Born in the Bronx, New York, Lionel Stander was attending the University of North Carolina when at age 19 he made his stage debut, and decided to leave academia for a career in acting. Along with a successful stage career, his unusual voice made him ideal for radio. His earliest film appearances were uncredited roles in the 1931 shorts Where Men Are Men and Freshman Love. He is perhaps best remembered for his television role as Max the chauffeur in the 1979 series Hart to Hart
Lionel Stander died of lung cancer at the age of 86.
