Tony Nominee Leonard Stone Dies at 87

According to published reports, Tony nominee Leonard Stone lost a battle with cancer on Wednesday, November 2. He was 87 years old.

In 1966, he had a supporting role as Morton on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Jean Arthur Show starring Jean Arthur and Ron Harper. Between 1988 and 1994, he appeared in twelve episodes of the NBC legal drama L.A. Law as Judge Paul Hanson. He played popular and memorable characters on the The Outer Limits, Lost in Space, M*A*S*H, and more.

One of his earlier notable roles came in 1971 when he played Sam Beauregarde, the father of Golden Ticket winner Violet Beauregarde, in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. He was one of the last surviving parents from the movie.

Stone started his career as a young actor studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He performed in the West End, on Broadway, and toured around the world. He traveled for eight years in Australlia and New Zealand touring the musical South Pacific. He was nominated for a Tony Award® in 1959 for Best Supporting Actor in Redhead, a Bob Fosse musical. He also was in the Tony Award-nominated cast of Look Homeward, Angel in 1957, which premiered at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York. It won a Pulitzer Prize.

Stone's final role came in 2006 at the age of 83, when he played a minor character in Surrender Dorothy.