Leo Getz

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"Ok, ok..."

―Leo Getz

Leo Getz is the federal witness Team Riggs/Murtaugh had to protect from the South African Diplomats led by Arjen Rudd. Since then he has become their somewhat good friend. His occupation varies by film (i.e. from Banker in Lethal Weapon 2, to Real Estate Agent in Lethal Weapon 3, to Private Investigator in Lethal Weapon 4).

Biography

Leo Getz is a talkative, protective, and crazy guy, who is somewhat of a wacko especially towards other people. When he first meets the detectives, they already became annoyed of him once they learned about his repetitive talking and not stopping his conversation; at times, he even talks to himself. Anytime he gets into a certain subject, he will continue to talk about it, which is helpless on occasion. Getz also has different jobs in each film he appears, so it can be implied he changes jobs because the people he works for also get annoyed with his non-stop talking.

Leo's past has proven to be a sad one, and this is further shown in the fourth film.

Lethal Weapon 2

Meeting the Detectives

Leo Getz first meets Policemen Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh at a hotel during a case where South African Diplomats are smuggling krugerrands into the United States. The duo are assigned to protect Leo from the diplomats as well as question him the details regarding their plans. They already show a disliking to his personality and humor, telling him "shut up" and slapping his hands away from touching their guns. Leo even kids around with them mentioning everything in his room can be theirs and he can take the small room because he is shorter than both cops. He also tells them he laundered funds in half a billion dollars for smugglers in the past. "Room service" arrives in Leo's hotel room and he complains when Riggs and Murtaugh take some french fries, with Leo wanting it first. When the waiter approaches Leo, he pulls out a gun and was just about to shoot him, but Leo pointed it up. Riggs charges at the gunman but pushes the cart and he, the gunman, and Leo fall 7 stories into a pool. Leo is momentarily mistaken for the gunman, who managed to getaway, as Riggs delivered a few punches to his face, breaking his nose.

One word after another

Leo Getz after sustaining hits from Riggs by accident.

After being helped out of the pool, Leo, with his nose plugged with cotton balls to prevent it from bleeding any further, he is taken to Murtaugh's home where he tells the duo how the process of his banking functioned with the diplomats. As he explains how they were able to get the money, he takes Riggs' wet shirt out of the wash and dryer and hands it to him, only for Riggs to realize it shrunk during the drying. When it's time to go, Leo asks if he can have a gun, to which the detectives say "No" together, then Riggs pulls Leo's broken nose out of fun.

Later, near the Hollywood Sign, Leo uses a calculator to figure out the address of his client's home.

Arjen Rudd's house and car chase

Leo is taken with Riggs and Murtaugh to Arjen Rudd's private home. Waiting in the car, the same henchman that tried to kill Leo earlier escapes Rudd's house and Riggs goes after him while Leo attempted following too. He enters Murtaugh's station wagon and a chase begins. During the chase, Leo goes to pick up Riggs' gun, which he accidentally dropped when the driver shook the truck to the side. Murtaugh takes the gun away from him. As the chase comes to a close, Murtaugh pulls the car over as he and Leo watch a near collision occur with another vehicle, involving the death of the henchman by surfboard.

Lethal Weapon 3

Real Estate

Leo Getz returns in this film as a real estate agent. He has dyed his hair blonde and now sports an earring. Two people visit the Murtaugh Home as Getz tries selling to them, possibly due to Roger Murtaugh retiring in less than a week and wanting to move to live a private life with his family. But once again, due to his constant blabbering, he shows them every part of the house (notably the living room, the now complete garage, and the bathroom, reminiscing the previous two films) and details them the events that have occurred in the house's lifetime. He brings them through into the kitchen, but when Riggs and Murtaugh get into another argument, they end up in a position that scares off the buyers (the duo had been spying on Leo the whole time). Murtaugh takes his frustration out on Leo, since Leo mentioned the toilet bomb incident. When Riggs reminds them of the time Murtaugh shot someone with a nailgun in the house, Leo asks if the repairs after the toilet bomb were properly permitted. He says he'll arrange for some backdated permits so that the sale, when they find a buyer, won't hit a snag. Still frustrated, Murtaugh kicks Leo out of his house and he departs.

Trouble in the Forum

Leo visits Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs again, this time at the police station. He tells Murtaugh his house is infested with termites and tries to tell him he should consider buying a new house. While talking about a case, he sees a video image of suspect Jack Travis and instantly recognizes him. Leo then tells the duo he knows where they can find him. After asking for a gun again from the duo, they once again reject together.

At the Forum, Leo is in the stands searching for Travis while Riggs publicly announces in the arena that Travis surrender to the LAPD. After narrowly avoiding two beat cops, Leo spots Travis and shouts to Riggs and Murtaugh he found him. Leo chases after him and jumps from the railing on top of Travis' back. The two wrestle and tackle each other onto the ice, interrupting the game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Travis pulls out his gun and Leo grabs his arm, lying on the ice, but Travis shoots him in his forearm and injures him as he escapes.

Leo cries and coughs as Murtaugh tries to help him but Leo says he is dying, and quotes he is choking and feels cold and numb because he is dying. Murtaugh then tells him the wound on his forearm is just a flesh wound and he is cold because of the ice and that he is going to be alright. Riggs comes to help Leo up and Murtaugh helps too as the crowd in the Forum give a standing ovation knowing he is okay.

"Dumb Dumb" wound gimmick

At the hospital, while Leo is being examined by the doctor, Riggs and Murtaugh convince the doctor to keep Leo in the hospital for a few days for the sake of avoiding his chitchat personality. In order to fool Leo, the duo pretend that the wound Jack Travis gave him was a "dumb dumb wound" and he requires additional stay in the hospital in order to get better. Riggs and Murtaugh leave as Leo is put to sleep.

Return to normal life and response to high speed chase

After coming out of the hospital, Leo is held back by Sergeant Wells because he did not have proper authority to be there but Murtaugh tells her he's with them. Leo begins to tell the duo and their new comrade Sergeant Lorna Cole about his stay at the hospital and that he got a lapotomy, something he feels is an act of disrespect.

Later, Leo drives his car to the spot where the motorcycle blew up upon impact. The duo are not happy to see him all the while being on the case of pursuing Travis but failing to apprehend him. Leo explains he arrived to the highway chase scene with help from a police scanner. Then he tells them about Rancho Oroya (where Travis' construction company is located) and wants to join them there but Riggs and Murtaugh shoot the tires of his car, ticking him off as he complains to an officer about it.

Murtaugh keeps his house

With Murtaugh ultimately deciding to stay on the force, Leo arrives in the bathroom and speaks to Roger about his house being sold to new buyers. And just as he shows Roger his contract of letting go of the lease on the home and moving out, Roger tells Leo he and his family has decided to stay in the termite-infested home for another 10 years. But this upsets him as he says he's under contract and then changes the subject to the flat tires both Murtaugh and Riggs gave him. Having had enough, Roger Murtaugh and Trish kick Leo out of the bathroom, but he gives them a warning not to come crying to him if the termites infest their home again before leaving.

Lethal Weapon 4

Fishing with Riggs and Murtaugh

One night in the open ocean, Leo Getz is with Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh fishing from Murtaugh's boat.

Smiling on camera

After the boat is impounded by the LAPD, Leo is interviewed on camera and tells them his side of the story of what happened.

Tailing the duo

On a bright sunny day, Leo attempts to tail Riggs and Murtaugh in his red GMC pickup truck. However, being a beginner P.I., was spotted by the duo, who pulled over to see what he wants. As Leo approached the car from the side, he illegally parks on the active side of the road getting a complaint from a driver in the process. Asking if they saw him tailing the duo, Leo becomes disgraced that they did and then questions who the "perp" in the backseat is. He reveals himself as Lee Butters, who becomes offended by his remark just because he has an assumption. During the argument, a motorcycle police officer pulls by telling Leo he is blocking the road. Riggs, Murtaugh, and Butters lie that he has been drinking just so they can get away from him; the officer believes them and Leo is taken to the police station for examination.

Dentist Appointment

Leo was able to track Uncle Benny at a dental office, which allowed Riggs, Murtaugh, and Butters to use him as a distraction, while they interrogated Uncle Benny about where the Hongs were being held. They used laughing gas to extract the truth he was keeping from them. After getting the truth from Uncle Benny, Leo could no longer stall them, and they all left to find the Hongs.

Leo's backstory

Leo visits Martin Riggs and sees him at his first wife's grave. Seeing how much he cares for his wife, Leo warms him up by telling him a story of his time. His father was no bargain, and his mother left when he was young. He had a pet frog named Froggy, and used to kiss it and thought it turn into a princess and be the mother to him he never had after his mother left. One day, while riding his bike, Froggy jumped out of the basket, and Leo accidentally ran over him with the back tire and killed him, which left him really heartbroken. He went through a life without friends for a long time, until the one day he finally met Riggs and Murtaugh. He tells Riggs that they're like family to him because they looked after him and took care of him more than they had to. Riggs tells Leo he's terrible to him, but Leo tells him it's okay. He explains to him that he and Roger aren't better friends than Froggy was to him, but just different.

Gallery

To view the Leo Getz gallery, click here.

Behind the Scenes

Leo Getz was portrayed by Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 3 and Lethal Weapon 4.

Appearances

Films
Lethal Weapon	Lethal Weapon 2	Lethal Weapon 3	Lethal Weapon 4

Trivia

Because Leo is so talkative, and such a wacko to so many people, it's all because he never had much a normal life his whole life. He's never had any friends, except a pet frog. He never knew his parents after his mother disappears and his father being no bargain. It is unknown at this point if he grew foster homes, or if he lived in an orphanage his whole life, until he was old enough to be on his own; all the way up til he met Riggs and Murtaugh, who he considers family for looking after him a lot more than they had to, even if they're not better friends than Froggy, but just different.