Jan Leighton

Jan Leighton
Born	Milton Lichtman December 27, 1921 The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Died	November 16, 2009 (aged 87) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1949–2009
Spouse(s)	Lynda Myles

Jan Leighton (December 27, 1921 - November 16, 2009) was an American actor and model who appeared in more than 3,000 roles. He specialized in portraying historic characters, but also worked as a voice actor and hand model. He was credited by the Guinness Book of World Records with having played more roles than any other actor.

Leighton was born in The Bronx, New York as Milton Lichtman in 1921. He would later change his professional name to Jan Leighton in 1949 to de-emphasize his Jewish heritage in order to get more work. His father owned a fleet of taxis, and his mother was a housewife. He attended Aviation High School, but left school at age 17 to work as a mechanic for an aeronautics firm. He joined the U.S. military during World War II, working as a physical training instructor. He briefly attended the University of Mexico in Mexico City after the war, but moved to El Paso, Texas after six months. While living in Texas, he received government funding to attend an acting workshop in New York.

Leighton began his acting career appearing in live television dramas and in theater. He was described as "a large, broad-shouldered man with an amiable face." He won a small role in the Broadway production, Home Is Tomorrow and roles in the television series, Robert Montgomery Presents, Kraft Television Theater, Studio One and Man Against Crime. In 1960, he appeared on Broadway with Lucille Ball in Wildcat.

Leighton later developed a career as an impersonator of historic characters in numerous media—television and print advertisements, industrial and training films, radio, personal appearances and at least one feature film. To prepare for a role, Leighton read biographies on the subject and studied any available reproductions of the subject's appearance and voice.

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