Ron Leibman
Highest Rated: 91% Norma Rae (1979)
Lowest Rated: 0% Up the Academy (1980)
Birthday: Oct 11, 1937
Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
This charismatic character lead excelled in quirky, explosive types and has been prominent on stage and TV since the 1960s. Ron Leibman was particularly applauded as the union organizer Ruben Warshawsky in Martin Ritt's "Norma Rae" (1979), in his Emmy-winning role as "Kaz" (CBS, 1978-79) and as Roy Cohn in Tony Kushner's two-part Broadway epic "Angels in America" (1993-94). Raised in an upper middle class family on Manhattan's Central Park West, Leibman broke into theater in 1959. After enjoying some success in "Dear Me, the Sky Is Falling" (1963) and "We Bombed in New Haven" (1968), he began making occasional feature films. The actor debuted as the gorilla-dressing brother in Carl Reiner's "Where's Poppa?" (1970). His other best-remembered parts included David Greenberg, the real-life street cop who formed half of the team nicknamed "The Super Cops" (1973) and as the smarmy antagonist in "Rhinestone" (1984). Leibman's other films have proven generally disappointing. He starred in Arthur Hiller's mistitled "Romantic Comedy" (1983) and was the commandant of a military school in the lame teen farce "Up the Academy" (1980), from which he attempted to have his name removed from the credits. The exceptions were the fine Australian-made horse racing saga, "Phar Lap" (1984) and Sidney Lumet's "Night Falls on Manhattan" (1997), in which he played an ambitious district attorney. In general, Leibman has found his talents unrewarded in Hollywood, but he has kept busy onstage in the modestly successful Neil Simon comedies, "I Ought to Be in Pictures" (1980) and "Rumors" (1989), in the latter alongside his second wife, Jessica Walter. He enjoyed a notable triumph onstage with his blistering, Tony-winning portrait of Joseph McCarthy's venomous right-hand man Roy Cohn in "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches" and "Angels in America: Perestroika." Leibman also garnered controversy for his portrayal of Shylock in a 1994 Off-Broadway production of Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice." Leibman's larger-than-life approach to roles often seemed ill-suited to the small screen as well. Although he has begun working in TV in the early 60s, he has not been able to find a successful series berth. While he earned praise and an Emmy for "Kaz," a show which he also created, it did not pull in the ratings. Neither did "Pacific Station" (NBC, 1991), a short-lived detective series. While Leibman brought class and verve to the recurring role of ruthless magazine publisher Allen Rush on the CBS sudser "Central Park West/CPW" (1995-96) and despite a heavy promotional effort, that series was also quickly canceled. He has found some success in the occasional role as the uptight father of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) on the hit NBC sitcom "Friends." Formerly married to actress Linda Lavin, Leibman married Jessica Walter in 1983. Rob Leibman died on December 6, 2019 at the age of 82.
Photos
Ron Leibman
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
42% |
|
A Little Help | Warren (Character) | $85.8K | 2010 |
86% |
|
Garden State | Dr. Cohen (Character) | $26.8M | 2004 |
70% |
|
Dummy | Lou (Character) | $71.3K | 2003 |
72% |
|
Auto Focus | Lenny (Character) | $2.1M | 2002 |
23% |
|
Just the Ticket | Barry the Book (Character) | $427.9K | 1999 |
No Score Yet |
|
Don King: Only in America | Harry Shondor (Character) | - | 1997 |
72% |
|
Night Falls on Manhattan | Morganstern (Character) | $9.9M | 1996 |
No Score Yet |
|
Seven Hours to Judgment | David Reardon (Character) | - | 1988 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami | Simon Resnick (Character) | - | 1987 |
No Score Yet |
|
Christmas Eve | Morris Huffner (Character) | - | 1986 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Many Happy Returns | Jerry Brenner (Character) | - | 1986 |
19% |
|
Rhinestone | Freddie Ugo (Character) | - | 1984 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Door to Door | Larry Price (Character) | - | 1984 |
29% |
|
Romantic Comedy | Leo Janowitz (Character) | - | 1983 |
88% |
|
Phar Lap | Dave Davis (Character) | - | 1983 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Rivkin: Bounty Hunter | Rivkin (Character) | - | 1981 |
50% |
|
Zorro, the Gay Blade | Captain Esteban (Character) | - | 1981 |
0% |
|
Up the Academy | Major Vaughn Liceman (Character) | - | 1980 |
91% |
|
Norma Rae | Reuben (Character) | - | 1979 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A Question of Guilt | Detective Louis Kazinsky (Character) | - | 1978 |
14% |
|
Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood | Rudy Montague (Character) | - | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Roman Grey: The Art of Crime | Roman Grey (Character) | - | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Art of Crime | Roman Grey (Character) | - | 1975 |
83% |
|
The Super Cops | David Greenberg (Character) | - | 1974 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Your Three Minutes Are Up | Mike (Character) | - | 1973 |
78% |
|
The Hot Rock | Murch (Character) | - | 1972 |
82% |
|
Slaughterhouse Five | Paul Lazzaro (Character) | - | 1972 |
83% |
|
Where's Poppa? | Sidney Hocheiser (Character) | - | 1970 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
91% | 84% | Archer | Ron Cadillac (Guest Voice) | 2013-2016 |
92% | 96% | The Sopranos | Dr. Lior Plepler (Guest Star) | 2006 |
78% | 93% | Friends | Dr. Leonard Green (Guest Star) | 1996 2001 2004 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Practice | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2003 |
No Score Yet | 83% | Law & Order | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1995 2000 |
No Score Yet | 93% | Rugrats |
Rabbi/ |
1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Central Park West |
Allen Rush (Character), Unknown (Guest Star) |
1995-1996 |
No Score Yet | 89% | Murder, She Wrote | Darryl Heyward (Guest Star) | 1990 1992 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Aaron's Way | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1988 |