Service Monday noon, November 17, 2014, at Levine Memorial Chapel, 649 Washington Ave in Albany.
Rest in peace, dear friend.
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Tucker, Leonard SCHENECTADY Leonard Tucker, founder of the Casual Set and actor, died on Thursday, November 13, 2014, at Kingsway Arms Nursing Center in Schenectady. He was 95. He was a man of many passions, foremost of which were his family, his business, and his acting career. Those who knew him will always remember his great sense of humor.
He was born into a large family in Bayonne, N.J., in 1919. In spite of being raised in poverty and frequently encountering anti-Semitism, he always had an optimistic view of life and what he could accomplish. He had a powerful drive to succeed. His love of the stage began in childhood when his mother took him to New York City to see Yiddish theatre. He ran track and played football at Thomas Jefferson High School in Elizabeth, N.J., and worked every day in his mother's grocery store.
He met the love of his life, Naomi Levenson, as a teenager, and they married at 19, a marriage that would last 73 years until Naomi's death in 2013. They loved to dance and dance they did! Starting on the boardwalks of Atlantic City, N.J., dancing to the live music of big bands like Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, they continued strutting into their 90s (see them on YouTube).
