Larry Gelman

Lawrence Sheldon Gelman was born on November 3, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York, and went on to become a prolific American film and television character actor. He died on June 7, 2021, at the age of 90, from injuries sustained in a fall.

Gelman is perhaps best remembered for two recurring television roles: Dr. Bernie Tupperman on The Bob Newhart Show and Vinnie, the poker-playing companion of Oscar and Felix, in the original television adaptation of The Odd Couple. Among his other series regular and recurring roles, he portrayed Leo Gold in Free Country, Irv Schlosser in Grand Slam, Dr. Hubie Binder in Maude, Officer Bernstein on Eight Is Enough, Al Clemens on Mork & Mindy, and Max on Needles and Pins. His guest appearances spanned decades and included The Monkees, Batman, Get Smart, I Dream of Jeannie, My Three Sons, The Doris Day Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Carol Burnett Show, Rhoda, Kojak, Quincy M.E., CHiPS, The Love Boat, Laverne & Shirley, One Day at a Time, Barney Miller, The Facts of Life, Simon & Simon, Hill Street Blues, Remington Steele, Cagney & Lacey, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Mr. Belvedere, In the Heat of the Night, Night Court, Doogie Howser M.D., The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Touched by an Angel, and ER. He also appeared as Elmo in the Tales from the Darkside episode "Love Hungry" in 1988. His work on Barney Miller earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Series, specifically for the episode "Goodbye, Mr. Fish: Part 2."

Gelman's film career included roles in Disney productions and independent features alike. He appeared in Disney's Superdad in 1973 and The Strongest Man in the World in 1975, as well as Tunnel Vision and Raid on Entebbe, both in 1976, The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal and The Frisco Kid in 1979, O'Hara's Wife in 1982, Dreamscape in 1984, Girls Just Want to Have Fun in 1985, The Naked Cage in 1986, and Mr. Saturday Night in 1992. He also appeared, credited as Larry Spelman, in the 1976 film Alice in Wonderland and the 1977 adult comedy Chatterbox.

On Broadway, Gelman appeared in The Roast in 1980, playing the role of Tambi Rothman. His stage work extended beyond Broadway to include a touring production of The Odd Couple and a portrayal of Albert Einstein in Einstein: A Stage Portrait. He also brought the Einstein character to a different medium, playing the role in the real-time strategy video games Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge.