Leonard Barr

Leonard "Bananas" Barr (born September 27, 1903 in New Cumberland , West Virginia , † November 22, 1980 in Burbank , California ) was an American actor.

Leonard Barr initially worked in the steel mills in Steubenville and Cincinnati , where he took dance classes after work. He turned his back on work in the steelworks in the 1920s to earn a living by appearing in vaudeville shows. He later founded the dance duo Barr and Estes with the dancer Virginia Estes . With the comic dance number The Lunatics of the Dance , developed by both , they trundled through the country for years. Leonard Barr, nicknamed Bananas (The Crazy), was Dean Martin's maternal uncle and also made a few appearances on shows for comedic duo Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis in the 1950s, and the late 1960s and early 1970s on The Dean Martin Show .

He played a small supporting role in 1953 in the film Starr von Angst with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the leading roles. Barr made a brief cameo on The Clou . He was also known for the role of Shady Tree in the James Bond film Diamond Fever .

Leonard Barr, 77, suffered a stroke on October 28, 1980 in a hotel room at the West Hollywood Hotel and died on November 22, 1980 in a hospital in Burbank, Los Angeles County .

Filmography (selection)

• 1981: Secret Mission Hollywood (Under the Rainbow) "- as Pops
• 1979: Skatetown
• 1978: Battered (TV) as Prof. Jeremiah Hayden
• 1978: Record City as Sickly Man
• 1977: Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid (TV) as a man in the hospital room
• 1973: The Sting (The Sting) as Leonard
• 1972: Evil Roy Slade (TV) as a cripple
• 1971: James Bond 007 - Diamonds Are Forever (Diamonds Are Forever) as Shady Tree

Web links

• Leonard Barr in the Internet Movie Database (English)