Leonard Termo obit

Character Actor Leonard Termo Dies at 77

He played opposite his pal Mickey Rourke in a handful of 1980s movies and sold an aphrodisiac mango in a classic episode of "Seinfeld."

 

He was not on the list.

Leonard Termo, a streetwise character actor who appeared in five 1980s films with soulmate Mickey Rourke and guest starred in a memorable episode of Seinfeld, has died, his friend, actor Elias Koteas, confirmed Friday. He was 77.

Koteas told The Hollywood Reporter that Termo died peacefully in his sleep Oct. 30 at his home in Santa Clarita, Calif.

The Brooklyn-born Termo had a role as a gay waiter opposite Rourke in The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) and also played against the future Oscar nominee in Michael Cimino‘s Year of the Dragon (1985), Barbet Schroeder’s Barfly (1987), A Prayer for the Dying (1987) and Homeboy (1988).

Termo left his job as a businessman in New York’s garment district in the mid-’70s to become an actor. To join the profession, he “left it all — my wife, my kid, my money, everything,” he told New York magazine in a profile of Rourke that was published in November 1983. “I love acting. I’m broke. I sleep on a cot.”

Rourke became friends with Termo after seeing him in a Los Angeles theater production, and the two were constant companions for years.

“If they told me they’d chuck a few years off my life, but I knew when I went that Lenny would go with me, I’d do it in a second,” Rourke said in a 1987 Playboy interview.

The pair also were set to appear in a Cimino biopic at Embassy Pictures about “Legs” Diamond that never got made, with Rourke as the legendary 1930s gangster and Termo playing his bodyguard.

Attempts to reach Rourke were unsuccessful.

In 1993, on the fifth-season premiere of Seinfeld, an episode titled “The Mango,” Termo played the owner of Joe’s Fruits who bans Kramer (and later Jerry) from his store when Michael Richards‘ character complains about a bad peach. Later, George (Jason Alexander) eats one of Joe’s mangoes, which seems to cure his erectile dysfunction. “I think it moved!” George exclaims.

Termo made his film debut in Heart Like a Wheel (1983) and later found his way into such films as Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Cotton Club (1984), Johnny Dangerously (1984), Turk 182! (1985), Ruby (1992), as a makeup man in Tim Burton‘s Ed Wood (1994), David Lynch‘s Lost Highway (1997), Fight Club (1999) and Ali (2001).

He also appeared on such TV series as Wiseguy and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Actor Matt Dillon was honored Friday at the Savannah Film Festival and dedicated his award to Termo.

Koteas said a memorial service is planned for Jan. 15, with details to be announced.

Actor (42 credits)

 2003 Gods and Generals

Glazier Estabrook (uncredited)

 2001 Ali

Madison Square Garden Reporter

 2001 Double Bang

Al Lucito

 2001 Clay Pride: Being Clay in America (Short)

Steve's Dad (voice)

 2001 The Huntress (TV Series)

Lester Dole

- Generations (2001) ... Lester Dole

 1999 Blood Type

Chauffeur

 1999 Family Tree

Vince

 1999 Fight Club

Desk Sergeant

 1999 Ballad of the Nightingale

Tony the Tank

 1998/I Godzilla

Homeless Guy

 1997 Lover Girl

Mr. Johnny (as Lenny Termo)

 1997 Gone Fishin'

Vending Worker #1

 1997 Lost Highway

Judge (voice)

 1996 Mojave Moon

Shorty

 1995 Can't Hurry Love (TV Series)

Bagelman

- A Fish Called Gregg (1995) ... Bagelman

 1995 Serial Killer (Video)

Loft Manager

 1994 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (TV Series)

Pete

- The Prankster (1994) ... Pete

 1994 Ed Wood

Makeup Man Harry

 1993 Gettysburg

Cpl. George F. Estabrook

 1993 Seinfeld (TV Series)

Joe

- The Mango (1993) ... Joe

 1993 Nowhere to Run

Bus Guard

 1992 Ruby

Tony Ana

 1991 29th Street

Dr. Puccini

 1991 Lies of the Twins (TV Movie)

Tattoo Man

 1991 Mobsters

Joe Palermo

 1990 Midnight Cabaret

Lt. McMurphy

 1990/I My Blue Heaven (unconfirmed)

 1989 Hider in the House

George / Exterminator

 1989 Wiseguy (TV Series)

Tiny

- The Reunion (1989) ... Tiny (as Lenny Termo)

 1989 The Preppie Murder (TV Movie)

Griggs

 1989 Bloodhounds of Broadway

Goodtime Nate Fishkin

 1988 Zits

KGB Chief (as Lenny Termo)

 1987 Barfly

Harry

 1987 A Prayer for the Dying

Bonati

 1985 Year of the Dragon

Angelo Rizzo

 1985 Turk 182

Barricade Cop

 1984 Johnny Dangerously

Tony Scarano

 1984 The Cotton Club

Danny

 1984 The Pope of Greenwich Village

Fat Waldo

 1984 Just My Luck (Short)

Teddy

 1983 Blood Feud (TV Movie)

L.A. Teamster

 1983 Heart Like a Wheel

Good Joe

 

Archive footage (1 credit)

 2005 Seinfeld: Inside Look (TV Series documentary short)

Joe

- The Mango (2005) ... Joe