In this Sept. 24, 2010, photo, the doo-wop group Sha Na Na rehearses for its special performance to mark the 75th anniversary of Hofstra University in Melville, N.Y. From left are Screamin' Scott Simon, Jocko Marcellino, Donny York, Robert Leonard, David Garrett and Elliot Cahn
BEST KNOWN AS: a vocalist and founding member of the doo-wop group Sha Na Na
THE INTEL: Formed only months before its breakout performance at Woodstock — where the group opened for Jimi Hendrix — Sha Na Na was among a handful of acts that generated nostalgia for 1950s-era pop culture. But music stardom held little appeal for Leonard, who traded limousines and gold-lamé suits to pursue studies in linguistics. Piling up a slew of advanced degrees (an M.A., an M.Phil. and a Ph.D.) from Columbia (including eight years of field research among tribes in East Africa), Leonard is now a professor and the director of Hofstra University’s Institute for Forensic Linguistics, Threat Assessment and Strategic Analysis.
BRAINIAC RATING, ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 11: 10
RATING: Leonard is also a forensic linguist, offering his expert testimony for clients that include the Department of Justice and Apple.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K0yJ5JVw14]