(Tampa Bay, FL) Television has a way of burning images in our minds. If I said the name Len Lesser, probably most of you would not know who I was talking about. You all know his face however. If I said Uncle Leo, that face and famous greeting of “Jerry, Hello!” would come to mind. Actor Len Lesser personified the life of a character actor. For more than 50 years, Lesser appeared in hundreds of television shows and dozens of major motion pictures with some of the greatest stars in Hollywood. His life story is told in the new book “Where’s The Watch? and Other Tales. A Memoir of Seinfeld’s Uncle Leo, Len Lesser”.
Recently I spoke with Tama Ryder, who wrote the book with Len Lesser who sadly passed away in February of this year (2011) at the age of 88. Ms. Ryder, who told me she grew up without a television set in her family, came into the project after a previous author dropped out.
Tama Ryder earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from Boston University and her master's degree in government from Harvard University. Her thesis at Harvard explored the relationship between the military and the press during the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama.
Tama went on to work at news stations on Long Island and throughout Boston. While working as a reporter, Tama received a "Best Documentary" award from New England Women in Television, for her film about the Fresh Air Fund program, Up for Air: Two Weeks in the Country, which she wrote, produced, and edited.
When she moved to Manhattan in 2002, her career took a new direction. Tama was introduced to legendary publicist Bobby Zarem and began working for him, before being recruited to work for former Senator Bob Kerrey at The New School. As a project manager, Tama managed the development of analytical tools for the 2004 Presidential Election and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. She also worked with the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and with Senators John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, and John McCain.
During one of her many trips between New York and Washington, DC, Tama decided to take writing sabbatical. That sabbatical turned into a new career when she was hired by Len Lesser to write his memoir.
The complete interview is posted to this article.
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