Barney Martin

Born in Queens, New York, Martin served in the U.S. Army Air Force as a navigator during World War II and then was an NYPD officer for twenty years, working his way up to detective. He got his start as a comedian while still a police officer, giving humorous presentations to the deputy commissioners.\n', '

Martin once commented that many Jewish Seinfeld fans told him how much his character reminded them of their fathers. Martin himself was from an Irish Catholic family.\n', '

Entering show business as a stand-in for Jackie Gleason in The Honeymooners in 1955–56 and as a part-time writer for Steve Allen in the 1950\'s, he was discovered by Mel Brooks, who cast him in The Producers. The next year, he played the role of Hank in Charly. He went on to act in dozens of films, including the role of Liza Minnelli\'s unemployed father in the hit 1981 film Arthur and its 1988 sequel, Arthur 2:…