Jon Cedar (January 22, 1931 – April 14, 2011) was an American actor. He appeared in more than sixty television and film roles during his career.

Career

Cedar began his acting career in high school theater productions at Detroit High School. He enlisted in the

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

and served in Italy during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Cedar moved to Hollywood after leaving the military. Cedar toured the United States with his family, appearing in traveling musical and touring

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

productions. His stage credits during this time included the national tours of '' South Pacific'', ''

Irma La Douce ''Irma la Douce'' (, "Irma the Sweet") is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond, based on the 1956 French stage musical of the same name by Marguerite Monnot and Alexa ...

'' and ''

The Deputy ''The Deputy, a Christian tragedy'' (German: ''Der Stellvertreter. Ein christliches Trauerspiel''), also published in English as ''The Representative '', is a controversial 1963 play by Rolf Hochhuth which portrayed Pope Pius XII as having failed ...

''. He also joined the theatre troupe, the ''Players Ring'', based in Hollywood, with his brother, George Cedar. Cedar had a recurring role as the timid Corporal Karl Langenscheidt on the television series, ''

Hogan's Heroes ''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom set in a Nazi German prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during World War II. It ran for 168 episodes (six seasons) from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971, on the CBS network, the longest broadcast ...

'' from 1965 to 1971. (In 1967, in the episode "Two Nazi for the Price of One" his character was "Mannheim". and in 1971, in the episode "That's No Lady, That's My Spy" his character was "Oskar Danzig".) His other television roles included '' Matlock'', ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was or ...

'', ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, it ...

'', ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols " ♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaff ...

'', ''

The Greatest American Hero ''The Greatest American Hero'' is an American comedy-drama Superhero fiction, superhero television series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour pilot movie on March 1 ...

'', ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job A side job, also informally called a side hustle or side gig, is an additional job that a person takes in addition to their primary job in order to supplement their income. Side jobs may be done out of nec ...

'', ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator ...

'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'', ''

Tales from the Darkside ''Tales from the Darkside'' is an American anthology horror TV series created by George A. Romero. Debuting in October 1983 with a pilot episode and then being picked up for syndication in September 1984, the show ran for 4 seasons through July ...

'' "Dream Girl" episode (1986) as Sid and the 1987 film '' In Love and War''. His last television appearance was in an episode of '' The Inside'' in 2005. Cedar was a co-star, co-screenwriter and associate producer on the 1978 horror film ''

The Manitou ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', which starred

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

. His additional film credits included ''

Little Cigars ''Little Cigars'' is a film released in 1973 by American International Pictures and was directed by Chris Christenberry. The film was also released in the United States as ''The Little Cigars Mob''. Plot A gang of dwarves team up with a gang ...

'' (1973), ''

The Execution of Private Slovik ''The Execution of Private Slovik'' is a nonfiction book by William Bradford Huie, published in 1954, and an American made-for-television movie that aired on NBC on March 13, 1974. The film was written for the screen by Richard Levinson, Wil ...

'' (1974), '' Foxy Brown'' (1974), ''

Day of the Animals ''Day of the Animals'' (re-released as ''Something Is Out There'') is a 1977 American natural horror film directed by William Girdler, based on a story by producer Edward L. Montoro. The film reunited Girdler and Montoro with stars Christopher Ge ...

'' (1977), ''

Capricorn One ''Capricorn One'' is a 1978 British-produced American thriller film in which a reporter discovers that a supposed Mars landing by a crewed mission to the planet has been faked via a conspiracy involving the government and—under duress—the c ...

'' (1978), '' The Concorde ... Airport '79'' (1979), ''

Death Hunt ''Death Hunt'' is a 1981 Western action film directed by Peter Hunt. The film stars Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Carl Weathers, Maury Chaykin, Ed Lauter and Andrew Stevens. ''Death Hunt'' was a fictionalized account of the Roy ...

'' (1981), ''

Kiss Daddy Goodbye ''Kiss Daddy Goodbye'', also known as ''Revenge of the Zombie'', is a 1981 American horror film directed by Patrick Regan. The film stars Fabian, Marilyn Burns, Jon Cedar, and Marvin Miller. It is about two psychic children who avenge the death ...

'' (1981), and ''

Messenger of Death ''Messenger of Death'' is a 1988 American crime-action thriller film starring Charles Bronson about an attempt by a water company to start a family feud among fundamentalist Mormons to take the family's land for the company. The movie marks the ...

'' (1988). His last film role was in the 1997 film '' Murder in Mind''.

Personal life and death

He and his late wife, Barbara Cedar, owned and operated a script typing company, Barbara's Place, during the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s he coached actors at Theater Theater in Hollywood, California, including Chris Aable who introduced him to fellow actors who also became students of Cedar,

Gedde Watanabe Gary "Gedde" Watanabe (born June 26, 1955) is an American actor and comedian. He is perhaps best known for voicing the character of Ling in the 1998 animated film '' Mulan'' and its 2004 sequel '' Mulan II'', as well as playing Long Duk Dong in t ...

and Steve Burton. Jon Cedar died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

at Providence Tarzana Medical Center in Los Angeles on April 14, 2011, at the age of 80. He was predeceased by his wife, Barbara. Cedar was survived by his daughter, actress Loren Thompson; son, producer Michael Cedar; partner, Elynore Leigh; brother, actor George Cedar; and

Larry Cedar Larry Frank Cedar (born March 6, 1955) is an American voice, film and television actor, best known as one of the players of the Children's Television Workshop mathematics show ''Square One TV'' on PBS from 1987 to 1994. He played Max, Alex the B ...

. His memorial service was held at the Groman Eden Mortuary in Mission Hills, California. Cedar adhered to

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

.''An Interview With Jon Cedar'', Skip E. Lowe, 1988

Filmography

References

External links

* * * , {{DEFAULTSORT:Cedar, Jon 1931 births 2011 deaths American male television actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male screenwriters Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from leukemia 20th-century American male actors Jewish American male actors Jewish American writers 21st-century American Jews Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery