Leonard Stone

Leonard Stone
Cast of The Jean Arthur Show: Leonard Stone (right) with Ron Harper (left) and Jean Arthur (center)
Born Leonard Steinbock
(1923-11-03)November 3, 1923
Salem, Oregon, U.S
Died November 2, 2011(2011-11-02) (aged 87)
Encinitas, California, U.S
Nationality American
Occupation Actor
Years active 1956–2006
Spouse(s)
Carole Kleinman
(m. 1964; his death 2011)
Children 4

Leonard Stone (November 3, 1923 – November 2, 2011) was an American character actor who played supporting roles in over 120 television shows and 35 films.

Early years

Stone was born Leonard Steinbock in Salem, Oregon.[1] The son of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Steinbock, he was a graduate of Salem High School.[2] He majored in speech and drama at Willamette University, graduating cum laude.[3]

Military service

He was a midshipman during training with the U.S. Navy, going on to serve as "skipper on a minesweeper in Japanese waters."[4]

Stage

Stone started his career as a young actor studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London[3] He performed in the West End, on Broadway, and toured the world. He traveled for eight years in Australia and New Zealand with the musical South Pacific.

He was nominated for a Tony Award in 1959 for Best Supporting Actor in Redhead,[5] a Bob Fosse musical. He also was in the Tony Award-nominated cast of Look Homeward, Angel in 1957, which premiered at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York. Based on the Thomas Wolfe novel, it won a Pulitzer Prize.

Film and Television

One of his Stone's most notable film roles came in 1971, when he played Sam Beauregarde, the father of Golden Ticket winner Violet Beauregarde, in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.[6] He was the last surviving adult character who toured the factory in the movie; however, Diana Sowle, who played Mrs. Bucket, is still alive as of 2015.[7] In 1973’s Soylent Green he played Charles, the manager of the building where the murdered character portrayed by Joseph Cotten lived.

He was the bartender in The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968), and a congressman in The Man (1972), which starred James Earl Jones as the first black president of the United States. He appeared in the Jerry Lewis vehicle The Big Mouth in 1967. Other films he appeared in include The Mugger (1958), A Man Called Dagger (1968), Angel in My Pocket (1969), Zig Zag (1970), Getting Straight (1970), I Love My Wife (1970), Mame (1974), and The Man from Independence (1974).

Stone appeared in the TV movies The Ghost of Sierra de Cobra (1964), A Step Out of Line (1971), Terror in the Sky (1971), Beg, Borrow or Steal (1973), The Runaways (1975), The Girl in the Empty Grave (1977), The Other Side of Hell (1978), Zuma Beach (1978), See Arnold Run (2005), and Surrender, Dorothy (2006).

Between 1961 and 1985 Stone appeared in dozens of popular American television series, including Peter Gunn, The Untouchables, Gunsmoke (5 times), The Rifleman (twice), The Defenders, The Real McCoys (twice), The Outer Limits, Dr. Kildare (twice), McHale's Navy, Rawhide (twice), The F.B.I., The Doris Day Show, The High Chaparral, Gomer Pyle: USMC (twice), Dragnet 1967 (5 times), The Partridge Family, Mod Squad, The Virginian, Love, American Style (twice), The Waltons, Mission: Impossible (3 times), Adam-12, Barney Miller (5 times), Hawaii Five-O, Ironside (3 times), Kojak, Mannix (4 times), Police Story (twice), Cannon, The Blue Knight, The Bob Newhart Show, Sanford and Son, M*A*S*H, Eight Is Enough, The Six Million Dollar Man, All in the Family, The Dukes of Hazzard, One Day at a Time, Quincy M.E. (4 times), Cagney & Lacey, Alice (4 times), Night Court, Hill Street Blues (twice), Falcon Crest (3 times), Simon & Simon and L.A. Law (10 times).

In 1961 and 1962, Stone was twice cast in different roles on ABC's The Real McCoys in the episodes "Money from Heaven" and "You Can't Beat the Army". Between 1962 and 1966, Stone made four guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason, including his season 6, 1962 role as murderer Jerel Leland in "The Case of the Hateful Hero."

Stone played Farnum the Great in 2 episodes of Lost in Space (1965-1968).[8]:624 In 1966, he had a supporting role as Morton on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Jean Arthur Show starring Jean Arthur and Ron Harper.[8]:527. He appeared twice on ABC's The Donna Reed Show, as Mr. Trestle in "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys" (1961) and as Harlan Carmody, Jr., in "Joe College" (1965). In the 1965-1966 season, he appeared as Doc Joslyn in Camp Runamuck on NBC.[8] In 1967, he had the role of Judge Gilroy in Cimarron Strip on CBS.[8]:188

Between 1988 and 1994, he was cast as Judge Paul Hansen in 10 episodes of the NBC legal drama L.A. Law.

Stone's final role came in 2006 at the age of 83, when he played a minor character in the TV movie Surrender Dorothy.

Death

Stone died on November 2, 2011, in Encinitas, California,[9] after suffering a brief bout with cancer, one day short of his 88th birthday.

Personal

Stone was a contestant on an episode of Wheel of Fortune which aired September 22, 2000. He placed second, winning $4,250 in cash and a trip to Bermuda valued at $5,310.[10]

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3d (2 volume set) ed.). McFarland. p. 719. ISBN 9781476625997. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Salem Actor Headed for Australia". Statesman Journal. Salem, Oregon. July 29, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved December 30, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 Ross, Eileen Scott (May 17, 1950). "Young Salem Actor Sails for London to Be in 'Mr. Roberts'". Daily Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. p. 2. Retrieved December 30, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Steinbock to Attend English Drama School". Statesman Journal. Salem, Oregon. April 10, 1947. p. 3. Retrieved December 30, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "("Leonard Stone" search results)". Tony Awards. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  6. ↑ Jones, Stephen (2012). The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 23. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 978-0-7624-4597-4. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  7. ↑ Jedra, Christina (December 5, 2015). "Wonka's Mrs. Bucket to appear at Annapolis chocolate festival". Capital Gazette. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. P. 155.
  9. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (4 November 2011). "Tony Nominee Leonard Stone, Character Actor of "Willy Wonka," Dies at 87". Playbill. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Leonard Stone 'Willy Wonka' Actor -- Dead at 87". TMZ. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
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