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. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

and served in Italy during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. 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 The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

'', ''

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 Al ...

'' and ''

The Deputy ''The Deputy, a Christian tragedy'' (German language, 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 ...

''. 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 created by Bernard Fein and Albert S. Ruddy which is set in a Prisoner-of-war camp, prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in Nazi Germany during World War II, and centers around a group of Allied prisoner ...

'' 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 fiction, detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law. They run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, Califor ...

'', ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...

'', ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama television 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 ...

'', ''

The Greatest American Hero ''The Greatest American Hero'' is an American comedy-drama superhero television series that aired on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour pilot movie on March 18, 1981, and ran until February 2, 1983. The seri ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner, aired on NBC from September 13, 1974, to January 10, 1980. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator Jim Rockford, with Noah Beery Jr. in th ...

'', ''

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 horror anthology television series created by George A. Romero. A pilot episode was first broadcast on October 29, 1983. The series was picked up for syndication, and the first season premiered on S ...

'' "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 Manitou'' is a 1978 American supernatural body horror film produced and directed by William Girdler, and starring Tony Curtis, Michael Ansara, and Susan Strasberg. It follows a woman in San Francisco who begins developing a fast-growing ...

'', which starred

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

. His additional film credits included '' Little Cigars'' (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 television movie that aired on NBC on March 13, 1974. The film was written for the screen by Richard Levinson, William Link ...

'' (1974), '' Foxy Brown'' (1974), '' Day of the Animals'' (1977), ''

Capricorn One ''Capricorn One'' is a 1977 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 crew themselves. It was wri ...

'' (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'' (1981), and '' Messenger of Death'' (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 and Steve Burton. Jon Cedar died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce 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; companion, 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 ...

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

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

.''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 leukemia in California 20th-century American male actors Jewish American male actors Jewish American screenwriters 21st-century American Jews Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery