Leonard Frey (September 4, 1938 – August 24, 1988) was an American actor. Frey received a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while worki ...

for his role in the 1971 musical film ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

''. He made his stage debut in an

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 th ...

production of ''

Little Mary Sunshine ''Little Mary Sunshine'' is a musical that parodies old-fashioned operettas and musicals. The book, music, and lyrics are by Rick Besoyan. The original Off-Broadway production premiered November 18, 1959 at the Orpheum Theatre in New York Cit ...

'' and received a nomination for the

Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play The Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality supporting roles in a Broadway play. Honors ...

for '' The National Health''.

Life & career

Frey was born in Brooklyn, New York. After attending James Madison High School, he studied art at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique ...

, with designs on becoming a painter, then switched to acting at New York City's

Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural a ...

under acting coach

Sanford Meisner Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997) was an American actor and acting teacher who developed an approach to acting instruction that is now known as the Meisner technique. While Meisner was exposed to method acting at the Grou ...

, and pursued a career in theater. Frey received critical acclaim in 1968 for his performance as Harold in

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 th ...

's '' The Boys in the Band''. He appeared with the rest of the original cast in the 1970 film version, directed by

William Friedkin William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the " New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in ...

. Frey was nominated for a 1975

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

as Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in '' The National Health''. Other stage credits included revivals of ''

The Time of Your Life ''The Time of Your Life'' is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened on Broadway in 1939. Ch ...

'' (1969), ''

Beggar on Horseback ''Beggar on Horseback'' is a 1924 play by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. The play is a parody of the expressionistic parables that were popular at the time; its title derives from the proverb "Set a beggar on horseback, and he'll ride at a g ...

'' (1970), ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

'' (1972) and ''

The Man Who Came to Dinner ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is a comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939, at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941, closing after 739 performances. It then enjoyed a number of N ...

'' (1980). He also played Clare Quilty in the

Alan Jay Lerner Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, and later Burton Lane, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre b ...

musical ''

Lolita, My Love ''Lolita, My Love'' was an unsuccessful musical by John Barry and Alan Jay Lerner, based on Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel ''Lolita''. It closed in Boston in 1971 while on a tour prior to Broadway. Production history ''Lolita, My Love'' was init ...

'' which closed, before reaching Broadway, in 1971. Frey was nominated for the

for his performance as Motel the tailor in

Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (born July 21, 1926) is a retired Canadian film and television director, producer, and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. He has directed numerous feature films and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best ...

's 1971 film ''

'' (he had appeared in the original Broadway musical production as Mendel, the rabbi's son). Other film credits included roles in '' The Magic Christian'' (1969), '' Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon'' (1970), '' Where the Buffalo Roam'' (1980), ''

Up the Academy ''Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy,'' often shortened to ''Up the Academy,'' is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Robert Downey Sr. and starring Wendell Brown, Tommy Citera, Ron Leibman, Harry Teinowitz, Hutch Parker, Ralph Macchio, T ...

'' (1980), and ''

Tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...

'' (1981). Frey's television credits included appearances on ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in ...

''; '' Medical Center''; ''

Mission Impossible ''Mission: Impossible'' is a multimedia franchise based on a fictional secret espionage agency known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). The 1966 TV series ran for seven seasons and was revived in 1988 for two seasons. It inspired a serie ...

''; ''

Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who ...

''; ''

Quincy, M.E. ''Quincy, M.E.'' (also called ''Quincy'') is an American mystery medical drama television series from Universal Studios that aired on NBC from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983. Jack Klugman starred in the title role as a Los Angeles County med ...

''; ''

Hart to Hart ''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset life ...

''; ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was cre ...

'' (1975 episode: 'The Escape Artist' & 1980 episode: 'Vanished', part 2); ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...

''; ''

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 seri ...

''; and the miniseries ''Testimony of Two Men'', as well as a co-starring role as the villainous Parker Tillman on the short-lived ABC western comedy ''

Best of the West ''Best of the West'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 1981 through August 1982. Synopsis The Old West spoof featured the misadventures of Sam Best (Joel Higgins), a Civil War veteran who becomes a marshal in Copper Creek ...

'', and Raymond Holyoke on '' Mr. Smith'', which ran for 13 episodes on NBC in fall 1983. He also appeared as a panelist on the game shows ''

Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour ''The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour'' is an American television panel game show that combined two panel games of the 1960s and 1970s – ''Match Game'' and ''Hollywood Squares'' – into an hour-long format. The series ran from October 31, ...

'' and ''

Super Password ''Password Plus'' and ''Super Password'' are American TV game shows that aired separately between 1979 and 1989. Both shows were revivals of ''Password'', which originally ran from 1961 to 1975 in various incarnations. With only subtle differen ...

''. On ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moo ...

'' episode titled "Ted Baxter's Famous Broadcaster's School," airing February 22, 1975, Frey played the role of “The Student.” Frey's final role was Walter Witherspoon in the television movie ''

Bride of Boogedy ''Bride of Boogedy'' is a 1987 family film, directed by Oz Scott and written by Michael Janover, which originally aired as an episode of ''The Disney Sunday Movie''. The film tells the continuing story of the Davis family and their encounters ...

''.

Death

Frey, who was

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

, died at age 49 from the complications of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

in New York on August 24, 1988, 11 days before his 50th birthday.

Award & nominations

Filmography

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frey, Leonard 1938 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American male actors AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors Cooper Union alumni American gay actors LGBT Jews Male actors from New York City Jewish American male actors Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni Musicians from Brooklyn 20th-century American singers James Madison High School (Brooklyn) alumni 20th-century American male singers