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 Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957), '' Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), '' Network'' (19 ...

, and as the Apostle Nathaniel in

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, incl ...

's '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988). He also starred in the CBS sitcom ''

Flo ''Flo'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of ''Alice'' that aired on CBS from March 24, 1980, to June 30, 1981. The series starred Polly Holliday reprising her role as sassy and street-smart waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Cast ...

'' 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 borde ...

, 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, Elizabet ...

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'' and ''Lone Star'', and eventually recreating them in his

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 ...

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 betwe ...

'' (1981). Burmester played one of the FBI agents hounding the faux Rosenberg couple in ''

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

'' (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 original ...

'' and the Police Sergeant in Harry Connick, Jr.'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 fo ...

'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 James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post- New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability ...

'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 te ...

'' (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 * ''

'' (1983) – FBI Agent #1 * ''

The House of God ''The House of God'' is a satirical novel by Samuel Shem (a pseudonym used by psychiatrist Stephen Bergman), published in 1978. The novel follows a group of medical interns at a fictionalized version of Beth Israel Hospital over the course of ...

'' (1984) – Dr. Gath * '' Odd Jobs'' (1986) – Wylie D. Daiken * '' Sweet Liberty'' (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 Thomp ...

'' (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 a ...

'' (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 Switchback may refer to: Transportation * A hairpin turn on a road * A horseshoe curve * A zigzagging pedestrian or cycling ramp * A roller coaster, or a roller coaster-like road * A zig zag (railway) * The Switchback, a former railway line in ...

'' (1997) – Clyde 'Shorty' Callahan * ''

The Secret of Mulan ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' (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 Europ ...

'' (1999) – Harmon King * ''Dumbarton Bridge'' (1999) – Jack * ''The End of the Bar'' (2002) – Boxing Trainer * ''

City by the Sea ''City by the Sea'' is a 2002 American crime drama film starring Robert De Niro, James Franco, Eliza Dushku, Frances McDormand and William Forsythe. It deals with the family problems of a wayward youth and is set against a man trying to break fre ...

'' (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 Leo ...

'' (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'' (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 (arts), 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 ...

'' (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 i ...

'' (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 spu ...

'' (2003)

TV appearances

;Partial list * ''

Rattlesnake In A Cooler Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera '' Crotalus'' and '' Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small ...

'' (1982) - The doctor/prisoner *'' Young Riders'',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 T ...

'' – "An Innocent Man" (1993) – Woodrow Jonathan Wilton * ''

Alex Haley's Queen ''Alex Haley's Queen'' (also known as ''Queen'') is a 1993 American television miniseries that aired in three installments on February 14, 16, and 18 on CBS. The miniseries is an adaptation of the 1993 novel '' Queen: The Story of an American ...

'' (1993) – Henderson * ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...

'' – "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 The first season of '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', an American police procedural television series, was developed by Dick Wolf and René Balcer. It began airing on September 30, 2001, on NBC, a national broadcast television network in the Un ...

" (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