Leonard Frey(1938-1988)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Leonard Frey originally wanted to become an artist, but in college he
became interested in acting. He made his stage debut in an off-Broadway
production of "Little Mary Sunshine" and his film debut as a celebrant
in Passages from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake (1966), but he first rose to prominence in the role of Harold, the
self-proclaimed "Jew fairy", in both the stage and screen versions of
The Boys in the Band (1970). Frey is probably best known for the role of Motel, the timid
tailor, in Fiddler on the Roof (1971); this performance landed him a nomination for a
Supporting Actor Oscar. He continued to work on stage, in films and on
TV throughout the 1970s and 1980s, but he never again attained the
level of critical success he enjoyed in "Fiddler on the Roof". In 1988
he died from complications related to AIDS.
