Leon Belasco

Leon Belasco, born Leonid Simeonovich Berladsky on 11 October 1902 in Odessa, Russian Empire, was a Russian-American actor and musician whose career in film, television, and theater extended from the 1920s through the 1980s. He appeared in more than 100 films over the course of his professional life. Belasco died on 1 June 1988 in Orange, California, and was cremated, with his ashes scattered.

Belasco received his education at St. Joseph College in Yokohama, Japan, and pursued musical training in both Japan and Manchuria. He served briefly as concertmaster of the Japanese-Russian Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble that was a predecessor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. In 1921 he relocated on his own to California, leaving his parents and brother in Harbin, Manchuria. He made his film debut in 1926 in the silent film The Best People. To supplement his income during his early years in the United States, he played the violin and eventually formed his own band, which performed primarily in hotels in and around New York City. The Andrews Sisters were introduced through his band. In 1933, Belasco and his orchestra were featured on the Oldsmobile Program on CBS radio.

During a break from a hotel engagement, Belasco returned to Hollywood, appearing in Broadway Serenade and Topper Takes a Trip in 1938. His film output accelerated considerably in 1942, when he acted in thirteen films, among them Holiday Inn, Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy, and Road to Morocco. He later appeared with the Marx Brothers in Love Happy (1949), their final film together. His facility with the Russian language led to an additional role behind the camera: he served as a dialogue director on Norman Jewison's 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming. Throughout his film career, Belasco frequently portrayed eccentric or befuddled European and ethnic characters, though he also took on heavier roles in espionage dramas. His final theatrical film was Superdad (1973).

Belasco's Broadway career ran from 1942 to 1958 and encompassed four productions. He appeared in the comedy The Flowers of Virtue, the musical Silk Stockings, the musical Happy Hunting, and the comedy Once More, With Feeling. His television work began in 1953 and continued for decades, spanning series including Maverick (1961), The Twilight Zone (1963), The Lucy Show (1963), The Beverly Hillbillies (1964–1967), My Favorite Martian (1965), My Three Sons (1966), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1966), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1966), Little House on the Prairie (1978), and Trapper John, M.D. (1980). His best-known television role was Appopoplous the landlord in My Sister Eileen (1960). On radio, he played a thieving informant in The Man Called X. His final television movie was Woman of the Year (1976).

Belasco was Jewish, and a 1943 article in the Colorado Intermountain Jewish News identified him among a group of prominent figures in the film industry who had joined the military during World War II. His name appeared in that article alongside those of Don Castle, Melvyn Douglas, George E. Stone, Sid Silvers, Billy Halop, Max Baer, Fritz Feld, Max Rosenbloom, and Tony Martin.