# The day the snarky died: Steve Landesberg, RIP **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917 "2010-12-21T03:27:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/1 "2010-12-21T03:27:17Z")
Lt. Dietrich was one of the three fictional characters on whom I based my adult personality. I’m very sorry to see him gone. [Linky](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTRQaVgWtULriwtELMC1asDdoW7Q?docId=ba5ab49950d349a090807bd0bf867294) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/2 "2010-12-21T03:48:36Z")
Ah, nuts. And so young, too. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/3 "2010-12-21T03:52:12Z")
Ah, I loved him on Barney Miller. That’s a shame. RIP, Landesberg. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/51bf81/32.png) [@Big\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Blue)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/4 "2010-12-21T04:18:36Z")
Wow, very sad. Dietrich was a great character and he played the part so, so well. How I loved that show, still one of my favorites. RIP, Mr. Landesberg, and thanks for all the laughs. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/5 "2010-12-21T05:19:00Z")
\ ☹ ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/6 "2010-12-21T05:43:04Z")
I very much enjoyed him on _Barney Miller_. I didn’t realize he’d been so active in recent years. For a number of years in the early 1990s, he did the radio ads for Jos. A. Bank men’s clothiers. Rest in peace, Steve. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/7 "2010-12-21T07:21:16Z")
One of the first full on atheist TV characters. Truly an inspired creation and performance. I’m totally bummed. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/8 "2010-12-21T07:22:27Z")
Alas, I did not have him in any Death Pool. “I bet my money on Baby Ruth.” Rest easy Steve, you were a treasure. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/9 "2010-12-21T08:16:14Z")
And yet [Abe Vigoda](http://www.abevigoda.com/) still lives. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/10 "2010-12-21T10:03:07Z")
We used to watch it as a group in college. In one episode he said: Want to see my Goethe impression? Take my _soul_, please. I thought it was hilarious and everyone else just started at me. I still make that joke, and most people still just stare at me. (Although part of it could be that I don’t know how to properly pronounce Goethe.) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/11 "2010-12-21T12:33:37Z")
I remember an ep where he held a costume party where everyone was supposed to come as their favorite 14th century philosopher. I still use variants of that line to throw civilians off when I can tell they don’t know what to make of me 😉 He was his own kind of cool. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/12 "2010-12-21T12:53:09Z")
Funny, funny man. Mordant, but funny. Sad news. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/13 "2010-12-21T14:13:24Z")
Hard to believe but Steve Landesberg who played Ditrich on Barney Miller is dead at 65. Abe Vigoda stills thrives at age 89. Life sure is a dice roll. RIP Steve. Long live Fish! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/14 "2010-12-21T14:51:29Z")
Current thread: [The day the snarky died: Steve Landesberg, RIP](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=590093) ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/15 "2010-12-21T15:01:37Z")
I sort of felt like an old SNL skit. “In today’s news Abe Vigoda is still alive.” ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/16 "2010-12-21T15:06:21Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Current thread: > > [The day the snarky died: Steve Landesberg, RIP](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=590093) How did I miss that? Mods, feel free to close this one. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/17 "2010-12-21T15:24:42Z")
Merged duplicate threads. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/18 "2010-12-21T15:32:35Z")
I am amazed he was only 65. I don’t recall when I last saw him, but do recall that I thought he was looking pretty old. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/19 "2010-12-21T15:34:44Z")
Gret character. My mother had a serious crush on him. Dietrich: Begging. The world’s oldest profession Wojo: I thought that was prostitution Dietrich: Somebody had to ask for it. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/20 "2010-12-21T16:28:35Z")
It’s odd. I was just thinking about him yesterday. Somehow the subject of lie detectors came up at work and it put me in mind of the Barney Miller episode where they had a lie detector at the station and Dietrich told it that he was a space alien and passed the test. It was probably the first time that I had thought about that show in years. Then I came home yesterday evening and saw this thread. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917.md?page=2)