The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, he was born in Philadelphia and began his acting career in college drama. He made his Broadway debut in 1952 in a revival of “Golden Boy.” His film credits included Sidney Lumet's “12 Angry Men” and Blake Edwards' “Days of Wine and Roses,” and an early television highlight was appearing with Humphrey Bogart and Henry Fonda in a production of “The Petrified Forest.”
His performance in the classic 1959 musical “Gypsy” brought him a Tony nomination for best featured (supporting) actor in a musical.
Throat cancer took away his raspy voice for several years in the 1980s. When he was back on the stage for a 1993 revival of “Three Men on a Horse,” The Associated Press review said, “His voice may be a little scratchy but his timing is as impeccable as ever.”
“The only really stupid thing I ever did in my life was to start smoking,” he said in 1996. Seeing people smoking in television and films, he added, “disgusts me, it makes me so angry—kids are watching.”
