Hugh Simon in "What's Up, Doc?"

February 14, 2011
He was a bona fide scene stealer in nearly every picture he was in. Variety has reported the death of comic actor Kenneth Mars, who succumbed to cancer at his home in California on Saturday. He was 75.

Mars had a big featured role opposite Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neil in the 1972 comedy, "What's Up, Doc?". As Hugh Simon, nemesis to O'Neil's Howard Bannister, his comic timing and one-liners were brilliant and his physical routines were spot on. "Doc" director Peter Bogdanovich even had him take a pie in the face, the oldest gag in the book, that left us in stitches.

Mars also co-starred opposite Redford and Newman in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and appeared in notable comedies by Woody Allen and Mel Brooks. No one will ever forget his portrayal of Franz Liebkind, the world's worst playwright, in Brooks' original movie version of "The Producers."

His talents were not limited to films. Mars did a lot of voiceover work and appeared regularly on television, usually in quirky character parts.

Kenneth Mars leaves behind a film and television legacy that's as impressive as it is important.