What's After the Movie
Lionel Stander
Lionel Jay Stander (January 11, 1908 – November 30, 1994) was an American actor, activist, and one of the founding members of the Screen Actors Guild whose career spanned nearly seven decades across stage, film, radio, and television. Born in the Bronx, New York City, to Russian‑Jewish parents, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for a year before launching his professional acting life at the Provincetown Playhouse in 1928, where his talent for playing tough‑guys and his distinctive raspy voice began to attract notice. Throughout the 1930s he moved from New York short subjects with Vitaphone to Hollywood features, appearing in Frank Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and the original A Star Is Born (1937), and became a familiar voice on radio programs such as The Eddie Cantor Show and The Lux Radio Theater. His outspoken left‑wing politics made him a target of the House Un‑American Activities Committee; after being subpoenaed in 1940 and again in the early 1950s he was blacklisted, forcing him to relocate to Europe where he worked in spaghetti Westerns, Polanski’s Cul‑de‑Sac and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West. His personal life was equally eventful, with six marriages to Lucy Dietz, Alice Twitchell, Vehanne Monteagle, Diana Radbec, Maria Penn and Stephanie Van Hennick, and he fathered six children. Despite the hardship, he continued to act on Broadway, performed as a stockbroker and even served as a Mardi Gras king before returning to the United States in the late 1970s. Stander achieved his most recognizable television role as the loyal butler Max on the popular series Hart to Hart (1979‑1984), a performance that earned him a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in 1982. In the 1980s he also voiced Kup in The Transformers: The Movie and appeared in films such as The Last Good Time (1994), his final screen credit. Throughout his turbulent career he remained committed to civil liberties, famously testifying before HUAC with defi‑ant rhetoric that was later memorialized on the First Amendment Blacklist Memorial. He died of lung cancer in Los Angeles in 1994 at the age of 86, leaving behind six children and a legacy of artistic resilience and political courage.
Biography, Career & Filmography
Learn more about Lionel Stander, including a detailed biography, career timeline, personal life insights, and complete filmography. Discover how Lionel Stander rose to fame, their major roles, industry impact, and personal milestones in the world of film.
Given Name: Lionel Jay Stander
Born: Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Citizenship: American
Birthday: January 11, 1908
Occupations: Actor, activist
Years Active: 1928-1994
Children: 6
Spouses: Lucy Dietz, Alice Twitchell, Vehanne Monteagle, Diana Radbec, Maria Penn, Stephanie Van Hennick
External Links and Streaming Options
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Movies Featuring Lionel Stander
New York, New York
Cul-de-sac
A Star Is Born
The Cassandra Crossing
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Wicked Stepmother
BelliFreschi
Cookie
Cookie
Hart to Hart: Secrets of the Hart
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
Wild and Woody!
Pulp
St. Benny the Dip
Hart to Hart Returns
Boot Hill
The Novice
The Moving Finger
Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die
Caliber 9
Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart
Stanza 17-17 palazzo delle tasse, ufficio imposte
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Innocence and Desire
The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight
The Old Grey Mayor
Call Northside 777
Salt Water Daffy
The Adventures of Pinocchio
Smoked Hams
The Kid from Brooklyn
Gates to Paradise
The Black Bird
The Milky Way
Watchtower Over Tomorrow
A Dandy in Aspic
Between Miracles
Hart to Hart
Trouble Makers
1931: Once Upon a Time in New York
The Squeeze
The League of Frightened Men
Promise Her Anything
Specter of the Rose
What a Life
They Met in a Taxi
The Sensual Man
Wet Blanket Policy
Unfaithfully Yours
Don Camillo and the Contestants
The Black Hand
The Loose Nut
H2S
Zenabel
Red Coat
Meet Nero Wolfe
The Last Good Time
If You Could Only Cook
The Loved One
The Scoundrel
Dirty Weekend
Father Jackleg
Treasure Island
Hooray for Love
The Crowd Roars
Cyclone
Where the Bullets Fly
In the Dough
I Live My Life
Matilda
The Last Gangster
Professor Beware
Who’s Cookin Who?
Guadalcanal Diary
The Ice Follies of 1939
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
We’re in the Money
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Hangmen Also Die!
Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is
More Than a Secretary
Blast of Silence
Apple Andy
The Gay Deception
How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get Into This Business?
I’m a Big Shot Now
Career Timeline
Track the complete movie timeline of Lionel Stander, including all film releases, career breakthroughs, and notable roles. Follow their journey from early performances to recent blockbusters and upcoming projects.
1994
Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die
Max
Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart
Max
The Last Good Time
Howard Singer
Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is
Max
1973
1931: Once Upon a Time in New York
Sparks
The Sensual Man
Baron Castorini
The Black Hand
Lieutenant Giuseppe Petrosino
Dirty Weekend
General
1972
Pulp
Ben Dinuccio
Caliber 9
L'Americano / The Mikado
The Adventures of Pinocchio
Mangiafoco
Don Camillo and the Contestants
Peppone
Father Jackleg
Stinky Manure
Treasure Island
Billy Bones
Where the Bullets Fly
Lucky Capone
1971
Stanza 17-17 palazzo delle tasse, ufficio imposte
Katanga
The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight
Baccala
Between Miracles
Oreste
1961
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
'A Star Is Born' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Blast of Silence
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1948
Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
Bellhop
Wild and Woody!
Buzz Buzzard (voice)
Call Northside 777
Wiecek's Cellmate Corrigan (uncredited)
Trouble Makers
'Hatchet' Moran
Wet Blanket Policy
Buzz Buzzard (voice)
Unfaithfully Yours
Hugo Standoff
1946
The Kid from Brooklyn
Spider Schultz
Specter of the Rose
Lionel Gans
Who’s Cookin Who?
Wolfie Wolf (voice)
Apple Andy
Devil
1936
The Milky Way
Spider Schultz
They Met in a Taxi
Fingers Garrison
Meet Nero Wolfe
Archie Goodwin
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Cornelius Cobb
More Than a Secretary
Ernest
I’m a Big Shot Now
Gangster Bird (voice)
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