Britt Leach (born July 18, 1938 in Gadsden, Alabama) is an American character actor.

Biography and acting career

Leach was born on July 18, 1938 in Gadsden, Alabama. He graduated from McCallie School, a boys college-preparatory school in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

, in 1956. He graduated from Birmingham Southern College, where he was active in college theater, in the mid 1960s. He attended Northwestern University and briefly worked in Army intelligence. Leach's film and television career started in the early 1970s. His most memorable movie roles include boorish hick bartender Dan Oldum in '' Jackson County Jail'', hard-nosed detective Sergeant Cook in '' Night Warning'', cranky toy store manager Mr. Sims in ''

Silent Night, Deadly Night ''Silent Night, Deadly Night'' is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr., and starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, and Leo Geter. The story concerns a ...

'', trailer park resident Mr. Potter in ''

The Last Starfighter ''The Last Starfighter'' is a 1984 American space opera film directed by Nick Castle. The film tells the story of Alex Rogan ( Lance Guest), a teenager recruited by an alien defense force to fight in an interstellar war. It also features Robe ...

'', Anthony Michael Hall's plumber father in '' Weird Science'' and redneck hunter Reg in '' The Great Outdoors''. During the fall of 1976, Leach was cast in the role of Mickey "Wig" Wiggins, an airplane mechanic, in the six-episode

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

adventure series ''

Spencer's Pilots ''Spencer's Pilots'' is an American adventure series that aired on CBS from September 17 to November 19, 1976. Created by Larry Rosen and developed by Alvin Sapinsley, the series stars Gene Evans.''The Tuscaloosa News'' (via Associated Press ...

'', starring

Gene Evans Eugene Barton Evans (July 11, 1922 – April 1, 1998) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television series, television films, and feature films between 1947 and 1989. Background Evans was born in Holbrook, Arizona and raised i ...

, Christopher Stone and

Todd Susman Todd Susman (born January 17, 1947) is an American actor. Early life A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Susman graduated from Ladue Horton Watkins High School in 1965. Career Susman has appeared in over one hundred different television series and ...

. Among the many television shows on which he has appeared are ''

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, afte ...

'', ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from S ...

'', ''Insight'', '' Bonanza'', '' Hawkins'', ''

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single room ...

'', ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'', and ''

Newhart ''Newhart'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, ...

''. He is probably most recognized for his reoccurring role as Easy Jackson on ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...

''. Leach left acting in the early 1990s. His final film role was an uncredited appearance in the 1991 film ''

Father of the Bride The Father of the Bride is commonly one of the wedding ceremony participants. Father of the Bride may also refer to: * ''Father of the Bride'' (novel), 1949, by Edward Streeter ** ''Father of the Bride'' (franchise), media franchise based on the 1 ...

'', in which his character, a supermarket assistant manager, confronts

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

's character for making a scene in the supermarket and has him imprisoned for it. From 1992 to 1999, Leach was co-editor and publisher of ''Country Connections'', an award-winning bi-monthly magazine which covered environmental and progressive social issues. He has also written poems. In 2007, Leach did not renew his membership in the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

and wrote of his frustration with DVD screeners in a satirical piece on his website. Leach resides in

Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, with his wife, Catherine Roberts Leach.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1938 births Living people People from Gadsden, Alabama American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Alabama {{US-screen-actor-1930s-stub