Early years Leighton was born in
The Bronx, New York as
Milton Lichtman in 1921. He would later change his professional name to Jan Leighton in 1949 to de-emphasize his
Jewish heritage in order to get more work. His father owned a fleet of taxis, and his mother was a housewife. He attended Aviation High School, but left school at age 17 to work as a mechanic for an aeronautics firm. He joined the U.S. military during
World War II, working as a physical training instructor. In 1960, he appeared on Broadway with
Lucille Ball in
Wildcat. Leighton also created his own costumes. He told the magazine that he avoided costume parties:"I never go to costume parties. That's a busman's holiday. Heaven for me is to lie in bed stark naked with no costume -- living in my own face and not someone else's -- and luxuriate in my own skin." In its obituary of Leighton,
The New York Times called him the "Actor Who Played Everyone." An acting publication,
SAGWatch, wrote of Leighton: "You'd never know it from his IMDB page, but the Guinness Book of Records says Jan Leighton played more different roles than any other actor in history. ... He was known as an actor who would go anywhere to do any role, in any medium. His website noted 'If you call Jan Leighton at 10 in the morning from New York City, he can show up and play the person before lunch–in full costume!'"
Hand model and voice actor In addition to his work portraying historic figures, Leighton also worked as a hand model and voice actor. His hands were transformed into the Ford logo in a long-running advertisement for the automobile company. He was also the trilling voice of the "R-r-r-olling Wr-r-r-iter" pen. He also provided the voice for a talking Spalding golfball, "I'm a Spalding dot ... and this guy can hit me a helluva long way if he wants to."
Author Leighton and his daughter, Hallie, co-authored the book
Rare Words and Ways to Master Their Meanings: 500 Arcane But Useful Words for Language Lovers in 2003, and a 2008 sequel titled
Rare Words II and Ways to Master Their Meanings.
Charles Osgood called the first book "both rare and well done". The books' publisher also issued a series of flash cards, "Rare Fare," with words and rhymes from
Rare Words II.
Family and death Leighton was married four times, including actress/Emmy Award-winning writer
Lynda Myles, his co-star in
The World Turned Upside Down. His first marriage ended with an annulment, and the others ended in divorce. In November 2009, Leighton died due to complications from a stroke at age 87. Leighton was survived by a daughter, Hallie Leighton, and a son, Ross Leighton. ==References==