Ron Leibman has starred as Leonard Green on the ultra-popular NBC sitcom “Friends”, where he portrayed Leonard Green, the overbearing father of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). He played this role in four episodes.
The actor’s manager confirmed the sad news and added that the cause of his death was pneumonia.
“We at Abrams Artists Agency are saddened to hear the news of Ron’s passing. Ron was an incredibly talented actor with a distinguished career in film, TV and theatre. Our thoughts go out to his wife, Jessica Walter, and his family,” said his friend and manager, Robert Atterman.
Ron Leibman was born in New York City on October 11, 1937. His debut film was a dark comedy called “Where’s Poppa” (1970). He appeared in “The Hot Rock” and “Slaughterhouse-Five” in 1972, “Norma Rae” in 1979, “Zorro: The Gay Blade in 1981, “Auto Focus” in 2002, and “Garden State” in 2004.
On TV, other than “Friends”, the actor appeared in “Kaz”, which he also co-created. In 1982, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for this CBS legal drama.
His other TV roles include appearances in “Pacific Station”, “Central Park West”, “Holding the Baby”, and “The Sopranos”. He also gave his voice to Ron Cadillac on the animated show “Archer”.
In theatre, the won a Tony Award on Broadway for his performance in the Pulitzer Prize winning play “Angels in America”.