Len Lesser

Len Lesser
Born	Leonard King Lesser (1922-12-03)December 3, 1922 The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Died	February 16, 2011(2011-02-16) (aged 88) Burbank, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1949–2011
Spouse(s)	Janice Burrell ​ ​ (m. 1954; div. 1982)​
Children	2
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Rank	Sergeant
Battles/wars	World War II China Burma India Theater

Leonard King Lesser (December 3, 1922 – February 16, 2011) was an American character actor. He was known for his recurring role as Uncle Leo in a total of 14 episodes of Seinfeld,^[1] starting during the show's second season in the episode "The Pony Remark". Lesser was also known for his role as Garvin on Everybody Loves Raymond.

Early life[]

Lesser was born in New York, NY in 1922. His father, a grocer, was a Jewish immigrant from Poland. Lesser received his bachelor's degree from the City College of New York in 1942 at the age of 19.^[2] Lesser enlisted in the United States Army the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II.^[3] While there, he was promoted to sergeant.

Career[]

Lesser was a prolific character actor in film, TV and on stage. He appeared on American television steadily since 1955 on programs such as That Girl, The Untouchables, Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky, The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Kentucky Jones, Green Acres, Get Smart, Bat Masterson, Family Affair, The Monkees, Quincy, M.E., The Rockford Files, The Amazing Spider-Man, Mad About You, All in the Family, Boy Meets World, Smart Guy, My Favorite Martian, The Munsters, and Castle. He appeared in a variety of films such as Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Blood and Lace (1971), Dirty Little Billy (1972), Papillon (1973), Truck Stop Women (1974), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Supervan (1977), Moonshine County Express (1977), Ruby (1977), Death Hunt (1981), Take This Job and Shove It (1981), Grandmother's House (1988) and Baadasssss! (2003).^[4]

Later years[]

Lesser had a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond as "Garvin," a friend of Frank Barone, who always lifted his arms in excitement whenever he saw Ray (just as Lesser did in his recurring role on Seinfeld as "Uncle Leo" whenever he saw his nephew Jerry). He also appeared in Jeff Seymour's stage production of Cold Storage at the University of Toronto's George Ignatieff Theatre.^[5]

Death[]

On February 16, 2011, Lesser died of cancer-related pneumonia^[6] in Burbank, California, at the age of 88.^[7]

After learning of Lesser's death, Jerry Seinfeld said of him,

Len was one of our favorites. We always loved having him on the show. I'll never forget when Uncle Leo was in prison and tattooed "Jerry Hello" on his knuckles. He was a very sweet guy.

Another Seinfeld castmate, Jason Alexander, tweeted,

Thanks to all of you for your kind remarks re: Len Lessor [sic]. Tonight was the opening of Gigi at my beloved Reprise Theater Company and I've only returned at this late hour to hear the news. ... "Hellooo" Uncle Leo. And goodbye. Sleep well. Much love. Jason.^[8]

Selected filmography[]

References[]

External links[]

• Len Lesser at Find a Grave
• Len Lesser at IMDb