Leo Burmester

Bernard Leo Burmester was born on February 1, 1944, in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was also raised. He initially enrolled at Western Kentucky University as a biology major before changing his focus to drama. He later earned an MFA from the University of Denver and spent a year teaching college before pursuing a full-time acting career. Early professional experience included summer stock work at Shawnee Summer Theatre in Greene County, Indiana, and performances with the Actors Theatre of Louisville.

At the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Burmester originated roles in two significant productions: Marsha Norman's drama Getting Out and James McLure's Lone Star. He subsequently recreated those roles in his off-Broadway and Broadway debuts, respectively. His off-Broadway work also included the role of Hucklebee in a revival of the 1960 musical The Fantasticks.

Burmester's Broadway career spanned from 1979 to 2003 and encompassed a range of musicals and plays. He portrayed the booming villain General D. in Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure in 1986 and played Monsieur Thénardier in the original Broadway production of Les Misérables. In 1996, he appeared as Bradley in the revival of Sam Shepard's Buried Child, directed by Gary Sinise. Two years later, he took on the role of Sid Davis in a 1998 revival of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! at Lincoln Center. He played the Police Sergeant in Harry Connick, Jr.'s musical Thou Shalt Not in 2001, appeared in the award-winning musical The Civil War in 1999, and was part of the cast of the musical adaptation Urban Cowboy in 2003. His Broadway credits also include Big River.

On screen, Burmester made his feature film debut in William Friedkin's Cruising in 1980 and followed that with a featured role as a mortuary director in Honky Tonk Freeway in 1981. He played one of the FBI agents in Daniel in 1983 and appeared as Holly Hunter's character's father in the prologue of Broadcast News in 1987. He portrayed the Apostle Nathaniel in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988 and appeared as Catfish DeVries, a decompression expert, in James Cameron's The Abyss in 1989. Burmester collaborated multiple times with director John Sayles, including roles in Passion Fish in 1992 and Lone Star in 1996. He also worked with directors including Clint Eastwood, Robert Altman, John Schlesinger, and Sidney Lumet. On television, he starred as Randy Stumphill, a mechanic who frequented the bar, in the CBS sitcom Flo, and appeared as Woodrow Wilton in a season two episode of Walker, Texas Ranger titled "An Innocent Man."

Burmester died on June 28, 2007, in New York City, at the age of 63, from complications arising from a tick bite and leukemia following surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. He was survived by his wife, Lora Lee Echobelli, and their two children, Daniel and Colette. His ashes were scattered in Kentucky.