Kurt Bieber

Kurt Bieber, born Kermit Henry Bieber on January 5, 1929, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, was an American actor and male model who worked in theater, film, and print media. He died on December 31, 2015.

Following military service during the Korean War, Bieber relocated to New York City, where he studied drama, dance, and voice through the American Theatre Wing. Before reaching Broadway, he built experience performing in summer stock productions of several plays and musicals, among them Wish You Were Here, Wonderful Town, Can-Can, and On the Town.

Bieber made his Broadway debut in 1958 in the original cast of The World of Suzie Wong, appearing in the role of a sailor alongside William Shatner. In 1960, he took part in a regional production of The Teahouse of the August Moon, sharing the stage with Red Buttons.

Beyond the stage, Bieber was photographed by Cris Alexander as the character Letch Feeley for Patrick Dennis's illustrated autobiographical novel Little Me, which was later adapted into a Broadway musical in 1962. Beginning in the late 1960s, he worked as a model for Colt Studio Group. He also appeared in commercial work and in two films: Midnight Cowboy, in which he played a Times Square street hustler, and Cruising, in which he appeared as a club goer. Bieber discussed his experiences on those film productions in an article titled "Exclusive: The Men of Cruising," published in the February 1980 issue of Mandate magazine. That same publication featured his Colt Studio photographs in a June 1980 article titled "Whatever Happened To Letch Feeley?"