Quick Facts
| Intro | American actor | ||||||
| Is | Actor Television actor Film actor | ||||||
| From | United States of America | ||||||
| Field | Film, TV, Stage & Radio | ||||||
| Gender | male | ||||||
| Birth | 16 November 1950, San Diego, San Diego County, California, USA | ||||||
| Age | 72 years | ||||||
| Star sign | Scorpio | ||||||
| Education |
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| Profiles |
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Biography
David Russell Leisure (born November 16, 1950) is an American actor best known for his role as Charley Dietz in the sitcom Empty Nest from 1988 to 1995 and fictional (and "lying") automotive "pitch man" Joe Isuzu in a series of North American television commercials for Isuzu from 1986 to 1990, and again from 1999 to 2001.
Early life and education
Leisure was born on November 16, 1950, in San Diego. He attended Grossmont High School in La Mesa, California, and later, Grossmont College also in El Cajon and then San Diego State University.
Career
Leisure moved to Los Angeles after graduating. He made his debut in 1980, playing the character of the "First Krishna" in the 1980 comedy film Airplane!, starring Robert Hays and Leslie Nielsen. He had been roommates with Robert Hays in college but attributed his casting to his willingness to shave his head.
He voiced The Castle in Fox's 1992 Halloween special Count DeClues' Mystery Castle.
In 1999, he made a brief but memorable appearance in Gil Junger's comedy 10 Things I Hate About You as a high school soccer coach and detention monitor.
After a period of hardship, in which he lived in his car, he found work as a commercial pitchman, including a series of commercials for Bell Atlantic. Della Femina Travisano & Partners cast him as Joe Isuzu because they believe he could "lie like a pro". The character made over-the-top claims and obvious lies about Isuzu cars in a series of commercials throughout the 1980s. The character's popularity led to a co-starring role as Charley Dietz on the television series Empty Nest.
More recently, falling back on his "Joe Isuzu" shtick, Leisure has been acting as a fictional and disreputable insurance lawyer in a series of commercials for various American personal-injury law firms. In different markets, different firms have licensed the footage and add in their own spokespeople and names.
For much of the first quarter of 2009, Leisure appeared as Roger Wilkes on the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless. In 2009-2011, he was seen in a recurring role as Salem District Attorney Charles Woods on Days of Our Lives.
Leisure also provided the voice of Metus on Mark Baldo's animated feature BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn.
Additional television credits include Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, One on One, V.I.P., Diagnosis: Murder, The Parent 'Hood, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, For Your Love, Caroline in the City, The Wayans Bros., Touched by an Angel, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Renegade, The Golden Girls, Married... with Children, ALF, 227, T. J. Hooker, The Equalizer, Falcon Crest, Sledge Hammer!, and Nurses.
Film roles
- Airplane! (1980) - First Krishna
- Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) - Religious Zealot
- Say Yes (1986) - Police Sergeant
- You Can't Hurry Love (1988) - Peter Newcomb
- Burke's Law (1994) - Stan "Stormy" Gilliss (1 episode)
- The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) - Jason
- Nowhere (1997) - Egg and Ducky's Dad
- Hollywood Safari (1997) - Troy
- Fallout (1999) - Colegrove
- 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) - Mr. Chapin
- 3 Strikes (2000) - District Attorney
- Behind the Seams (2000) - Milos Breneschov
- Downward Angel (2001) - Charles
- Elvis Has Left the Building (2004) - Hole-in-the-Head Elvis
- Welcome to September (2005) - Elliott Faydo
- Bionicle: The Legend Reborn (2009) - Metus
- Dancing on a Dry Salt Lake (2013) - Benny
- The Goldberg's (2020) - Airline Pilot
