Jack E. Leonard

'Jack E. Leonard' (qv) was an American comedian whose sarcastic insult-based humor was imitated by 'Don Rickles' (qv).Born Leonard Lebitsky on April 24, 1910, Leonard made his show business bones as a nightclub comedian and became well-known to the public for his appearances on TV variety and game show after breaking through on _The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar (1957)_ (qv).In addition to his night club act and TV gigs, he made comedy records. On the night of May 9, 1973, Leonard suffered a heart attack and collapsed just after coming off-stage at a performance at the Rainbow Room at New York's Rockefeller Center. He died in hospital early the following morning after undergoing cardiac bypass surgery. He was 63 years old.::Jon C. Hopwood