Leonard Barr (born Leonard Barra; September 27, 1903 – November 22, 1980) was an American stand-up comedian, film actor, and dancer. Barr appeared several times with Dean Martin (his nephew) and Jerry Lewis when they hosted the

Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

. He had a brief role in ''

The Sting ''The Sting'' is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936, involving a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss ( Robert Shaw).'' Variety'' film review; December 12, 1973, pag ...

'', appropriately as a burlesque comic. That is also the way his character is listed in the credits—as an anonymous comedian. However, in the wings of the stage just before the comic's entrance, he has a brief conversation with Johnny Hooker ( Robert Redford), who addresses him as "Leonard". Barr's comedic schtick was one-liners; told with a straight face, and sometimes deliberately repeating a punchline. He is perhaps best remembered internationally for his appearance in the 1971

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' Diamonds Are Forever'' in which he played Shady Tree, a stand-up comedian and smuggler in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

who was assassinated by henchmen

Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd are fictional characters in the James Bond Diamonds Are Forever (novel), novel and film, ''Diamonds Are Forever (film), Diamonds Are Forever''. In the novel, Wint and Kidd are members of List of James Bond villains#Villainou ...

. He also appeared in ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...

'' usually in the non-dialogue New York street scenes in the first season or 5 episodes later in 1975 with dialogue and, albeit unnamed, on an episode of ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

'' as a USO comedian. He also made numerous guest appearances on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

''; as well as his nephew's own variety show.

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at '' Rolling Stone'' magazine, for w ...

briefly depicted Barr as a foul-mouthed real-life character in ''

Almost Famous ''Almost Famous'' is a 2000 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, and starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, and Patrick Fugit. It tells the story of a teenage journalist writing for ''Rolling Stone ...

'', his semi-autobiographical film of 2000.

Personal life

He was the uncle of Dean Martin (being the brother of Dean Martin's mother Angela).

Death

The 77-year-old Leonard Barr suffered a stroke on October 28, 1980, in his hotel room in West Hollywood and died on November 22, 1980, in a hospital in Burbank, California.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Leonard American stand-up comedians American male film actors American people of Italian descent 1903 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American comedians