Thomas Leo, 80

Thomas J. Leo, a character actor and comedian, died on Saturday at the Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead of complications of late-stage dementia. He was 80.

Mr. Leo’s theater work in New York City included playing a beggar in “The Threepenny Opera” at Lincoln Center and a small part in Woody Allen’s “Stardust Memories.” He had roles with the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival in “A Comedy of Errors” and in a musical version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” On the South Fork, he often had roles in the performances of the Community Theater Company, Dark Horse Productions, and the Southampton Players.

Among other theater work, he appeared in a controversial feminist showcase at Westbeth and had a part in “More Than You Deserve,” a critical musical by Michael Weller about the Vietnam War directed by Joe Papp. Mr. Leo said in a 1996 interview for The Star that he and the actress Mary Beth Hurt, who met at Westbeth, performed all over Vietnam and had 27 death scenes among them. It was his first Equity role.

Mr. Leo first came to East Hampton in 1983, living in Northwest Woods with his partner, Michael O’Neill. He worked at BookHampton for many years. They had met in the city when they both stopped to pet the same dog near Gracie Mansion, he told the interviewer in 1996.

His was an accidental acting and comedy path; a friend in the early 1970s had suggested he give theater a try. This led to a time with the Off-Center Theater, which gave free performances of updated fairy tales for adults and children. His interest in the arts came earlier, however. 

As a boy growing up in Teaneck, N.J., he listened to Metropolitan Opera performances on the radio. When he was a little older, he began enjoying its live performances on his own.

In East Hampton, he was a member of an informal group that read the entire works of Shakespeare — twice.

He was born on Nov. 28, 1936, at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck to Maurice M. Leo and the former Mary Trincelita. After graduating from high school in New Jersey, he received an English and philosophy degree from the University of Toronto. Coming back to the States, he became a teacher, first at St. Cecilia’s High School in Englewood, N.J., then at St. David’s School in Manhattan. 

He and Mr. O’Neill moved to East Hampton when Mr. O’Neill took a job as a chef at a new restaurant. They lived in a house that Mr. O’Neill mostly built himself, with pets that included three geese, chickens, dogs, and rabbits.

In addition to Mr. O’Neill, Mr. Leo is survived by his siblings, John Leo of Manhattan, Maryann Napoli of Brooklyn, Peter Leo of Pittsburg, Virginia Kruger of Lakeville, Conn., and by many nieces, nephews, and grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

A memorial service will be announced.