Leo Cleary

Leo Thomas Cleary (June 15, 1894 – April 11, 1955) was an American character actor in radio and film, and a vaudeville comedian and singer, perhaps best known as Dizzy Dean's minor league manager in The Pride of St. Louis, as the Catholic priest in The Red Menace, and as the original Old Ranger on the radio series, Death Valley Days.

Early life and career Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, In 1909, the family relocated to Southern California, settling in Pasadena. Cleary initially employed the standard "Jewface" portrayal of that era as his signature routine. Billed variously as "the Hebrew comedian," "the Yiddish Gazotsky," "the funniest Hebrew on the stage," and the "Ghetto kid," while also garnering kudos for his singing, Cleary began performing professionally no later than 1917. By 1919, his wife of seven years, soprano Naomi Plant, had joined the act.

Radio In an interview conducted 14 years after his death, some measure of Cleary's contribution to Lux Radio Theatre's success was provided by former Billboard staffer Dean Owen, who dubbed Cleary the "pillar [of] Lux Theatre's stock company." On April 20, 1942, Cleary appeared in Lux Radio Theatre's adaptation of the 1941, Oscar-nominated biographical drama, One Foot in Heaven, portraying Preston Thurston, the part played by Gene Lockhart in the film.

Between 1935 and 1938, Cleary was part of a popular radio comedy team sometimes known as "Nuts and Bolts"—"Nuts" being Cleary and "Bolts" his fellow vaudeville alumnus, Ken Gillum. In March 1937, the pair went from being heard locally—on programs produced, respectively, in Los Angeles and New York—to being broadcast nationally over the NBC Blue Network.

One of Cleary's most substantial non-recurring roles was the protagonist of "My Brother Abe," an episode of the short-lived series Proudly We Hail, featuring a tremendously wealthy centenarian and his impatient heirs; "Abe" refers not only to his late, lamented brother, who had died at Gettysburg, but to the like-named late President, with whom he had had the good fortune to correspond.

Film Notwithstanding a film career confined strictly to small supporting roles, the lion's share uncredited, Cleary did manage, in at least two of the four films in which he received an onscreen credit, to elicit reviewers' acknowledgement of his good work; namely, the 1950 prison drama, State Penitentiary, in which he doubles as the Warden and Narrator, and the 1952 baseball biopic, The Pride of St. Louis, in which Cleary portrays Ed Monroe, Dizzy Dean's minor league manager.

Miscellany In 1940, Cleary was invited to a gathering of 50 members of the local Rotary Club in Arcadia, California, convened to honor the branch's outgoing president, John Vanderbur, who, in turn, received the brunt of Cleary's "ribbing," much to the amusement of those present.

Filmography + Year Title Role Notes 1935 Who Killed Cock Robin? Irish Cop uncredited 1935 Broken Toys Various uncredited 1940 You Can't Fool Your Wife Mr. Doolittle uncredited 1940 Anne of Windy Poplars uncredited 1940 Millionaires in Prison Deputy Taking Collins To Prison uncredited 1940 Dance, Girl, Dance Court Clerk uncredited 1942 A Date with the Falcon Detective Brody uncredited 1942 Golf Slappy Narrator uncredited 1947 Honeymoon Barnes uncredited 1949 The Red Menace Father O'Leary uncredited 1949 Brimstone Judge uncredited 1949 White Heat Railroad Fireman uncredited 1950 Johnny Holiday Trimble 1950 Bells of Coronado Dr. Frank Harding 1950 State Penitentiary Warden-Narrator as Leo T. Cleary 1950 The Great Jewel Robber Haley uncredited 1951 Storm Warning Barnet uncredited 1951 Lightning Strikes Twice Editor uncredited 1951 Love Nest Detective Donovan uncredited 1951 Desert of Lost Men Dr. Stephens uncredited 1952 The Pride of St. Louis Houston Mgr. Ed Monroe as Leo T. Cleary 1952 Confidence Girl Andrew Sheridan uncredited 1952 Glory Alley Pastor uncredited 1952 Sally and St. Anne Judge Duffin uncredited 1952 Woman of the North Country Sheriff uncredited 1952 Dreamboat Court Clerk uncredited 1953 The I Don't Care Girl Studio Receptionist uncredited 1953 Your Jeweler's Showcase (TV)Ep. "The Woman of Bally Runion"" 1953 The Kid from Left Field Yankee Manager uncredited 1953 The Human Jungle Karns

Personal life and death From May 18, 1912 until his death, Cleary was married to Naomi Aloha Plant. They had two sons,

As of January 1920, and continuing through at least May of that year, Cleary owned the company, Leo's Auto Painting Shop, offering "first class work" and "moderate prices".

Judging from an article published by The Pasadena Post in March 1920 (dubbing him "the famous Elk comedian"), Cleary was, at the very least, a member of the Elks Lodge for very near his entire adult life. Survived by his mother, wife, sons and four grandchildren, Cleary's cremated remains are interred at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.