So sad: RIP Steve Landesberg - 1945-2010 (Lt Dietrich - Barney Miller)

[Richardo]

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni6320434/

My favorite character on the show :cry:

[Yavin4]

1. RIP

He was truly great on that show.

[Auggie]

2. Too young

[Swede]

3. Awww.

RIP

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. Another classic show in which EVERY main character was really, really messed UP.

You get to the point where watching a sitcom with a straight-arrow, impeccably groomed mom & dad (like Ward & June Cleaver) and their well-raised, perfectly-behaved boys who OCCASIONALLY get into mischief but ALWAYS learn a very important lesson from it gets OLD.

Barney Miller was kind of like the Mary Tyler Moore show...Mary, Rhoda, Phyllis, Ted, Murray, Lou...every main character was far from perfect, had some form of major disconnect, and you couldn't even say they were "doing their best"...and when one or more bumped noggins, it was a glorious train wreck, the best comedy that TV had to offer, because it felt like the "slightly less than perfect" people we know...and ARE.

My favorite Barney Miller character was "Deputy Inspector Franklin D. Luger" (James Gregory), because he ALWAYS seemed to show up when he was least welcome and least needed. And he always made things a little worse before he left, even though he was there "to help."



Loved Steve's work on the show too. It was one of those rare classic sitcoms...like Mary Tyler Moore, like both of the Bob Newhart shows...that never hit a "bad note."

And the other thing that held all of those shows together? Heart. A lot of heart, genuine and warm and real.

R.I.P. Steve.

[abq e streeter]

5. Possibly the most consistently funny sitcom of all time

And yes, a lot of heart; well put...


They lost Jack Soo to cancer during the show's run ,and had a wonderful tribute show to him with his greatest moments, of which there were plenty.


RIP Steve Landesberg. Dietrich was a brilliantly played character; I would think it'd be hard to pull off deadpan humor like that, but he just absolutely nailed it. I also agree about Luger. As just an occasional guest, he might be overlooked sometimes when people remember this show, but the guy was just hysterically funny.

[old mark]

6. That show is still funny - many from the "old days" didn't hold up well.

Great cast, writing.

Thanks, Steve - great work...hope you enjoyed it all.

mark

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Landesberg

[pokerfan]

7. I wonder if anyone under the age of thirty is even aware of that show

Was it ever syndicated? I was in high school and I remember watching it fairly regularly. Then I got to college and my TV viewing really suffered. :)

Watch full episodes online http://www.youtube.com/show?p=p-3AYf7cS8k">here.

Great show...

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. It was running on TVLand last year. I DVR'd it and let my kids watch it because

I recalled watching (and loving) it when I was their age. They definitely appreciated it. :)

[EFerrari]

8. He was really, really funny.

[Paper Roses]

9. Barney Miller was one of my all time favorite programs.

Consistently funny. Good, clean humor. Deitrich was probably the best actor on the show although they were all great. Sorry to hear that he is gone.

The era of Barney Miller was, in my mind, the last of good television. I could let my kids watch without worrying about what they will see and hear. Real shows with content worthy of watching.

[Gold Metal Flake]

10. His timing was perfect.

See him in Head Case, the original series from Starz.
http://www.starz.com/originals/HeadCase

Find it at Netflix.

[Parche]

11. And ABE VIGODA is still alive

:woohoo::hi:

[elleng]

12. Darn

[blogslut]

13. I just adored him

Such a rare mix of drollness and whimsey he had.

[Kat45]

15. Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

He played a great character on a great show--excellent ensemble cast. RIP Steve Landesberg.