Trivia - David Leisure, Joe Isuzu, & His Wild Career

Celebrating the One and Only David Leisure! 

Get ready for a nostalgic deep dive into the life and career of sitcom legend David Leisure—the man behind some of the most hilariously unforgettable characters in TV and film history! 

You probably remember him best as the king of tall tales, ‘Joe Isuzu’, from those outrageous 1980s and '90s car commercials. Or maybe as the lovable scoundrel ‘Charley Dietz’ on the hit ‘90s sitcom “Empty Nest”. But did you know his journey started with a role in the cult-classic comedy “Airplane!”? 

To celebrate my recent interview with David, I’ve put together a fun and fascinating list of trivia that highlights his remarkable career. From his no-nonsense soccer coach in “10 Things I Hate About You” to his scene-stealing roles in “The Brady Bunch Movie”, “Married… with Children”, “The Young and the Restless”, and “Days of Our Lives”—his comedic genius has been delighting audiences for over 40 years! 

So, put your David Leisure knowledge to the test, take a trip down memory lane, and rediscover why this Cheshire Cat-smiling funnyman remains a true comedy legend. Buckle up—it’s going to be a wild (and hilarious) ride!

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David Leisure's first acting job was a minor role in "Airplane!" (1980), where he played a Hare Krishna. He had been roommates with the film's star, Robert Hays, during college, but he credited his casting to his willingness to shave his head for the role. Leisure also made a brief appearance in "Airplane II: The Sequel," again portraying a character with a shaved head, this time as a 'Religious Zealot.'

Despite having a degree in fine arts, David Leisure spent six years looking for more work, living out of a VW van during that time and making minor appearances on shows such as “Falcon's Crest”. His girlfriend at the time then suggested he try attending a commercial workshop.

Actor David Leisure played ‘Joe Isuzu’, a fictional spokesman, in a series of 1980s television advertisements for Isuzu cars and trucks.

The character of ‘Joe Isuzu’ became a fixture in American popular culture. In 1988, Michael Dukakis, in a debate with George H. W. Bush during that year's United States presidential election, said, "If Bush keeps it up, he's going to be the Joe Isuzu of American politics."

Played by actor David Leisure, Joe Isuzu was a pathological liar who made outrageous and overinflated claims about Isuzu's cars, with one commercial even casting him as the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Joe Isuzu's satire of the advertising and automotive sales business met with some resistance within those industries, many of whom felt the character reflected poorly on them.

Leisure reprised his role as ‘Joe Isuzu’ in a 1992 A&W Cream Soda commercial. True to form, Isuzu made outrageous claims about the soda.

In 2012, Daily Finance (a subsidiary of AOL) named David Leisure #15 of Top 25 Celebrity Spokespeople of All Time for having portrayed Joe Isuzu in Isuzu advertisements. The same year, Leisure reprised the role in a series of mock endorsements of Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.

The ‘Joe Isuzu’ segments aired on American television in 1986–90, reaching their zenith in 1987 after the character was featured during Super Bowl XXI.

A decade after Isuzu exited the U.S. market, Leisure reprised the role in a 2018 commercial for Johnny5ive, an Isuzu Trooper repairman.

During the second season of the sitcom “Married… With Children”(1988) David Leisure plays ‘Blink Winkleman’ the host of a TV game show called "How Do I Love Thee" where the objective is a Bundy natural: surviving physical torture from one's spouse.

The popularity of the Joe Isuzu character led to David Leisure’s costarring role as Charley Dietz on the television series “Empty Nest”.

The backdoor pilot of the TV series “Empty Nest” was an episode of “The Golden Girls” (episode 26 of season 2) called “Empty Nests”.  The only actor from the pilot to continue in the series was David Leisure, but his character's name changed from Oliver to Charley Dietz.

In the 1st season of “Empty Nest”, David Leisure was supposed to be in only 13 episodes. Since his character proved to be so popular, he stayed on for almost the entire season, and had continued to be in almost every episode, every season, ever since.

Dr. Weston (Richard Mulligan) and Charley Dietz (David Leisure) are the only characters in "Empty Nest" who have not been married or involved in any long-term relationships.

On the episode “Questions and Answers” of “The Golden Girls” (Season 7, Episode 16) Dorothy (Bea Arthur) learns that auditions for the TV game show "Jeopardy!" are coming to Miami, and she plans to try out for it. Later, she dreams of a bizarre game of Jeopardy! Which pits her against Rose (Betty White) and her neighbor Charlie Dietz (David Leisure).

Leisure provided a guest voice in a "Dinosaurs" episode as ‘Mr. Barry Wolfe’. 

Although Kristy McNichol and David Leisure co-starred in “Empty Nest,” they did not appear in the same scene together in the film “You Can't Hurry Love” (1988).

In the film "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999), David Leisure shared that he got the role of Mr. Chapon because he was willing to take an arrow to the backside. Leisure explained that the part was initially offered to television writer and producer Don Reo, who declined it, telling the director, "I'm not going to take an arrow in my ass!"

In the soap opera "Days of our Lives," David Leisure portrayed the character D.A. Charles Woods in 27 episodes from 2009 to 2010. He made a return for several episodes between July 15 and August 10, 2011. His character was first mentioned as Bill Peterson in June 2009, and it seems he was originally intended to be a separate character, as Bill was described as a lawyer.

Leisure played the character Rogers Wilkes on the daytime soap opera “The Young and the Restless.” Wilkes was a con man married to Annie Wilkes, who was portrayed by Marsha Wallace, best known for her role as receptionist Carol Kester on the 1970s sitcom “The Bob Newhart Show.”

Television and film star David Leisure, along with his comedic troupe of would-be golf enthusiasts, was featured in two comedy DVDs titled “National Lampoon's Teed Off” (2005) and “National Lampoon's Teed Off Too” (2008). In these films, they pulled off some of the most outrageous pranks ever captured on a golf course by hidden camera.

In the sitcom "The Goldbergs" (2020), the family travels to Miami on Oceanic Airlines, the fictional airline from the TV show "LOST." David Leisure, who plays the pilot in this episode, pays tribute to his first on-screen role as "First Krishna" in the film "Airplane!" (1980) with this cameo appearance.

Some facts are taken from IMDB & Wikipedia.

Don’t miss listening to my entertaining interview with the hilarious David Leisure in the latest two episodes of the Hollywood Obsessed podcast! Where you get exclusive insights and stories you won’t find anywhere else!

Click the links below to listen now and be inspired!

Episode 109 - HERE

Episode 110 - HERE