Lee Wallace

Lee Wallace (born Leo Melis; July 15, 1930 – December 20, 2020) was an American actor.

Early life Wallace was born as Leo Melis on July 15, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Celia ( Gross) and Eddie Melis.

Career His movie roles include more than a dozen productions big and small, including Klute (1971), The Hot Rock (1972), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) as the Mayor of New York City, The Happy Hooker (1975), Diary of the Dead (1976), Thieves (1977), Private Benjamin (1980) as Mr. Waxman, World War III (1982), Daniel (1983), Batman (1989) as Gotham City's Mayor Borg, and Used People (1992). John Simon in his review of Batman called Wallace "a perfect Ed Koch lookalike".

On Broadway, he appeared in A Teaspoon Every Four Hours, Unlikely Heroes, The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild, Molly, Zalmen or The Madness of God, Some of My Best Friends, Grind and The Cemetery Club.

Personal life As of 2016, Wallace lived in New York City with his wife Marilyn Chris until his death on December 20, 2020.

Filmography

Film

+ Year Title Role 1971 Klute Nate Goldfarb (uncredited) 1972 The Hot Rock Dr. Strauss 1974 The Taking of Pelham One Two Three Al – the Mayor of New York City 1975 The Happy Hooker Henry Knowlton 1976 Diary of the Dead Lt. Gart 1977 Thieves Harry 1980 Private Benjamin Mr. Waxman 1983 Daniel The Mayor 1985 War and Love Oskar Kohn 1989 Batman Mayor Borg 1992 Used People Uncle Harry

Television

+ Year Title Role Notes 1977 Kojak Hobart 1 episode Lou Grant Mr. Kelso Episode: "Nazi" 1978 The Eddie Capra MysteriesMortimer Episode: "And the Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead" 1980 The Associates Gerald McMartin Episode: "The Censors" This Year's Blonde Samuel Goldwyn TV movie 1982 World War II Dr. Jules Farber TV miniseries 1986 The Equalizer Whitney Episode: "Unpunished Crimes" 1987 Kojak: The Price of Justice Chief of Operations TV movie 1992 Law & Order Judge Thomas Simon Episode: "Intolerance"