Joe Fleishaker

Joe Fleishaker, an American character actor, worked mostly in low-budget cult and horror comedies, above all for the New York independent company Troma Entertainment, which jokingly called him its biggest action star. Troma first used him as an extra in its 1988 action comedy Troma's War, casting him as a guerrilla in a violent terrorist sect; the director, Lloyd Kaufman, was amused by his screen presence and gave him more to do. Fleishaker stayed with Troma, taking parts in every Kaufman-directed film released between 1989 and 2006, his duties ranging from small background bits and cameos to substantial supporting work, including Lardass, the Toxic Avenger's sidekick, in Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV. He portrayed Michael Herz, Troma's co-president, in the company's promotional videos and shorts, and in the 1990s he appeared in comedy sketches on Late Night and Late Show with David Letterman, at least a dozen times as a bit player. He died in 2016.