Community mourns the loss of Richard Erdman at age 93

Entertainment Weekly

The classic film actor known for 1951's Cry Danger and 1953's Stalag 17 endeared himself to a new generation as Community's cranky Korean War veteran Leonard “Bucket of Guts” Rodriguez. "I knew the day we’d have to say goodbye to this lovely man would come sooner than any of us were ready," tweeted Yvette Nicole Brown. "Such a good & funny man. We’ll miss you 'Leonard,'" added Joel McHale. On Instagram, Community creator Dan Harmon posted a lengthier tribute. "Godspeed, Richard Erdman," he wrote. "TV sometimes orders actors like pizza (I need a person over 6 foot, no beard, etc.). Richard was on a list of men over 80 willing to swim, so he ended up in a Long Beach swimming pool doing ten takes of a line we used the first take of. To me, reprising 'Leonard' was ample reward for almost drowning him. Which is why, when he responded to one of my directions with a fart sound, I thought, man, if this guy dislikes drowning, he’s going to hate unemployment."