Career

Leibman was a member of 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...

 in the late 1950s. He has appeared in many films such as Phar Lap

Phar Lap

Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the public's imagination during the early years of the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia. Phar Lap dominated Australian racing during a distinguished career, winning a Melbourne...

; Where's Poppa?

Where's Poppa?

Where's Poppa? is a 1970 black comedy film based on the novel by Robert Klane starring George Segal, Ron Leibman and Ruth Gordon. The plot revolves around the troubled relationship between a lawyer son played by Segal and his senile mother played by Gordon...

; The Hot Rock

The Hot Rock (film)

The Hot Rock is a 1972 comic caper film written by William Goldman and directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Redford, George Segal and Moses Gunn. The film was based upon Donald E...

; Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five (film)

Slaughterhouse-Five is a 1972 film based on Kurt Vonnegut's novel of the same name. The screenplay is by Stephen Geller and the film was directed by George Roy Hill. It stars Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, and Valerie Perrine, and features Eugene Roche, Sharon Gans, Holly Near, and Perry King. The...

; The Super Cops

The Super Cops

The Super Cops is a 1974 film starring Ron Leibman and David Selby, directed by Gordon Parks. The film is based on the book The Super Cops: The True Story Of The Cops Called Batman and Robin by L.H. Whittemore...

; Up the Academy

Up the Academy

MAD Magazine Presents Up the Academy is an American teen comedy film released in 1980, with a plot about the outrageous antics of a group of misfits at a military school.-Production:...

; Norma Rae

Norma Rae

Norma Rae is a 1979 American drama film that tells the story of a factory worker from a small town in North Carolina, who becomes involved in the labor union activities at the textile factory where she works...

; Romantic Comedy; Zorro, The Gay Blade

Zorro, The Gay Blade

Zorro, The Gay Blade is a 1981 feature film. This comedy features George Hamilton in a Golden Globe-nominated dual role as both Don Diego de la Vega and his gay twin brother Bunny Wigglesworth, née Ramon De La Vega.-Synopsis:...

; Garden State

Garden State (film)

Garden State is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...

; and Rhinestone

Rhinestone (film)

Rhinestone is a 1984 comedy film directed by Bob Clark with a screenplay by Sylvester Stallone and Phil Alden Robinson; the film stars Stallone and Dolly Parton.-Plot:...

. He co-starred with second wife Jessica Walter

Jessica Walter

Jessica Walter is an American actress, known for the films Play Misty for Me, Grand Prix, and for her role as Lucille Bluth on the sitcom Arrested Development...

 in Neil Simon

Neil Simon

Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...

's play Rumors

Rumors

Rumors is a farcical play by Neil Simon.At its start, several affluent couples gather in the posh suburban residence of a couple for a dinner party celebrating their hosts' tenth anniversary. When they arrive, they discover there are no servants, the hostess is missing, and the host - the deputy...

. They also appeared together as husband and wife in the film Dummy

Dummy (film)

Dummy is a 2002 comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Pritikin. It stars Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga and Jared Harris. It was released to home media by Lionsgate Home Entertainment on February 17, 2004....

and in the TV Series 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,...

in the episode, "House Counsel."

He won an Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 for his convict-turned-lawyer character in Kaz

Kaz (TV series)

Kaz is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 10, 1978 to April 22, 1979.-Overview:Ron Leibman starred as Martin "Kaz" Kazinsky, a former convict who became a criminal defense attorney after he was released from prison. Leibman won an Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actor in...

(1978–79), a series which he also created and co-wrote. Leibman also received a Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 for his performance as Roy Cohn

Roy Cohn

Roy Marcus Cohn was an American attorney who became famous during Senator Joseph McCarthy's investigations into Communist activity in the United States during the Second Red Scare. Cohn gained special prominence during the Army–McCarthy hearings. He was also an important member of the U.S...

 in the Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

-winning play Angels in America

Angels in America

Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is the 1993 Pulitzer Prize winning play in two parts by American playwright Tony Kushner. It has been made into both a television miniseries and an opera by Peter Eötvös.-Characters:...

. He is also widely known for his portrayal of Leonard Green, Rachel Green

Rachel Green

Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Jennifer Aniston. Aniston received an Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe for her performances.-Background:...

's overbearing father, on the sitcom Friends

Friends

Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

. Leibman had a recurring role on The Sopranos

The Sopranos

The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...

as Dr. Plepler.

Personal life

Leibman was born in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, 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...

, the son of Grace (née Marks) and Murray Leibman, who worked in the garment business. He graduated in 1958 from Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...

. He has been married to actress Jessica Walter

Jessica Walter

Jessica Walter is an American actress, known for the films Play Misty for Me, Grand Prix, and for her role as Lucille Bluth on the sitcom Arrested Development...

 since 1983. He was previously married to actress Linda Lavin

Linda Lavin

Linda Lavin is an American singer and actress. She is best known for playing the title character in the sitcom Alice and for her Broadway performances.After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Compass Players in the late 1950s...

 (1969–1981). He is currently the chair of the acting department at The New School

The New School

The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...

 in New York City.

External links

• The New School for Drama