Richard Kind

LOS ANGELES – OCT 28: Richard Kind arrives for the Carney Awards 2018 on October 28, 2018 in Santa Monica, CA, DFree/bigstock.com

Birth Name: Richard Bruce Kind

Place of Birth: Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.

Date of Birth: November 22, 1956

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Richard Kind is an American actor and comedian. His roles include the shows Mad About You, Spin City, and Watcher, and the films A Bug’s Life, Cars, The Visitor, A Serious Man, Toy Story 3, Argo, and Inside Out.

He is the son of Alice F. and Samuel Mortimer Kind, a jeweler, who owned La Vake’s Jewelry, in Princeton. He was partly raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Richard has three children with his former wife Dana Stanley.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2023) stated that Richard’s genetic ancestry is:

*100% Ashkenazi Jewish

Richard’s paternal grandfather was Leopold David “Leo” Kind (the son of Samuel Kind and Minnie Klenert). Leo was born in New Jersey, to a Jewish family. Samuel was born in Prašný Újezd, Bohemia, Austrian Empire, the son of Juda/Judl “Jakob” Kind, who was born in Mlečice, Czechia, and whose father was a rabbi; and of Theresia Blass/Plass Siegler. Minnie was born in New York, to parents from Germany, Victor Klenert and Rosa Schön, who was from Saxony.

Richard’s paternal grandmother was Claire Sugarman (the daughter of Isaac J. Sugarman and Rose Roth). Claire was born in Ohio. Isaac was the son of Jacob Wolf Sugarman/Suikerman, who was a Dutch Jew, from Amsterdam, and of Rachel Isaacs, who was born in New York, to Dutch Jewish parents. Rose was the daughter of German Jewish parents.

Richard’s maternal grandfather was Alvin Harold Berson (the son of Chaim “Hyman” Berson and Esther Belle/Bella Wacht/Washt). Alvin was born in Manhattan, New York, New York, to Russian Jewish parents, from the Pale of Settlement. Chaim was born in Vilna Gubernia, and was one of the founders of Star Crayons in New York. He was the son of Irving Bernard Berson and Judah Bernstein. Belle’s family was from Narev, Poland. She was the daughter of Jacob Wacht and Elka Leverant.

Richard’s maternal grandmother was Hilda M. Bayles (the daughter of Aaron Bayles and Sadie/Sadio R. Leder). Hilda was born in New Jersey. Aaron was born in Kaunas, Lithuania/Russian Empire, the son of Abraham Bayles and Sarah.

Sources: Genealogy of Richard Kind – https://www.geni.com

Richard’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Obituary of Richard’s father – https://www.nytimes.com

Genealogy of Richard’s paternal grandmother, Claire Sugarman (focusing on her father’s side) – https://www.geni.com

Marriage record of Richard’s maternal grandparents, Alvin Harold Berson and Hilda M. Bayles – https://www.familysearch.org

Richard’s maternal grandparents, Alvin Harold Berson and Hilda M. Bayles, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org