Ben Lessy

Ben Lessy
Lessy in Second Chorus (1940)
Born	(1902-04-29)April 29, 1902 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	October 30, 1992(1992-10-30) (aged 90) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor; Comedian
Years active	1933–1981

Ben Lessy (April 29, 1902 – October 30, 1992) was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor.

Early life

He was born in New York, New York.

Career

Lessy was known for a nightclub act done with Patti Moore,^[1] the long-time wife of his best friend and agent, Sammy Lewis.^[2] They were regulars at Los Angeles nightclubs Slapsy Maxie's and Billy Gray's Band Box. Lessy appeared in over 50 films and television episodes between 1938 and 1981. His first film role was the black and white, 20 minute Cafe Rendezvous (1938) and his career ended with the Billy Wilder film Buddy Buddy (1981). Lessy's film credits include Music for Millions (1944), Dark Delusion (1947) (the last entry in MGM's Dr. Kildare series),The Pirate (1948) (Lessy's 9th, and final, movie during his 7 years at MGM),The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), Gypsy (1962), It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), Pajama Party (1964), and The Love Machine (1971).
His television credits include Make Room for Daddy (1953–59 : 19 episodes), The Jack Benny Program (1959–64 : 3 episodes),
That Girl (1966), Petticoat Junction (1967), The New Andy Griffith Show (1971), and McMillan & Wife (1976).

Lessy died on October 30, 1992, aged 90 from natural causes.

External links

• Ben Lessy at the Internet Movie Database
• Ben Lessy at AllRovi

References