Peter Leeds

Peter Leeds (May 30, 1917 – November 12, 1996) was an American actor born in Bayonne, New Jersey, whose career spanned Broadway, film, television, radio, and voice work across several decades. He trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City, where he was noticed by the Group Theater of New York and received a scholarship, eventually graduating from the program. He also held a scholarship from the John Marshall Law School, which he attended for one year. His film career began with a bit part in Public Enemies in 1941.

Leeds accumulated more than 8,000 television appearances over the course of his career, with the bulk of his work concentrated in the 1950s and 1960s. He became widely recognized as a skilled straight man, working alongside comedians and entertainers including Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, Carol Burnett, Red Skelton, Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, and Johnny Carson. He appeared four times opposite David Janssen in the crime drama Richard Diamond, Private Detective, and held a recurring role as gambler and saloon owner Tenner Smith in the CBS television series Trackdown, which ran from 1957 to 1959. He was cast as George Colton in nine episodes of the CBS sitcom Pete and Gladys in the 1960s. His guest appearances included an episode of The Investigators in 1961, an episode of the ABC drama Going My Way during its 1962–1963 run, an episode of The Cara Williams Show in 1965, and two episodes in the second season of Batman. He appeared in three episodes of Perry Mason, including the role of Bill Emory in the 1958 episode "The Case of the Sunbather's Diary." He also played federal agent LaMarr Kane in "The Scarface Mob," the pilot for ABC's The Untouchables, a role that was recast when the series went to series. Leeds was additionally a cast member of both the 1958 version of The Betty White Show and The Buster Keaton Show.

His association with comedian Stan Freberg was a notable thread throughout his career. Leeds served as Freberg's foil in multiple song parodies and appeared on both volumes of the comedy album Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America. He was also a regular on the short-lived CBS radio series The Stan Freberg Show in 1957, alongside Daws Butler and June Foray.

Beyond television and radio performance, Leeds was a prolific voice-over artist, credited on more than 3,000 radio programs. He provided voices for animated productions including The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, Hong Kong Phooey, The New Yogi Bear Show, The Dukes, Challenge of the GoBots, CBS Storybreak, and The Jetsons, and served as narrator of The Quick Draw McGraw Show. He also made multiple appearances on the radio drama Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

Leeds accompanied Bob Hope on 14 international USO tours. During the 1970s, he served five years as president of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, later joining the union's national and local Board of Directors. In 1992, AFTRA awarded him its Gold Card, its highest honor. He subsequently served on the Board of Governors for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

His Broadway career extended from 1939 to 1979 and included appearances in The Music Master, Summer Night, My Heart's in the Highlands, Silk Stockings, and Sugar Babies. His final Broadway credit, Sugar Babies in 1979, featured him in the original cast alongside Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller.

Leeds and his wife Pat, married for 34 years, had one son, Dr. Michael Leeds. Leeds died of cancer on November 12, 1996, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 79.