Phil Leeds
Phil Leeds (April 6, 1916 – August 16, 1998) was an American character actor. He appeared in many movies and television series, including guest appearances on The Dick Van Dyke Show, Maude, The Monkees, Friends, Barney Miller, The Golden Girls, Everybody Loves Raymond, Boy Meets World and more.
Phil Leeds
CBS Television · ebay: https: Archive: https: archive.ph/nfbUS · Public domain
- Name
- Phil Leeds
- Birth Name
- Philip Lebowitz
- Born
- 6 April 1916
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Died
- 16 August 1998
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actor
- Nationality
- United States
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Phil Leeds (April 6, 1916 – August 16, 1998) was an American character actor. He appeared in many movies and television series, including guest appearances on The Dick Van Dyke Show, Maude, The Monkees, Friends, Barney Miller, The Golden Girls, Everybody Loves Raymond, Boy Meets World and more.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q662106 · wikipedia · Phil Leeds
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Phil Leeds • Birth Name — Philip Lebowitz • Born — 6 April 1916 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Died — 16 August 1998 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1949–1998
Early life
Early life
Leeds was born in New York City to Benjamin and Anna Lebowitz on April 6, 1916. His father was a post office clerk. Raised in the Bronx, he was a peanut vendor for some time at Yankee Stadium and Manhattan's Polo Grounds. He was a student at City College of New York and worked in Army special services in World War II.
Career
Career
He began his career as a standup comedian when he was in his 20s and then went on to appear in several films, including Rosemary's Baby, Ghost, and Beaches; and on sitcoms, such as, All in the Family, Three's Company, Night Court, Wings, Ally McBeal, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Larry Sanders Show, Barney Miller, Car 54, Where Are You?, The Patty Duke Show, The Monkees, The Odd Couple, Happy Days, ALF, Friends, Roseanne, Mad About You, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Golden Girls, and Double Rush. At age 80, he appeared on the 1996 Halloween episode of Roseanne, "Satan, Darling", in which Roseanne finds herself drawn into a parody version of Rosemary's Baby (Leeds had played Dr. Shand in the original 1968 film). His final role was a brief scene in Lost & Found (1999). Leeds's Broadway credits included Of V We Sing (1942), Let Freedom Sing (1942), Make a Wish (1951), Can-Can (1953), The Matchmaker (1955), Romanoff and Juliet (1957), The Girls Against the Boys (1959), Christine (1960), Nowhere to Go But Up (1962), Sophie (1963), Here's Love (1963), Nobody Loves an Albatross (1963), Dinner at Eight (1966), Little Murders (1967), Inquest (1970), Two Gentlemen of Verona (1971), and Hurry, Harry (1972).
Blacklist
Blacklist
Leeds was blacklisted during the McCarthy era after pleading the fifth when examined by the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Personal life
Personal life
Leeds was married to fellow character actress Toby Brandt for 53 years (1934–1987) until her death. Leeds was Jewish.
Death
Death
Leeds died of pneumonia on August 16, 1998, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles at age 82. "Happy Trails", an episode of Ally McBeal, featured footage of his prior appearances on the show, eulogizing his character.
Filmography
Filmography
• Rosie (1960, TV pilot) as Rosie • The Dick Van Dyke Show (1962, TV series) as Blackie Sorrell • The Monkees (1966, TV series) as Bernie Class ("I've Got a Little Song Here") • Mannix (1967) S1 E7 "Warning Live Blueberries" as "turned on" hippie guru Professor Wilson • Rosemary's Baby (1968) as Dr. Shand • Don't Drink the Water (1969) as Sam Blackwell • The Odd Couple (1972) as Salty Pepper • Maude (1973, TV series) as Principal Fishman • Happy Days (TV series) as J. Jackie Silver • Mastermind (1976) as Israeli Agent #2 • Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) as Dog Catcher • Silent Movie (1976) as Waiter (uncredited) • Three's Company (1979) as Lyle Wormwold • History of the World, Part I (1981) as Chief Monk for the Spanish Inquisition • CBS Children's Mystery Theatre (1981, episode The Haunting of Harrington House) as Uncle Max • Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie (1984) as Banker Schlockmocker • Night Court (1984, TV series) as Norm, God 2 and Arnold Koppelson • Saturday the 14th Strikes Back (1988) as Leonard • Beaches (1988) as Sammy Pinkers • Cat Chaser (1989) as Jerry Shea • Enemies, A Love Story (1989) as Pesheles • Ghost (1990) as Emergency Room Ghost • Coach (1990, TV series) as Man • He Said, She Said (1991) as Mr. Spepk • Soapdish (1991) as Old Man • Frankie and Johnny (1991) as Mr. DeLeon • All I Want for Christmas (1991) as Mr. Feld • Mad About You (1992) as Vacky, a peanut vendor • Matlock (1993, TV series) as Marty Willis • Clean Slate (1994) as Landlord • The Larry Sanders Show (1994) as Sid Bessel, Hank's agent • Double Rush (1995, TV series) as "The Kid" • ER (1995, TV series) as "Husband" • Two Much (1996) as The Lincoln Brigade • Friends (1996) as Mr. Adelman • Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–1998) as Uncle Mel • Wings (1996, TV series) as Lou • Murphy Brown (1997, TV series) as Old Man • Krippendorf's Tribe (1998) as Dr. Harvey • Lost & Found (1999) as Mr. Elderly Couple (final film role) • Boy Meets World as Phil/Milton • Barney Miller as Arthur Bloom • Ally McBeal (1997–2002, TV series) as Judge Happy Boyle
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1916
Phil Leeds was born on 6 April 1916.
1998
Phil Leeds died on 16 August 1998.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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New York City.
Birth place
Los Angeles.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Phil Leeds”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q662106: Phil Leeds
Unverified · Wikidata
Citations
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reference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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