Len Lesser ✝

Lesser was born in the Bronx in 1922. His father, a grocer, was a Jewish immigrant from Poland. Lesser received his bachelor\'s degree from the City College of New York in 1942 at the age of 19. Lesser enlisted in the United States Army the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II.\n', ' Lesser was a prolific character actor in film, TV and on stage. He has appeared on American television steadily since 1955 on scores of TV classics such as That Girl, The Untouchables, Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky, The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Get Smart, Family Affair, The Monkees, Quincy, M.E., The Rockford Files, The Amazing Spider-Man, Mad About You, All in the Family, Boy Meets World, Smart Guy, My Favorite Martian, The Munsters, and Castle. He appeared in a variety of films such as Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965), Kelly\'s Heroes (1970), Blood and Lace (1971), Dirty Little Billy (1972), Papillon (1973), Truck Stop Women (1974), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Supervan (1977), Moonshine County Express (1977), Ruby (1977), Death Hunt (1981), Take This Job and Shove It (1981), Grandmother\'s House (1988) and Baadasssss! (2003).\n', ' Lesser had a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond as "Garvin", a friend of Frank Barone, who always lifted his arms in excitement whenever he saw Ray (just as Lesser did in his recurring role on Seinfeld as "Uncle Leo" whenever he saw his nephew, Jerry). He also appeared in Jeff Seymour\'s critically acclaimed stage production of Cold Storage at the University of Toronto\'s George Ignatieff Theatre.\n', '