, on thesitcomFriends. He had a recurring role onThe Sopranos as Dr. Plepler.[8] In 1983, Leibman starred in the Australian filmPhar Lap as David J. Davis, the owner of legendary New Zealand/Australian racehorsePhar Lap,[8][13] which won the1930 Melbourne Cup and the1932 Agua Caliente Handicap.
In 2013, Leibman began appearing as a recurring character on the TV seriesArcher as Ron Cadillac, the husband toMalory Archer, voiced by his real-life wife Jessica Walter.[8]
Since 2005, until his death, Leibman taught atThe New School for Drama in New York City.[14][15][16]
Leibman was married twice. His first wife was actressLinda Lavin, to whom he was married from 1969 to 1981.[17][18] In 1983, he married actressJessica Walter.[3][18] They remained married until his death in 2019.[1]
Leibman died from complications ofpneumonia in Manhattan on December 6, 2019, at age 82.[1][19]
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| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The DuPont Show of the Week | Carmatti | Episode: "Ride with Terror" |
| 1963 | Ride with Terror | Carmatti | Television film |
| 1964 | The Edge of Night | Johnny | Television debut |
| 1966 | Hawk | Eddie Toll | Episode: "The Man Who Owned Everyone" |
| 1975 | The Art of Crime | Roman Grey | Television film |
| 1975 | Police Story | Ray Oberstar | Episode: "Vice: 24 Hours" |
| 1977 | Martinelli, Outside Man | Richie Martinelli | Television film |
| 1978 | A Question of Guilt | Detective Louis Kazinsky | Television film |
| 1978–79 | Kaz | Martin 'Kaz' Kazinsky | Series regular[20] / also writer; 23 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series |
| 1980 | Linda in Wonderland | Guest | Musicalvarietytelevision special[21][22][23] |
| 1981 | Rivkin: Bounty Hunter | Rivkin | Television film |
| 1985 | Comedy Story | Joey Caruso | Episode: "Side by Side", also writer |
| 1986 | Many Happy Returns | Jerry Brenner | Television film |
| 1986 | Christmas Eve | Morris Huffner | Television film Nominated –Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television |
| 1987 | ABC Afterschool Specials | Sam Greene | Episode: "Class Act: A Teacher's Story" |
| 1988 | Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Sam Ajami | Simon Resnick | Television film; akaHostile Witness |
| 1988 | Aaron's Way | Unknown | Episode: "The Men Will Cheer and the Boys Will Shout" |
| 1990–92 | Murder, She Wrote | Darryl Heyward / Roland Trent | 2 episodes |
| 1991–92 | Pacific Station | Detective Al Burkhardt | Series regular; 13 episodes |
| 1992 | Fish Police | Voice, episode: "The Codfather" | |
| 1995 | Duckman | Geofredo | Voice, Episode: "Papa Oom M.O.W. M.O.W." |
| 1995–96 | Central Park West | Allen Rush | Voice, 21 episodes |
| 1995–2000 | Law & Order | Barry Nathanson / Mark Paul Kopell | 2 episodes |
| 1996–2004 | Friends | Dr. Leonard Green | Recurring role; 4 episodes[20] |
| 1996 | Rugrats | Rabbi / Old Man | Voice, episode: "Chanukah" |
| 1997 | Don King: Only in America | Harry Shondor | Television film |
| 1998–2002 | Holding the Baby | Stan Peterson | Series regular; 13 episodes |
| 2001 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Stan Villani | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 2003 | The Practice | Attorney Robert Colby | Episode: "Concealing Evidence" |
| 2006 | The Sopranos | Dr. Lior Plepler | Recurring role; 3 episodes |
| 2013–16 | Archer | Ron Cadillac | Voice, recurring role; 10 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Camino Real | Kilroy | |
| 1959 | Legend of Lovers | Orpheus | |
| 1959 | A View From the Bridge | Rudolfo | |
| 1960 | Dead End | Unknown | |
| 1960 | The Premise | Unknown | |
| 1963 | Dear Me, The Sky is Falling | Peter Nemo | |
| 1963 | Bicycle Ride to Nevada | Rip Calabria | |
| 1964 | The Deputy | Captain Slazer | 316 performances |
| 1965 | The Misanthrope | Alceste | |
| 1965 | Uncle Vanya | Astrov | |
| 1965 | End Game | Clov | |
| 1965 | The Critic | Mr. Puff | |
| 1965 | Galileo | Unknown | |
| 1966–67 | Room Service | Gordon Miller | |
| 1967 | The Poker Session | Teddy | |
| 1967–68 | Prometheus Bound | Hermes | |
| 1967–68 | Volpone | Mosca | |
| 1967–68 | The Three Sisters | Solyony | |
| 1968 | We Bombed in New Haven | Sergeant Henderson | 85 performances |
| 1968 | Long Day's Journey into Night | Unknown | |
| 1969 | Cop-Out | Performer | |
| 1970 | Room Service | Gordon Miller | |
| 1970 | Transfers | Performer | |
| 1975 | Love Two | Performer | |
| 1976 | Rich and Famous | Various Roles | |
| 1976 | Julius Caesar | Cassius | |
| 1977 | Richard III | Richard III | |
| 1980–81 | I Ought to Be in Pictures | Herb | 324 performances |
| 1982 | Children of Darkness | Count LaRuse | |
| 1983 | Don Pasquale | Don Pasquale | |
| 1985 | Doubles | Lennie | 277 performances |
| 1986 | Tartuffe | Tartuffe | |
| 1988–90 | Rumors | Lenny Ganz | 535 performances |
| 1993 | Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | Roy Cohn | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play |
| 1994 | Angels in America: Perestroika | Nominated –Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | |
| 1995 | The Merchant of Venice | Shylock | Nominated –Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play |
| 1998 | A Dybbuk, or Between Two Worlds | Rabbi Azriel | Nominated –Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play |
| 1999–2000 | Adam Baum | Sam Baum | |
| 2001 | A Connecticut Yankee | Launcelot | |
| 2002 | God of Vengeance | Jack Chapman |
Faculty members will include Susan Aston, Gene Lasko, Ron Leibman, Lloyd Richards, Paul Rudd, Christopher Shinn, Arthur Storch, Tony Walton and Michael Weller.
He had been divorced in 1981 from actress Linda (Alice) Lavin after a 12-year, childless marriage (she is now married to actor Kip Niven), and Jessica had long since recovered from the 1978 breakup of her 12-year marriage to Ross Bowman,
14 June 2020
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