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Sandy Baron

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Sandy Baron
Baron in 1968
Born
Sanford Irving Beresofsky

(1936-05-05)May 5, 1936
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
DiedJanuary 21, 2001(2001-01-21) (aged 64)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeHillside Memorial Park Cemetery
EducationThomas Jefferson High School
Alma materBrooklyn College
OccupationActor
Years active1962–1998
Spouses
Geraldine Mary Crotty
​
​
(m. 1962; div. 1967)​
Mary Jo Webster
​
​
(m. 1970; div. 1975)​
Stephanie Ericsson
​
​
(m. 1976; div. 1981)​

Sandy Baron (born Sanford Irving Beresofsky; May 5, 1936 – January 21, 2001) was an American actor and comedian who performed on stage, in films, and on television. He is best known for his recurring role of Jack Klompus on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld.

Early life

Sanford Beresofsky was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in the Brownsville neighborhood, the son of Helen Farberman, a waitress, and Max Beresofsky, a house painter,[1] both Yiddish-speaking Russian Jewish immigrants.[2] His father was born in Slonim, Belarus.[3] He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in East New York; and while he was a student at Brooklyn College, to which he received a scholarship, he changed his name to "Sandy Baron"—taking his inspiration from the nearby Barron's Bookstore.[1][4] He began his career working in the Catskill Mountains resorts with their "Borscht Belt" brand of Jewish humor, on which Baron made his mark. He then moved on to the Compass Players Improv Comedy group in the late 1950s.

Career

Baron made his Broadway debut in Tchin-Tchin in 1962. He also appeared in many other Broadway plays, hits as well as flops, including Arturo Ui, Generations, and Lenny (Los Angeles production). He replaced Cliff Gorman in the lead role of Lenny Bruce on Broadway.

In 1964, he established a reputation as part of the weekly television program That Was The Week That Was, and as the opening act for Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme at the Copacabana in New York City. In the 1966–1967 season, Baron co-starred with Will Hutchins in the NBC sitcom Hey, Landlord, about a brownstone apartment in Manhattan. In the 1970s, he made regular appearances on talk shows such as The Mike Douglas Show and The Merv Griffin Show, and multiple guest appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Baron was also co-host of The Della Reese Show and hosted a number of television talk shows including A.M. New York and Mid-Morning LA. In addition, he was the host of the pilot for Hollywood Squares and often appeared as a celebrity contestant on this and other games shows.

He acted in many television programs, including a recurring role in Seinfeld as Jack Klompus. Episode "The Pen" featuring dialogue between Baron's character and Jerry that, as a critic wrote, "[was] one of many reasons Seinfeld has been compared to the plays of Samuel Beckett."[5] He starred in Law & Order and took the role of Grandpa in a 1996 TV-movie revival of The Munsters, titled The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas. His appearances in feature films included Sweet November (1968), Targets (1968), If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969), The Out-of-Towners (1970), and Birdy (1984). Along with several of his contemporaries, Baron played himself in Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose (1984), and narrated the film.[1]

Baron also wrote music, starting out in 1961 in the Brill Building in New York City with songs such as "Flying Blue Angels" and Adam Wade's "The Writing on The Wall". In 1971, he co-wrote Lou Rawls' hit "A Natural Man" with Bobby Hebb ("Sunny"). Baron wrote and recorded a number of comedy albums, including The Race Race and God Save the Queens co-written with Reverend James R. McGraw, editor/writer of Dick Gregory's books.

Throughout his career, he opened for Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra, The Fifth Dimension, Bobby Vinton, Anthony Newley and Diana Ross among others.

Personal life and death

Baron was married to model/actress Geraldine Baron, writer/activist Mary Jo Webster Baron, and writer/screenwriter Stephanie Ericsson,[6] with each marriage ending in divorce. He had no children.[7] Baron died on January 21, 2001, of emphysema in Van Nuys, California, at the age of 64.[8]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1965–1975 The Mike Douglas Show Himself
1966–1967 Hey, Landlord Charles 'Chuck' Hookstratten
1970–1971 Love, American Style Salesman / Freddie
1981 Cassie & Co. John Stuart
1981 An Evening At The Improv Himself
1990–1991 The Munsters Today Yorga
1991 Walter & Emily Stan
1992 Life Goes On Sam Berkson
1996 Tracey Takes On... Sheldon Sturges
1996 The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas Grandpa Munster
1991–1997 Seinfeld Jack Klompus

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1968 Sweet November Richard
1968 Targets Kip Larkin
1969 If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium John Marino
1969 Girls in the Saddle
1970 The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart Man telling joke in bar Uncredited
1970 The Out-of-Towners TV Man
1978 Straight Time Manny
1984 Broadway Danny Rose Sandy Baron
1984 Birdy Mr. Columbato
1986 Sid and Nancy Hotelier - U.S.A.
1986 Mission Kill Bingo Thomas
1986 Vamp Vic
1990 The Grifters Doctor
1991 Motorama Kidnapping Husband
1991 Lonely Hearts Apartment Manager
1994 Leprechaun 2 Morty
1995 Twilight Highway Lenny
1998 The Hi-Lo Country Henchman

References

  1. ^ a b c Van Gelder, Lawrence (29 January 2001). "Sandy Baron, 64, Veteran Comic Who Antagonized Morty Seinfeld". The New York Times.
  2. ^ 1930 United States Federal Census
  3. ^ U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
  4. ^ Bisogno, Frank (1990). Is Anyone Here from Brooklyn?. Fradon Publishing. ASIN B0006EV8V0.
  5. ^ Peters, Mark (March 14, 2017). "Blizzard or not so much, you're home now, so revisit the Seinfeld episode that launched a million Stellaaaaaaaas: 'The Pen'". Salon. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "Stephanie Ericsson: About the Author: HarperCollins Publishers". Archived from the original on 2015-04-14. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  7. ^ "Amazon.com: Stephanie Ericsson: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle". amazon.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  8. ^ Woo, Elaine (26 January 2001). "Sandy Baron; Comic Known for Quirky Roles on Stage, Screen". Los Angeles Times.
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