The actor best known for playing intellectual Detective Arthur P. Dietrich on Barney Miller has died. Steve Landesberg had been battling cancer for some time.
Landesberg was born in November of 1945 in New York City. He was reportedly discovered by Bill Cosby during open auditions for The Tonight Show. A veteran of stand-up at places like the Improv and a member of the New York Stickball Team improv group, Landesberg had a long career in television, movies, commercials, and on the stage.
On the small screen, he made guest shots on series like The Golden Girls, That ’70s Show, Ghost Whisperer, Law & Order, The Rockford Files, and Everybody Hates Chris. He also worked quite a bit in voice overs, acting on shows like American Dad!, Capitol Critters, Dinosaurs, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
