Lenny Schultz

Lenny Schultz (born December 13, 1933) is an American retired comedian who performed during the 1970s on television and at comedy clubs in New York City. His madcap style of improvisational comedy influenced other comedians such as Robin Williams, Gallagher, Carrot Top, and David Letterman.

Biography
Born in The Bronx, he began making other children laugh at age eight by imitating chickens, making sound effects, and doing voices. Originally hoping for a career as a Major League Baseball pitcher, at 18 Schultz was offered a contract by a New York Yankee-owned minor league team. A shoulder injury compelled him to turn down the contract and ended his athletic career.

Instead he went to college, earning a bachelor of science degree from New York University and a master of science degree in Education from Hunter College. After serving in the United States Army in Special Services, he became a high school gym teacher in 1955, teaching at such New York City schools as John Adams High School and Newtown High School. As a teacher, he was appreciated by his students and fellow teachers for his sense of humor, but ignored their encouragement to take up stand-up comedy. When friends convinced him to write a few minutes of an act, he debuted at open mic night at The Improv comedy club in New York in 1969 and quickly gained a popular following.

Four months later he appeared on The Merv Griffin Show, which led to appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Ed Sullivan Show, and numerous other shows. By the late 1970s he was a popular comedian both on television and at comedy clubs, particularly in the Catskill Mountains. His catch-phrase was "Go crazy, Lenny!", which he encouraged audience members to yell at him while he performed outrageous and zany antics in his act. Schultz often incorporated props in his act, with the assistance of his wife Helen (Lenny  had one child with his first wife Francine Ornstein). Unlike his television act, his stand-up often included lewd or adult humor.

Throughout his comedy career he continued working as a high school gym teacher and was known to leave clubs early on school nights. Schultz said that both principals and fellow teachers would ask him for autographs after seeing him on TV the night before. Schultz was known among his fellow comedians as a "hard act to follow". Schultz's comedy style has been called influential on such comics as Gallagher, Carrot Top, and Angel Salazar, and praised by such comedians as Brett Butler and David Letterman. Jon Stewart and Billy Crystal both said that he always got a standing ovation and "always killed.".

In 1992 Schultz became semi-retired and moved to Sullivan County, New York with his wife. He currently lives in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Television appearances
 The Merv Griffin Show (1969, 1972) as himself
 The David Frost Show (1969–1971) as himself
 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1970) as himself
 The Mike Douglas Show (1970) as himself
 The Ed Sullivan Show (1971) as himself
 Fol-de-Rol (TV Movie) (1972) Jack Spratt, Jester, Ensemble
 The Dick Cavett Show (1973) as himself
 The All New Pink Panther Laugh-and-a-Half Hour-and-a-Half Show (1976) as himself
 The Late Summer Early Fall Bert Convy Show (TV Series) (1976) as himself
 Ball Four (TV Series) (1976) as Lenny "Birdman" Siegel
 The Great American Laugh-Off (1977) as himself
 Blansky's Beauties (TV Series) (1977) as himself
 Laugh-In (TV Series) (1977) as himself
 How to Watch TV (public service announcements) (1980) as Announcer
 Drawing Power (TV Series) (1980) as himself
 The Comeback Trail (theatrical film) (1982)
 Late Night with David Letterman (1982) as himself
 The House of God (theatrical film) (1984) as Zeiss
 Make Me Laugh (1997) as himself

References

External links

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee episode discussing Schultz
The Daily Show episode discussing Schultz
Facebook fan page

1933 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
American male comedians
American male film actors
American male television actors
American performance artists
Schoolteachers from New York (state)
American sketch comedians
American stand-up comedians
Hunter College alumni
Male actors from New York City
Newtown High School alumni
New York University alumni
Entertainers from the Bronx
United States Army soldiers
Comedians from New York City
20th-century American comedians
21st-century American comedians
Educators from New York City