Individual Details

Birth

Birthdate from LaDonna Wright, October 2016 - FB message to Carol Petranek with link to her tree on Ancestry

Residence

Moved permanently back to Savannah from Los Angeles in 1995

Occupation

URL: https://www.leopoldsicecream.com
History from website: https://www.leopoldsicecream.com/gayot-leopolds/
Ask wife Mary and she will tell you that Stratton Leopold has a passion for washing soda fountain glasses, be it at home or work at the nearly century-old Leopold’s Ice Cream in Savannah, GA.
He also has a passion for making movies.
Leopold, when he’s not creating spectacular banana splits or hand-dipping double scoops of mocha chocolate chip ice cream into cones for patrons who line up daily out the door of the little ice cream parlor/lunch shop, is a freelance Hollywood producer and former executive vice president of production at Paramount Pictures. He has also worked as an actor, casting director, executive and production manager during his long and successful career. Among his recent projects are “Parker,” “Captain America: the First Avenger” and “Mission: Impossible III.”
But the little ice cream shop…now, that’s where his heart is — and that’s something special, indeed.
Leopold grew up in the ice cream business and is devoted to maintaining the high level of quality that his family always upheld. You’ll find him behind the counter whenever he has a break from his film production work. Count on a smile across his face, especially if he’s washing glasses.
“Everything is handmade by us,” Leopold says. “Even the syrups and the sauces, the toppings and the fudge (author’s humble opinion: the best hot fudge sundae ever).
There is a long list of ice cream flavors that are always available — of course, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry lead the list, but other temptations abound such as lemon custard, tutti-frutti and rum bisque — which were favorites in his father’s day. Then there’s the list of seasonal indulgences: frozen hot cocoa, Guinness, huckleberry cheesecake and rose petal among them.
At lunch, sandwiches are served on fresh-baked whole wheat-berry bread with lettuce, spread with mayonnaise or mustard and served with a side of chips or homemade pasta salad. Daily arrays of hearty soups are freshly made from scratch.
The shop is small but reminiscent of an earlier age when sweet shops were the place to hang out; this is very close to the feel of the original Leopold’s Ice Cream Parlor, which was always a popular destination for generations of people after they attended concerts, dances and football games.
The history of the Leopold’s Ice Cream dates back to the 1900s, when immigrant brothers George, Peter and Basil Leopold arrived in this country from Greece. An uncle who had already settled in America trained them in the art of making sweets. The brothers went on to create their own secret formulas and were best known for Leopold’s VeriBest™ ice cream. They opened their own place at Gwinnett and Habersham streets in Savannah in 1919.
After years of steady business, Leopold’s Ice Cream found the fate of so many sweet shops and ice cream parlors. Leopold’s Ice Cream faded and had to close up shop in 1969. Stratton, the youngest child of Peter Leopold, kept many of the original fixtures in storage while he pursued a Hollywood career, at first doing smaller behind-the-scenes roles such as location manager for “The Big Chill” and casting director for “Wise Blood.” He even acted in a few films and can be seen associating with a zombie-like alien in John Carpenter’s “They Live!”
“But I always loved the family business,“ Leopold said. It was simply too good to let go.
On August 18 of 2004, Leopold and his wife Mary reopened Leopold’s Ice Cream. The new location is on downtown Savannah’s Broughton Street with an interior designed by Dan Lomino, the Academy Award-nominated art director for “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Many of the original fixtures Leopold had kept were used, including the black marble soda fountain and wooden interior phone booth. Despite its wonderful old-fashioned flair, it has a very modern and an unusual touch – posters and props from Leopold’s film career.
Leopold is now both renovating the old location for use as a new retail outlet and also establishing a new manufacturing site where Leopold’s Ice Cream products can be produced with the goal of shipping them via mail order.


URL: History: https://www.leopoldsicecream.com/about-us/our-history/
Leopold’s Ice Cream was founded in 1919 by three brothers from Greece.  They learned the art of candy and dessert making from an uncle who had already settled in America. George, Peter and Basil Leopold perfected their secret formulas and created the now world famous Leopold’s Ice Cream.

The brothers opened their ice cream parlor on the corner of Gwinnett and Habersham streets in Savannah, where two streetcar lines intersected. Many a rider would jump off the streetcar and entreat the motorman to wait as they got a frozen delight!
Generations of Savannahians have loved Leopold’s Ice Cream.   Their soda fountain business was legendary!  Locals still talk about the malts, milk shakes, black and white sodas and banana splits served by the soda jerks who worked at Leopold’s.  Leopold’s ice cream and sherbet molds were a holiday highlight in Savannah’s finest clubs and the shop was always a popular destination after concerts, dances and high school sporting events.
Famed lyricist Johnny Mercer grew up a block away from Leopold’s and worked at the shop as a boy.  Later, he was a faithful customer when he was home from Hollywood.  He even told Peter that he would write a song about Leopold’s famous Tutti Frutti ice cream, which had become a Leopold’s hallmark and Savannah favorite.
Stratton Leopold, Peter’s youngest child, learned the art of making premium ice cream as a boy.   Upon his father’s passing, Stratton took over the business continuing his family’s legacy.  He later left Savannah to pursue his dream of working in Hollywood.
Today, Stratton is an active member of the Hollywood motion picture community, serving as Producer on films such as Mission Impossible 3, the Sum of All Fears, The General’s Daughter, Paycheck and Parker. Stratton has worked on many other blockbuster hits during his nearly 50 years in the film industry including The Big Chill and John Carpenter’s They Live. Props and posters from these films can be found in the shop today.
Though Stratton left Savannah to pursue his Hollywood dream, Leopold’s Ice Cream continued to be a Savannah tradition carried on by other members of the Leopold family. In the summer of 2004, Stratton and his wife, Mary, officially opened the new Broughton Street location. They continue their legendary family business proudly using many fixtures from the original store including the black marble soda fountain, wooden back bar and telephone booth. When Stratton is not on location with his latest film project, he can be found behind the soda fountain scooping ice cream and washing dishes, just like when he was a kid!
All of Leopold’s super-premium ice cream is hand crafted in historic downtown Savannah using the original, secret recipes and techniques handed down to Stratton by his father. Many of their toppings and ice cream ingredients and all of their sandwich meats and salads are prepared from scratch by a Leopold’s chef. Leopold’s Ice Cream is committed to serving the finest, freshest ice cream, soups and sandwiches in a family friendly environment with the best customer service possible!
We hope that Leopold’s will continue to work its way into the hearts of further generations, in Savannah and beyond. Here’s to another century years of Good Things to Eat! Good Things to Drink! ™