Sandy Baron
Encyclopedia
Sandy Baron was an American comedian
who performed on stage, in film
s, and on television
.
, New York
, and changed his name while a student at Brooklyn College
, taking his inspiration from the nearby Barron's Bookstore. He started his career working in the Catskill Mountains
resorts when they were synonymous with the "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.
He made his Broadway
debut in Tchin-Tchin in 1962. He also appeared in many other Broadway plays, hits as well as flops, including Autoro Ui, Generations and Lenny (Los Angeles production); replacing Cliff Gorman in the lead role of Lenny Bruce
on Broadway.
In 1964 he established a reputation for himself as part of That Was The Week That Was
and as the opening act for Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme at the Copa Cabana in New York City. In the 1966-1967 season, Baron co-starred with Will Hutchins
in the NBC
sitcom Hey, Landlord
about an apartment
complex in Manhattan. In the 1970s, he made regular appearances on talk shows like The Mike Douglas Show
and Merv Griffin
, and multiple guest appearances on The Tonight Show
with Johnny Carson. Sandy was also co-host of the 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 countless television programs, including a notable role in Seinfeld
as Jack Klompus; starred in Law & Order
; and as Grandpa in a 1996 TV-movie revival of The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas
. His appearances in feature films included Sweet November
1968, The Out-of-Towners
1970, If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
1969, Birdie
1984, and others. Along with several of his contemporaries, Baron played himself in the opening scene of Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose
1984; he also narrated this film.
Baron wrote music too, starting out at the Brill Building
in New York with 1961 songs like Flying Blue Angels and Adam Wade's The Writing on The Wall. Later co-writing Lou Rawls
hit A Natural Man with Bobby Hebb
(Sunny
) in 1971. Sandy 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
, The Fifth Dimension
, Bobby Vinton
, Anthony Newley
, Diana Ross
and others. He was married to model/actress Geraldine Baron, writer/activist Mary Jo Webster Baron, and Stephanie Ericsson; all ending in divorce. He had no children.
Baron died of emphysema
in Van Nuys, in the San Fernando Valley
of southern California
. A memorial celebration was held July 22, 2001 at Hollywood's Ivar Theatre. He was entombed in Culver City's Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
.
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
who performed on stage, in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, and on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Biography
Baron was born Sanford Beresofsky (Sanford Irving Beresofsky) in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and changed his name while a student at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, taking his inspiration from the nearby Barron's Bookstore. He started his career working in the Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
resorts when they were synonymous with the "Borscht Belt
Borscht Belt
Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange and Ulster counties in upstate New York that were a popular vacation spot for New York City Jews from the 1920s through the 1960s.-Name:The name comes from...
" brand of Jewish humor on which Baron made his mark. He then moved on to the Compass Players
Compass Players
The Compass Players was a 1950s cabaret revue show started by alumni, dropouts and hangers-on from the University of Chicago. The troupe was active from 1955-1958 in Chicago and St. Louis...
Improv Comedy group in the late 1950s.
He made his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in Tchin-Tchin in 1962. He also appeared in many other Broadway plays, hits as well as flops, including Autoro Ui, Generations and Lenny (Los Angeles production); replacing Cliff Gorman in the lead role of Lenny Bruce
Lenny Bruce
Leonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...
on Broadway.
In 1964 he established a reputation for himself as part of That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was
That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, is a satirical television comedy programme that was shown on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost...
and as the opening act for Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme at the Copa Cabana in New York City. In the 1966-1967 season, Baron co-starred with Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster in the Warner Brothers Western television series Sugarfoot on ABC from 1957-1961.-Biography:...
in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom Hey, Landlord
Hey, Landlord
Hey, Landlord is an American sitcom appearing on NBC during the 1966-1967 season, sponsored by Procter & Gamble in the 8:30-9pm Eastern time period on Sunday nights.-Plot, cast, and characters:...
about an apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
complex in Manhattan. In the 1970s, he made regular appearances on talk shows like The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
and Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
, and multiple guest appearances on The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
with Johnny Carson. Sandy was also co-host of the 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
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
and often appeared as a celebrity contestant on this and other games shows.
He acted in countless television programs, including a notable role in Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
as Jack Klompus; starred in Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
; and as Grandpa in a 1996 TV-movie revival of The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas
The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas
The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas is a television movie featuring characters from the 1960s American television sitcom The Munsters. It featured an entirely different cast from the series and the previous movie Here Come The Munsters. The movie is set around Christmas time and was met with mixed...
. His appearances in feature films included Sweet November
Sweet November (1968 film)
Sweet November is a 1968 romantic drama film written by Herman Raucher and starring Sandy Dennis, Anthony Newley and Theodore Bikel. The film had originally been written as a stage play by Raucher, but before it was even performed, Universal Pictures got wind of the project and paid Raucher...
1968, The Out-of-Towners
The Out-of-Towners (1970 film)
The Out-of-Towners is a 1970 comedy film written by Neil Simon, directed by Arthur Hiller, and starring Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis. It was released by Paramount Pictures on May 28, 1970....
1970, If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium is a 1969 romantic comedy film made by Wolper Pictures and released by United Artists. It was directed by Mel Stuart, filmed on location throughout Europe, and features many cameo appearances from various stars....
1969, Birdie
Birdy (film)
Birdy is a 1984 American film directed by Alan Parker and starring Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage. It is based on the novel of the same name by William Wharton.- Synopsis :...
1984, and others. Along with several of his contemporaries, Baron played himself in the opening scene of Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose
Broadway Danny Rose
Broadway Danny Rose is a 1984 American black-and-white comedy film written, directed by and starring Woody Allen. It was screened out of competition at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.- Plot :...
1984; he also narrated this film.
Baron wrote music too, starting out at the Brill Building
Brill Building
The Brill Building is an office building located at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood...
in New York with 1961 songs like Flying Blue Angels and Adam Wade's The Writing on The Wall. Later co-writing Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
hit A Natural Man with Bobby Hebb
Bobby Hebb
Bobby Hebb was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his writing and recording of "Sunny".-Biography:...
(Sunny
Sunny (song)
"Sunny" is the name of a song written by Bobby Hebb. It is one of the most covered popular songs, with hundreds of versions released. BMI rates "Sunny" number 25 in its "Top 100 songs of the century."...
) in 1971. Sandy wrote and recorded a number of comedy albums including The Race Race
The Race Race
The Race Race was a 2008 radio show on Australia-wide radio station Triple J by Australian comedian team The Chaser. It was hosted by Chaser members Craig Reucassel and Chris Taylor, with guest appearances from fellow Chaser member Chas Licciardello...
and God Save the Queens co-written with Reverend James R. McGraw, editor/writer of Dick Gregory
Dick Gregory
Richard Claxton "Dick" Gregory is an American comedian, social activist, social critic, writer, and entrepreneur....
's books.
Throughout his career he opened for Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
, The Fifth Dimension
The Fifth Dimension
The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire also includes pop, R&B, soul, and jazz.Originally known as The Hi-Fi's, the 5th Dimension changed its name in late 1966, and was best-known during the late 1960s and early 1970s for popularizing the hits "Up, Up and Away",...
, Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
, Anthony Newley
Anthony Newley
Anthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
, Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
and others. He was married to model/actress Geraldine Baron, writer/activist Mary Jo Webster Baron, and Stephanie Ericsson; all ending in divorce. He had no children.
Baron died of emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
in Van Nuys, in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
of southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. A memorial celebration was held July 22, 2001 at Hollywood's Ivar Theatre. He was entombed in Culver City's Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California, USA. Many Jewish people from the entertainment industry are buried here.-Notable interments:*Irving Aaronson, composer...
.
External links
- Sandy Baron at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...