R.I.P. Dietrich

[Frankie]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obit_steve_landesberg

Veteran character actor Steve Landesberg dies at 65

1 hr 51 mins ago

http://theotherbrother.files.wordpress.com/2006/07/stevelandesberg.jpg?w=115&h=145 http://tunasub.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/miller-and-dietrich.jpg

LOS ANGELES – Steve Landesberg may have been best known for his role as the intellectual and sometimes annoying Detective Sgt. Arthur Dietrich on the long-running 1970s cop comedy "Barney Miller."

But younger audiences knew him too — for a slew of recent parts such as the doctor on the 2008 hit movie "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

The veteran actor died Monday at age 65, his agent, Jeffrey Leavitt, told The Associated Press. The cause of death wasn't released.

Landesberg appeared in dozens of TV shows, his curly haired, bespectacled face easily recognizable. Recent credits included "Everybody Hates Chris," "Just Jordan," "That 70s Show" and "American Dad."

"He was a wonderful comic and superb actor who gave so much of himself in every performance," said Shirley Jones, who appeared opposite Landesberg in what was one of his final appearances, an episode of "The Cleaner" last year.
His most successful role was that of Dietrich on "Barney Miller, which was set in a New York City police station populated by oddballs and eccentrics. It aired from 1975 to 1982.

Landesberg's Dietrich was noted for his endless knowledge and expertise on seemingly every obscure subject imaginable, which was coupled with a sometimes patronizing attitude. He once refused to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to a fellow officer, explaining he was an agnostic and wouldn't know who to thank.

In "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," he listened patiently as Marshall's former boyfriend described a sexual tryst, then revealed he was really a pediatrician.
Landesberg also played a doctor in the TV series "Head Case," which aired from 2007 to 2009.

Other TV credits included "The Rockford Files," "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place," "Cosby," "Law and Order" and "The Golden Girls."

[rockymtnchief]

Abe Vigoda will out live the whole cast. He refuses to die!

[Gadzooks]

RIP. My memories of times with my grandparents are rapidly fading away. At least Fish is still around.

[Frankie]

Abe Vigoda will out live the whole cast. He refuses to die!

Jack Soo, Ron Carey, and now Steve Landesberg. Three down and Vigoda still here. Good for him.

[Rain Man]

I'm saddened. Dietrich is one of my favorite television characters of all time. His understated humor really struck a chord with me.

[Psyko Tek]

I fear if vigoda dies he takes the universe with him

and RIP
my fave from barney
basc k when sitcoms where funny

[Brock]

RIP. My memories of times with my grandparents are rapidly fading away. At least Fish is still around.

His spinoff sucked though.

[T-post Tom]

Great show and ensemble acting.

BTW:

Hal Linden - 79 yrs old
Abe Vigoda - 89 yrs old
Max Gail - 67 yrs old
Ron Glass - 65 yrs old
Gregory Sierra - 69 yrs old

[cardken]

His dry delivery was great my Dad was a huge fan of the show and character when I was young. And now really appreciate it as I've gotten older. RIP true talent.

[blaise]

That's too bad. That show was one of the re-runs that would come on around 6:00 on UHF, that my brother and sister and I would watch.

[Amnorix]

I was a huge fan of that show. I still use Wojehowicz (sp?) line of "spelled just like it sounds" when I encounter some name that is impossible to pronounce/spell.

The first time I ever saw any part of the Godfather was when I was flipping around and came across Abe Vigoda and knew him from Barney Miller and started watching. I even remember that it was the funeral scene when he tells Michael that Barzini wants to set up a meeting. Boy was I annoyed that it was the end of the movie. Didn't take long before I found out what movie it was and then saw the whole thing.

(p.s. -- isn't it weird how memories work? I'd completely forgotten all of that about the Godfather, and then Steve Landesberg dies, and I start thinking of Barney Miller and its cast and ......)

[Bane]

R.I.P
























http://i55.tinypic.com/2gxmi5g.jpg

[Norman Einstein]

That show was made during a time when those that created shows had foresight to find a cast that would support their creation.

Too bad that breed of writer/creator doesn't seem to exist today.

Steve Landesberg will always be remembered as Dietrich.

[HemiEd]

He was too young to pass, RIP.

Loved Barney Miller, and he was one of the best characters, my favorite kind of humor.

I wonder what was the cause of death? Odd that they wouldn't at least say something about it.

[Norman Einstein]

He was too young to pass, RIP.

Loved Barney Miller, and he was one of the best characters, my favorite kind of humor.

I wonder what was the cause of death? Odd that they wouldn't at least say something about it.

.... after a battle with cancer (http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/12/21/barney-miller-star-steve-landesberg-dead-at-65/).

[Rain Man]

That show was made during a time when those that created shows had foresight to find a cast that would support their creation.

Too bad that breed of writer/creator doesn't seem to exist today.

Steve Landesberg will always be remembered as Dietrich.


The other thing that I draw from shows of that era was the creation of the true ensemble cast. Who was the real star of Barney Miller? I wouldn't argue that it was Hal Linden.

Until that time, it seemed that most comedies were built around a central character - Lucy Ricardo, Oliver Wendell Douglas, Maxwell Smart, Richie Cunningham, Beaver Cleaver (I just put that in to chuckle at the name), etc. There were some exceptions, of course, in shows like the Beverly Hillbillies and The Brady Bunch, but I think the general formula was that you had to have a star, and then there might be some prominent side characters, but the star was in most scenes.

Barney Miller seemed to be an early adopter of having a true ensemble, where story lines were built around different characters. Around that time, other shows arrived doing the same thing - Taxi and WKRP spring to mind - eventually leading to shows like Cheers.

I'm not sure where we stand now with regard to that because I'm not current on my television watching, but I've always found that in general I prefer shows with ensemble casts over those built around a central star. Maybe that's because I came of age with Barney Miller, or maybe it's an innate preference, but I suspect that it's at least partially borne of seeing and appreciating the high quality of Barney Miller as a young teen.

[Deberg_1990]

Great show. They dont seem to make comedies much like this anymore. Everything today is built around punchlines instead of character comedy.

[Frankie]

I'm saddened. Dietrich is one of my favorite television characters of all time. His understated humor really struck a chord with me.

Before he was on Barney Miller Landesberg was one of my favorite stand-up comedians. His impression of the angry black WR was so bad it was hilarious. A classic.

[Frankie]

Tried to find a clip of his stand ups but couldn't. This is a sample of his humor (though Doglass was a terrible interviewer):

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[Norman Einstein]

The other thing that I draw from shows of that era was the creation of the true ensemble cast. Who was the real star of Barney Miller? I wouldn't argue that it was Hal Linden.

Until that time, it seemed that most comedies were built around a central character - Lucy Ricardo, Oliver Wendell Douglas, Maxwell Smart, Richie Cunningham, Beaver Cleaver (I just put that in to chuckle at the name), etc. There were some exceptions, of course, in shows like the Beverly Hillbillies and The Brady Bunch, but I think the general formula was that you had to have a star, and then there might be some prominent side characters, but the star was in most scenes.

Barney Miller seemed to be an early adopter of having a true ensemble, where story lines were built around different characters. Around that time, other shows arrived doing the same thing - Taxi and WKRP spring to mind - eventually leading to shows like Cheers.

I'm not sure where we stand now with regard to that because I'm not current on my television watching, but I've always found that in general I prefer shows with ensemble casts over those built around a central star. Maybe that's because I came of age with Barney Miller, or maybe it's an innate preference, but I suspect that it's at least partially borne of seeing and appreciating the high quality of Barney Miller as a young teen.

My opinion of the current lineups tend to be knockoffs. CSI:different flavors of the same thing, Law and Order: more different flavors NCIS: two flavors of preceding examples. All of the survivor series, all of the reality series - both of which are scripted.

Dancing with the stars is garbage. Many women like that show, I think it's a waste of a time slot.

I'd rather watch the knockoffs on Discovery, Military Channel and a few of the other cable channels.

Seems like all of the ground breakers are dying off. Even the movie makers are "remaking" old movies, True Grit for an example. And then the animated BS movies.

I think imagination died in the 90's.

[Deberg_1990]

My opinion of the current lineups tend to be knockoffs. CSI:different flavors of the same thing, Law and Order: more different flavors NCIS: two flavors of preceding examples. All of the survivor series, all of the reality series - both of which are scripted.

Dancing with the stars is garbage. Many women like that show, I think it's a waste of a time slot.

I'd rather watch the knockoffs on Discovery, Military Channel and a few of the other cable channels.

Seems like all of the ground breakers are dying off. Even the movie makers are "remaking" old movies, True Grit for an example. And then the animated BS movies.

I think imagination died in the 90's.


Theres still some good scripted shows out there, but alot of the times, nobody watches them.

[Rain Man]

Great show. They dont seem to make comedies much like this anymore. Everything today is built around punchlines instead of character comedy.


I've noticed that about comedies that I don't like. If I like a comedy, it's because the characters have discussions and the funny stuff falls out naturally. But the bad comedies are straight line, punch line, straight line, punch line. Once you notice the pattern, you can no longer not notice it.

[Norman Einstein]

Theres still some good scripted shows out there, but alot of the times, nobody watches them.

Got a list? I don't see much worth watching.

[Deberg_1990]

Got a list? I don't see much worth watching.

Not really, but FX just cancelled a great show called "Terriers" Oh, it was built around an ensemble of characters, besides the two main ones. : )