Born in Poland into a Yiddish theatrical family, young Leo began performing at the age of five in the Polish language, and at the age of seventeen he performed in a cabaret in Warsaw.
He immigrated to the United States in 1935 and first set foot onto New York’s Yiddish stage during the 1935-1936 season.
His American debut was at the Second Avenue Theatre in New York City in the play, “Lucky Boy,” with the great Moyshe Oysher.
After a season playing dramatic roles, he transitioned to starring in musical comedies that celebrated and skewered American and Jewish culture, such as in the play, “The Galician Cowboy.”
Leo also toured around the world with various theatre troupes, and he often performed solo.
In his heyday, Leo was known as the “Yiddish Fred Astaire” and would perform on the Yiddish stage for decades.
This enormously likeable man entertained his audience in a variety of ways. He acted, sang, danced, told jokes, played the violin and wrote both sketches and couplets for the Yiddish stage. He was not only a nimble dancer, but he was also double-jointed, so he could contort his body whenever he wanted to.
He was loved by his audience and became one of the more popular performers on the Yiddish stage.
Leo also starred in several films, including the Yiddish film, “American Matchmaker.”
In the film he plays the wealthy Nat Silver, a rich young Jew who is very unlucky in love. Nat had been deserted at the altar eight times, so he decided to set up a modern marriage brokerage office in the Bronx. Through his business, he eventually meets a woman named Judith, played by Judith Abarbanel, with whom he finds “real love,” and they get married.
Leo was a very versatile actor, as later in his career, he performed in Hollywood films and television.
He played the Chief Rabbi in the film, “The Frisco Kid,” and he played the role of Hymie Krichinsky in the film “Avalon” in 1990. He also played in English in the American theatre with a touring company of the popular musical, “Cabaret,” whose music was written by the composer Kander and the lyricist Ebb.
In the production of “Cabaret,” Leo played the role of “Herr Schultz.” In the musical, Herr Schultz is a Jewish fruit vendor who is a suitor to Fräulein Schneider, a German boarding house owner.
Leo was a versatile actor, indeed!
