Ron Carey

Ron Carey's short stature worked to hilarious effect as loudmouth cop Carl Levitt on the sitcom "Barney Miller." As Levitt, Carey served as a constant thorn in the side of his comparatively taller superiors (Hal Linden, Steve Landesberg, Max Gail) as he angled for a promotion that was not forthcoming. At the same time, Carey also worked with director Mel Brooks on his big-screen parodies, starting with "Silent Movie" in 1976. The next year, Carey starred as Brooks's sidekick Brophy in the Hitchcock spoof "High Anxiety." Carey joined the director once more for 1981's "History of the World: Part I." Born in 1935 in Newark, Carey started out as a standup comedian, his Catholic upbringing providing the source for much of his material. In 1966, he began to make an impact on television, performing his routine on "The Merv Griffin Show." He later was featured on such talk programs as "The Johnny Cash Show," "The Jackie Gleason Show," "The Ed Sullivan Show," and finally "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1970.