 You
definitely know this guy. Even if
you are unfamiliar with the name,
you’ve seen his face
countless times on television
shows. He was the
“recurring” priest on
‘Friends’,
Milos the Janitor on ‘NewsRadio’,
and Barney on ‘Married
with Children’. He
also appeared on most everything
else – over 100 roles in all
- ‘Frasier’,
‘The Jeffersons’,
‘Scrubs’,
‘Will & Grace’,
‘Seinfeld’,
‘Roseanne’,
‘Cheers’,
‘Jake in Progress’,
etc. He was HUGE star in the
lucrative “voice”
industry, lending his vocal
talents to such projects on
‘Monsters’ Inc.’,
‘Ping!’,
‘Osmosis Jones’,
‘The Emperor’s
New Groove’, ‘Challenge
of the GoBots’,
‘Terminator 3: Rise
of the Machines’
and ‘The Tick’.
His movies included ‘Witchhunt’,
‘Round Trip to
Heaven’, ‘Sandman’,
‘In the Arms of a
Killer’, and ‘Dog
Gone Love’. Horror fans know
this guy for other reasons –
isn’t that always the way!
His big genre role was as Harold
Hatcher (that pot smoking hippie
guy and bunny loving shop owner)
in ‘Friday the 13th
Part 3: 3D’ in
1982. Though more of the same,
Part 3 was also one of the
“still chuggin’
along” horror series. It
co-starred racksandrazors
favorite Dana Kimmell as well as
Tracie Savage, Paul Kratka,
Catherine Parks, Jeffrey Rogers,
Gloria Charles, and Rachel
Howard.
Mr.
Susskind was also Frank McGraw in
‘House’
(1986). That nightmares, horrid
neighbors, and creatures from
another dimension flick also
starred William Katt, Richard
Moll, genre goddess Kay Lenz, and
George Wendt. Lastly, if
you’re a Trekkie you may
recall Steve Sussakind as the
slimy pitchman who promoted the
virtues of The Planet of Galactic
Peace in the big screen ‘Star
Trek V: The Final Frontier’.
Steve
Susskind was born October 3rd
1942 in Springfield,
Massachusetts and grew up in
Forest Hills, NY where he
attended high school. At age 15
Steve got his first taste of
celebrity. Along with buddy Bob
Minsky, he formed the 60s Doo Wop
group ‘The Roomates’
who went on to appear on ‘American
Bandstand’ (Dick
Clark and dancing teens and all!)
singing their big song ‘Glory
of Love’. Other
songs recorded by the group
include ‘Band of
Gold’ and their
biggest hit ‘Please
Love Me Forever’
with Cathy Jean. The group
disbanded in 1964.
After that
Steve attented NYU and worked in
several different areas and
businesses. He moved to Los
Angeles in 1980 to follow his
dream of becoming an actor.
(There’s a huge life lesson
here – life’s too
short, so go for it!) Steve also
served as an AFTRA National Board
Member where he was extremely
active, involved, and respected.
Steve
Susskind was killed on Friday
January 21, 2005 in an automobile
accident in Sunland California.
He was 62 years old. He leaves
behind his wife Ann (whom he
always referred to as his
“lovely bride”),
additional relatives, and so many
whose lives he touched with his
kindness and generous spirit. A
memorial service was held to
celebrate his life at the
Director’s Guild Theatre in
Los Angeles on March 8th,
2005.
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