Phil Leeds

Phil Leeds
Leeds in Ghost
Born	April 6, 1916 New York City, United States
Died	August 16, 1998(1998-08-16) (aged 82) Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1949–1998
Spouse(s)	Toby Brandt (1934–1987; her death)

Phil Leeds (April 6, 1916 – August 16, 1998) was an American character actor.^[1]

Career

Leeds was born on April 6, 1916 in New York City, the son of a post office clerk. Raised in the Bronx, he was a peanut vendor for some time near Yankee Stadium and Manhattan's Polo Grounds.^[2] He started his career as a standup comedian and then went on to appear in several films and sitcoms, including Rosemary's Baby, Beaches, All in the Family, Three's Company, Night Court, Wings, Ally McBeal, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Larry Sanders Show in three episodes as Hank Kingsley's agent, Barney Miller in seven episodes including in one as a man who propositions Detective Fish, Car 54, Where Are You?, The Patty Duke Show, The Monkees, The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Friends, Roseanne as Leon's co-worker and lover, Mad About You, The Dick Van Dyke Show, as Buddy Sorell's pool shark brother, and The Golden Girls.

At age 80, he appeared on an episode of Roseanne in which Roseanne finds herself drawn into a creepy 1990s version of Rosemary's Baby (Leeds had played Dr. Shand in the original 1968 film). He appeared as a friendly spirit in the 1990 film Ghost. He appeared in the episode "When I'm 64" in the TV series ALF as Jack, one of the residents of a retirement home. His final role was a brief scene in Lost & Found (1999).

Blacklist

Leeds was blacklisted during the McCarthy era after pleading the fifth when examined by the House Un-American Activities Committee.^[3][4]

Death

Leeds died of pneumonia on August 16, 1998 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles^[1] at age 82. "Happy Trails," an episode of Ally McBeal, featured footage of his prior appearances on the show, eulogizing his character.

Filmography

• Rosemary's Baby (1968) as Dr. Shand
• Don't Drink the Water (1969) as Sam Blackwell
• Mastermind (1976) as Israeli Agent #2
• Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) as Dog Catcher
• Silent Movie (1976) as Waiter (uncredited)
• Three's Company (1979) as Lyle Wormwold
• History of the World, Part I (1981) as Chief Monk for the Spanish Inquisition
• Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie (1984) as Banker Schlockmocker
• Saturday the 14th Strikes Back (1988) as Leonard
• Beaches (1988) as Sammy Pinkers
• Cat Chaser (1989) as Jerry Shea
• Enemies, A Love Story (1989) as Pesheles
• Ghost (1990) as Ghost in the Emergency Room
• He Said, She Said (1991) 7as Mr. Spepk
• Soapdish (1991) as Old Man
• Frankie and Johnny (1991) as Mr. DeLeon
• All I Want for Christmas (1991) as Mr. Feld
• Clean Slate (1994) as Landlord
• Two Much (1996) as The Lincoln Brigade
• Friends (1996) - Mr. Adelman
• Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-1998) as Uncle Mel
• Wings (1996) as Lou
• Krippendorf's Tribe (1998) as Dr. Harvey
• Lost & Found (1999) as Mr. Elderly Couple (final film role)

References

External links

• Phil Leeds on IMDb