# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/41 "2010-12-22T18:57:11Z")
Obligatory [Dietrich as Gregory Peck](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TwD3A28HmI) you tube link. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/42 "2010-12-22T23:51:28Z")
My favorite moment was when one of the guys asked him, since he was so smart and cultured, what he was doing there. He replied (IIRC), “I could have been a doctor, but I wouldn’t have been the best doctor in the world. I could have been a lawyer, but I wouldn’t have been the best lawyer in the world. (pause) So I became a cop.” (Smug grin, stunned co-workers, and scene) ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/43 "2010-12-23T08:07:03Z")
Does anybody else remember the TV special he had? I remember him doing Abraham Lincoln, ‘come on Mary, you’re gettin’ me hot.’ ---
**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 23, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/44 "2010-12-23T15:23:20Z")
I loved _Barney Miller_. I wanted to buy the boxed set years ago, but there wasn’t one. This thread prompted me to look again. I found out that Sony only released the first three seasons due to poor sales. I’ve ordered the first three seasons. ---
**Author:** ![moonlightlady339\_hotmail.com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aca169/32.png) [@moonlightlady339\_hotmail.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moonlightlady339_hotmail.com)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/45 "2010-12-24T04:22:28Z")
**You know, I read this on Wikipedia bio also and saw the comment made by his daughter. But did you notice the photo of Steve from the late seventies? Clearly he was no more than 35…mid thirties in that picture, as least this is the way it appeared to me. That being the case, the information saying he was 65 seems more accurate. It’s puzzling though. Why would a family member say he was older. Guess his exact age at time of death will remain a mystery. At any rate, I’ll miss his wit and talent.** ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/46 "2010-12-24T05:13:51Z")
> [@Monstera\_deliciosa](#): > > Really? I don’t have an account. No account needed on [Dead People Server,](http://www.dpsinfo.com/dps/index.html) even if you’re alive. And so far, they’re sticking to the 1945 birth date. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/47 "2010-12-24T09:17:39Z")
Many years ago, I waited on a guy I was fairly certain was him. When it came to it, though, I didn’t ask (and he paid cash, so no card to check). I figured, if he was SL, how humiliating to be recognized at Denny’s, and if he wasn’t, he was probably sick to death of people thinking he was. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/48 "2010-12-24T09:47:20Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > One of the first full on atheist TV characters. He was an agnostic. [Cite](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TthgTwGHaNw) ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/49 "2010-12-24T20:02:54Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Count me in as someone who had a crush on him. What a sexy voice he had! > > Too bad. Remember that episode of Barney Miller (I think) where he was answering the door and someone said “Use the Gregory Peck voice” (or some variation on that line – my memory’s crap.) That’s one of the things I always remember about Steve Landesberg. I always enjoyed seeing him in Barney Miller, and occasionally elsewhere. ETA: shoulda read the rest of the thread. Derp. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917/50 "2010-12-24T20:05:58Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Obligatory [Dietrich as Gregory Peck](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TwD3A28HmI) you tube link. > [@Musicat](#): > > [Dietrich as Gregory Peck]Beverly…is busy.[/Dietrich as Gregory Peck] > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I remember an episode where Landsberg did a dead-on impersonation of Gregory Peck. > [@Archergal](#): > > Remember that episode of Barney Miller (I think) where he was answering the door and someone said “Use the Gregory Peck voice” (or some variation on that line – my memory’s crap.) You’re not the only one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-day-the-snarky-died-steve-landesberg-rip/564917.md?page=2)