Bernard Leo Burmester (February 1, 1945 – June 28, 2007) was an American actor. Burmester worked for director

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and '' ...

several times, including in ''

Passion Fish ''Passion Fish'' is a 1992 American drama film written and directed by John Sayles. The film stars Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, Vondie Curtis-Hall, David Strathairn, Leo Burmester, and Angela Bassett. It tells the story of a soap opera star, ...

'' (1992) and '' Lone Star'' (1996), and also for directors such as

John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films ('' Darling'' an ...

and Sidney Lumet, and as the

Apostle Nathaniel Nathanael (Hebrew נתנאל, gr, ναθαναηλ, "God has given"), also known as Nathaniel of Cana was a disciple of Jesus, mentioned only in Chapters 1 and 21 of the Gospel of John. History In John's Gospel, Nathanael is introduced as a f ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

's '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988). He also starred in the CBS sitcom '' Flo'' as Randy Stumphill, the mechanic who frequented the bar.

Life and career

Burmester was born and raised in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, and studied at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

as a biology major before switching to drama. He worked summer stock at Shawnee Summer Theatre of Greene County, Indiana. After receiving an MFA from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

, he taught college for a year before becoming a working actor. Burmester appeared with the Actors Theatre of Louisville, originating roles in the plays ''

Getting Out ''Getting Out'' is a play by Marsha Norman. The play was produced at the Marymount Manhattan Theatre in October 1978 and then Off-Broadway in May 1979. The play concerns a female prisoner just released from prison, who returns to her home in ...

'' and ''Lone Star'', and eventually recreating them in his Off-Broadway and Broadway debuts, respectively. He made his feature film debut in a big budget project with '' Cruising'' (1980), and had a featured role as the mortuary director in ''

Honky Tonk Freeway ''Honky Tonk Freeway'' is a 1981 American-British comedy film directed by John Schlesinger. The film, conceived and co-produced by Don Boyd, was one of the most expensive box office bombs in history, losing its British backers Thorn EMI betwee ...

'' (1981). Burmester played one of the FBI agents hounding the faux Rosenberg couple in '' Daniel'' (1983). In 1986 he played the booming villain General D. in Broadway's '' Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure''. He played the role of Thénardier in the Original

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' and the Police Sergeant in

Harry Connick, Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 List of best-selling music artists i ...

's musical ''Thou Shalt not''. He played

Holly Hunter Holly Patricia Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film '' The Piano'', Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for ...

's character's father in the prologue of '' Broadcast News'' (1987), and the bum in front of The Plaza in ''

Big Business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...

'' (1988). Roles started to get larger with James Cameron's ''

The Abyss ''The Abyss'' is a 1989 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. When an American submarine sinks in the Caribbean, a US search and recovery tea ...

'' (1989), as Catfish DeVries, decompression expert. Although he was thought to have 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 ...

, his death was caused by a tick bite that was complicated by his compromised immune system. He died at age 62 on June 28, 2007. His ashes were scattered in Kentucky.

Filmography

* '' Cruising'' (1980) – Water Sport * ''

'' (1981) – Mortuary Director * '' Daniel'' (1983) – FBI Agent #1 * '' The House of God'' (1984) – Dr. Gath * '' Odd Jobs'' (1986) – Wylie D. Daiken * ''

Sweet Liberty ''Sweet Liberty'' is a 1986 American comedy film written and directed by Alan Alda, and starring Alda in the lead role, alongside Michael Caine and Michelle Pfeiffer, with support from Bob Hoskins, Lois Chiles, Lise Hilboldt, Lillian Gish, and ...

'' (1986) – Hank * '' Broadcast News'' (1987) – Jane's Dad * ''

'' (1988) – Bum * '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988) – Nathaniel, Apostle * ''

'' (1989) – 'Catfish' De Vries * ''

Article 99 ''Article 99'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film directed by Howard Deutch and written by Ron Cutler. It was produced by Orion Pictures and stars Kiefer Sutherland, Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker, John C. McGinley, Rutanya Alda and Lea Thompson. ...

'' (1992) – 'Shooter' Polaski * ''

'' (1992) – Reeves * '' Innocent Blood'' (1992) – Dave Flinton * ' (1992) – Rickey Tick * ''

A Perfect World ''A Perfect World'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who takes a young boy ( T. J. Lowther) hostage and attempts to escape on the road with the child. Eastwood co-stars ...

'' (1993) - Deputy Tom Adler * ''

The Neon Bible ''The Neon Bible'' is John Kennedy Toole's first novel, written at the age of 16. The novel is a bildungsroman about a callow youth named David in rural Mississippi during the late 1930s to early 1950s. He learns of religious, racial, social, a ...

'' (1995) – Bobbie Lee Taylor * '' Lone Star'' (1996) – Cody * '' The Devil's Advocate'' (1997) – Florida Prosecutor * '' Switchback'' (1997) – Clyde 'Shorty' Callahan * '' The Secret of Mulan'' (1998) – (voice) * ''River Red'' (1998) – Judge Perkins * ''The Farmhouse'' (1998) – Dallas Miller * ''Getting to Know You'' (1999) – Lamar Pike, Sr. * ''Saturn'' (1999) – Dad * ''

Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...

'' (1999) – Harmon King * ''Dumbarton Bridge'' (1999) – Jack * ''The End of the Bar'' (2002) – Boxing Trainer * '' City by the Sea'' (2002) – Lieutenant Katt * ''Out of These Rooms'' (2002) – Kit's Dad * ''

Gangs of New York ''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book '' The Gangs of New York''. The film stars Le ...

'' (2002) – Telegraph Operator No. 1 (voice) * ''The Red Betsy'' (2003) – Emmet Rounds * '' America Brown'' (2004) – Bo Williams * ''Patch'' (2005) – Mr. Moynahan * ''

The Legend of Zorro ''The Legend of Zorro'' is a 2005 American Western swashbuckler film directed by Martin Campbell, produced by Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Lloyd Phillips, with music by James Horner, and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. ...

'' (2005) – Colonel Beauregard * ''Aftermath'' (2013) – Sheriff (final film role)

Broadway appearances

* ''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...

'' (2006) – Hucklebee * ''Lone Star'' (1979) * ''Big River'' (1985) * ''

Raggedy Ann Raggedy Ann is a character created by American writer Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938) that appeared in a series of books he wrote and illustrated for young children. Raggedy Ann is a rag doll with red yarn for hair and a triangle nose. Gruelle r ...

'' (1986) * ''

'' (1987) – Thenardier * ''

Buried Child ''Buried Child'' is a play written by Sam Shepard that was first presented in 1978. It won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and launched Shepard to national fame as a playwright. The play depicts the fragmentation of the American nuclear family ...

'' (1996) * ''Ah, Wilderness'' (1998) * '' The Civil War'' (1999) * '' Thou Shalt Not'' (2001) – The Police Officer * ''

Urban Cowboy ''Urban Cowboy'' is a 1980 American romantic Western film directed by James Bridges. The plot concerns the love-hate relationship between Buford Uan "Bud" Davis (John Travolta) and Sissy (Debra Winger). The film's success was credited for spur ...

'' (2003)

TV appearances

;Partial list * '' Rattlesnake In A Cooler'' (1982) - The doctor/prisoner *''

Young Riders ''The Young Riders'' is an American western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders (some of whom are young versions of legendary figures in Old West history) based at ...

'',episode The Initiation * ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film '' Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both this series and that film starring Chuck Norris as a member of the ...

'' – "An Innocent Man" (1993) – Woodrow Jonathan Wilton * '' Alex Haley's Queen'' (1993) – Henderson * '' Law & Order'' – "Snatched" (1994) – Lester Hastings * ''Law & Order'' – "Charm City: Part 1" (1996) – Mr. Le Clair * '' Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story'' (1999) – Corby Judd (Part 1) * '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' – " The Third Horseman" (2002) – Lorne Cutler * ''Law & Order'' – "Patriot" (2002) – Lester Hastings * ''Carry Me Home'' – "Grizzle" (2004) – Grizzle

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burmester, Leo 1945 births 2007 deaths American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from leukemia Male actors from Louisville, Kentucky Western Kentucky University alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors