Barney Miller / Law and Order
Actors that have been on both Barney Miller and one of Law and Order franchises, in no particular order
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A familiar name thanks to his handsome, brush-mustachioed titular cop on a popular 70's TV show, Bronx-born actor/singer/musician Hal Linden (né Harold Lipschitz, March 20, 1931) was the son of Lithuanian immigrant Charles Lipshitz and his wife Frances Rosen. He had one older brother, Bernard, who would become a future Professor of Music at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. Similarly musical, Hal took up classical clarinet in his late teens and went on to play regularly with symphony orchestras. After graduating from the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, he studied music at Queens College, moving later to City College where he earned a degree in business. Hal supplemented his income playing in dance bands and was asked, at one point, to join Sammy Kaye on tour. Around this time he changed his marquee name to the more inviting "Hal Linden."
This mild invitation into professional show business sparked an interest in acting. Upon receiving his discharge, Hal enrolled at New York's American Theatre Wing where he trained in voice and drama. Eventually drafted into the Army in 1952, he utilized his talents by singing and providing entertainment for the troops. Discharged in 1954, he turned to summer stock and met Frances Martin, a dancer, the following year while both were in the chorus of "Mr. Wonderful" in Cape Cod. They married three years later and she willingly gave up her career to raise a family (four children).
During the early 1950s, he toured with Sammy Kaye and Bobby Sherwood and His Orchestra, among other bands. Hal's first Broadway show was with the 1956 musical "Bells Are Ringing" where he understudied lead Sydney Chaplin in the role of Jeff Moss. He later took over the role. He would make a bigger impression as Billy Crocker in the Broadway revival of Cole Porter in 1962. Hal accumulated more musical credits with leads in "Something More," "Illya, Darling" and "The Apple Tree" (as the Devil).
Although Hal also appeared in a couple of straight plays during this time ("Angel in the Pawnshop," "Three Men on a Horse"), he would win the 1971 Tony award for his earnest portrayal of Mayer Rothschild in the musical "The Rothschilds." This was quickly followed by the title role in the musical "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window," "The Enclave," "The Pajama Game," and other stage roles.
Hal's musical prominence finally led to legit television parts in the early 70's with guest appearances on "Circle of Fear," "Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside" and "The F.B.I." This, in turn, gave him the clout to be tested in a star role, that of the personable precinct boss on the highly popular Barney Miller (1975) sitcom. The long-running comedy program lasted eight seasons and Hal was subsequently Emmy-nominated each year, becoming a highly pleasant household name thanks to his warmly masculine looks, easy charm and dazzling smile.
Accommodating this TV triumph was several light and heavy TV-movie vehicles, including How to Break Up a Happy Divorce (1976), Father Figure (1980), The Other Woman (1983) and the two-person musical I Do! I Do! (1983) co-starring Lee Remick. Following that, Hal has appeared in other shorter-run TV series -- the title magician in Blacke's Magic (1986), title restaurateur in Jack's Place (1992) and as the beleaguered patriarch in the domestic sitcom The Boys Are Back (1994).
Although film stardom eluded Hal, he has supported a handful of films, including A New Life (1988), Just Friends (1996), Out to Sea (1997), Dumb Luck (2001), Time Changer (2002), Light Years Away (2008), Stevie D (2016), The Samuel Project (2018) and Grand-Daddy Day Care (2019). A much bigger presence on TV, Hal dominated with a number of guest appearances -- "The Golden Girls," "The Nanny," "Touched by an Angel," "Law & Order," "Will & Grace," "The King of Queens," "Hot in Cleveland," "2 Broke Girls" and "Grey's Anatomy." In 2006 and 2007, he enjoyed a recurring role on the daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful (1987).
In between, he continued to impress on the stage with performances in such acclaimed plays and musicals as "Company," "Cabaret," "I'm Not Rappaport," "Tuesdays with Morrie," "The Sisters Rosenzweig" and "A Christmas Carol," while continuing musical tours as a clarinetist. The national chairman of the March of Dimes for many years, Hal's career length has now surpassed six decades. His wife Frances died in 2010.- Actress
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Jenny O'Hara was born in Sonora, California, USA. Jenny is an actor and director, known for Devil (2010), Mystic River (2003) and Extract (2009). Jenny has been married to Nick Ullett since 20 July 1986. They have two children. Jenny was previously married to August Dorr Watkins II.- Actress
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Born in Portland, Maine to a musically inclined family (her mother was once an opera singer) and on stage from the age of 5, singer/actress Linda Lavin graduated from The College of William and Mary with a theatre degree.
Linda pounded the New York pavements in the early 1960s searching for work following some stock roles in New Jersey, and gradually made a dent within the New York musical comedy scene with roles in "Oh, Kay!" (1960), "A Family Affair," (1962), "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman" (1966) (her standout number was "You've Got Possibilities") and "On a Clear Day, You Can See Forever" (1966). She also won kudos for her straight acting roles in "Little Murders" (1969 Drama Desk award) and "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" (1969 Tony nomination). A one-time member of Paul Sills' Compass Players comedy troupe back in the late 1950s, she served as a replacement in Sills' "Story Theatre" Broadway production in 1971.
Television beckoned in the 1970s and utilized her singing talents in a small-screen version of Damn Yankees! (1967) starring Phil Silvers and Lee Remick. After a one-season false start as Detective Janice Wentworth on the sitcom Barney Miller (1975), it did not take long for the talented lady to become a household name in another. As the titular waitress/mother in the sitcom Alice (1976), based on the award-winning film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) starring Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn, Lavin won deserved stardom. During the nine seasons (1976-1985) the show was on the air, she nabbed two Golden Globe awards and an Emmy nomination. Ever the singer, she even warbled "There's a New Girl in Town" over the opening credits of the show to the delight of her fans.
Following this success, Linda lavished her attentions once again on the stage. She earned renewed respect, in addition to several critic's awards, for her diversified Broadway work in "Broadway Bound" (1987 Tony award), "Death Defying Acts" (1995 Obie award), "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1998 Tony nomination: as the high-strung Mrs. Van Daan) and "Tales of the Allergist Wife" (2000 Tony nomination). She later appeared in a PBS-TV version of Collected Stories (2002) and in 2010 revived it on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination for her efforts. She has also occasionally directed for the stage.
Linda was married and divorced twice to actors -- Ron Leibman and Kip Niven -- and in 2005 married her third husband, actor Steve Bakunas, who is also an artist and musician. After her "Alice" heyday, the actress would again return to series work, albeit the short-lived Room for Two (1992) and Conrad Bloom (1998).
Millennium credits include penetrating/amusing TV work on "The Sopranos," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "The O.C.," "Madame Secretary," "Santa Clarita Diet" and "Room 104," plus regular roles on three comedy series -- Sean Saves the World (2013), 9JKL (2017) and Yvette Slosch, Agent (2020) (title role). As for stage work, Linda returned to Broadway where she received fine reviews for her starring role in Carol Burnett's autobiographical play "Hollywood Arms" (2002) portraying Burnett's grandmother. The piece was co-written by Burnett's late daughter, Carrie Hamilton. Linda also received excellent reviews in "Collected Stories" (2010). Subsequent Broadway shows included brief runs of "The Lyons" (2012) and "My Mother's Brief Affair."- Actor
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Steve Landesberg was born on 23 November 1936 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Barney Miller (1975), Wild Hogs (2007) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008). He was married to Nancy Ross. He died on 20 December 2010 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
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After endless stage and television work, Barrie received a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the ground-breaking racial drama One Potato, Two Potato (1964), as Julie, a young, white mother who marries a black man after she and her daughter are abandoned by her husband. The following decade, Barrie portrayed Evelyn in Breaking Away (1979), which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and later, an Emmy nomination, when she reprised the role in the television series based on the film. Later in her career, Barrie also was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her performance as Sue Berlin, mother to the title character, Judy Berlin (1999).- George Murdock was born on 25 June 1930 in Salina, Kansas, USA. He was an actor, known for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Orange County (2002) and Breaker! Breaker! (1977). He was married to Catherine A. Miller. He died on 30 April 2012 in Burbank, California, USA.
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Peggy Pope was born on 15 May 1929 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for 9 to 5 (1980), Choke (2008) and The Last Starfighter (1984). She was married to William Hawker. She died on 27 May 2020 in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.- Actor
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Kenneth Tigar was born on 24 September 1942 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor, known for The Avengers (2012), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) and Creator (1985).- Actress
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Doris Roberts was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Ann (Meltzer) and Larry Green. She was raised in New York, and took her stepfather's surname. Roberts was a 20-year veteran of the Broadway stage before she began appearing steadily in character roles in film and on television during the 1970s. A versatile player with an inescapably "mom-like" presence, she was adept at playing sympathetic roles but made her most memorable mark as hard-boiled dames, gossips, and nags who were often too savvy of the ways of the world to be fooled by anyone. Roberts built up some face recognition with regular appearances in the sitcoms Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976) (syndicated) and Angie (1979) (ABC), but truly came into her own as a widely known comedienne when she was cast as the meddling, strong-willed family matriarch on Everybody Loves Raymond (1996) (CBS). The show became of the best-loved sitcoms in history, and Roberts earned seven Emmy nominations and four wins for her colorful characterization. Well past the common age of retirement and well past the show's celebrated end, Roberts maintained a reputation as one of the big and small screen's most iconic mothers, and she continued to be a welcome sight as a television guest star and film player.- Allan Miller is an actor, director, teacher and writer. He has acted in over two hundred films and television productions, and dozens of plays. His last film was Bad Words directed by Jason Bateman. He's also appeared in Star Trek III, The Champ, MacArthur, Bound for Glory, Fun with Dick and Jane, Cruising, Two Minute Warning and Baby Blue Marine.
On stage, he was most recently in Curve of Departure at South Coast Rep, Awake and Sing at the Odyssey Theatre, and before that Broadway Bound at La Mirada Theater, Three Views of the Same Object at Rogue Machine Theatre and played Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman at South Coast Rep. He also co-starred in the Broadway production of Broadway Bound, and Brooklyn Boy by Donald Margulies.
He teaches acting and coaches privately. Students can sign up for his free weekly Zoom class on his website: allanmiller.org. He's taught at The Actors Studio, where he was a moderator as well as an instructor, and at the Yale School of Drama, New York University's MFA professional program, the Focus Theatre in Dublin, and the International Actors group in Rome. He is the author of "A Passion for Acting, now in its third printing and recently released digitally on Amazon, and a DVD "The Craft of Acting: Auditioning."
Mr. Miller was artistic director of the Back Alley Theatre for ten years, for which he received the LADCC Margaret Hartford Award for Distinguished Achievement. At the Back Alley he directed more than a dozen productions, including Are You Now or Have You Ever Been... and The Fox, for which he received a LADCC award for direction. Other directing credits include The Fox Off-Broadway at the Roundabout Theatre and at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. He has directed nine productions at the Odyssey Theatre, including most recently, Juno and the Paycock, This Lime Tree Bower, Taking Steps, and First Love. He also directed Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf for the Actors Studio West.
He wrote the play The Fox, based on the novella by D. H. Lawrence, which has been produced by theatres in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle, Fort Worth, Austin, San Francisco, San Diego, most of the fifty states, including the territory of Puerto Rico, and has been optioned internationally in France, Germany, Belgium, Hong Kong, Canada, and Argentina. The play has toured England and Australia and has been translated into French, Spanish, German, and Chinese. It has been published by Samuel French in an acting edition, Doubleday for the Fireside Book Club, and the California Arts Council's West Coast Plays.
Mr. Miller is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has served on the Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild, and has been a panelist for the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department and the California Arts Council. He studied with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Uta Hagen at HB Studio, and Erwin Piscator at the Dramatic Workshop. - Actor
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Todd Susman was born on 17 January 1947 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), Blast from the Past (1999) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987).- Actor
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Michael Lombard was born on 8 August 1934 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Pet Sematary (1989), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) and Crocodile Dundee (1986). He died on 13 August 2020.- The dedication of Sal Viscuso to the craft of acting can be dated to a singular evening in 1967. A college freshman, he happened upon a teleplay of Ronald Ribman's The Final War of Olly Winter (1967) and was so inspired by Ivan Dixon's Emmy-winning rendition of the title role that he entered the drama department the very next day, later explaining, "I felt that there I had found my family." He earned his BA from the University of California at Davis, then went on to study with Olympia Dukakis at NYU School of the Arts, from which he graduated with an MFA.
Opportunities presented themselves rapidly, and Sal made his film debut in the classic The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). An introduction to Burt Metcalfe, associate producer of the iconic series M*A*S*H (1972), led to his move to Los Angeles, and soon Sal was a regular on NBC's sitcom The Montefuscos (1975). He was an off-screen loudspeaker announcer (as well as various other characters) on M*A*S*H (1972); appeared in Gene Wilder's homage to 1920's Hollywood, The World's Greatest Lover (1977); improvised in Robert Altman's 3 Women (1977); and played multiple parts on the beloved Barney Miller (1975) (one of which was written especially for him by the show's creator, Danny Arnold).
He was also to feature in what TIME magazine has rated as one of the "Top 100 TV shows of all time," Susan Harris's Soap (1977). His vocationally challenged Father Timothy Flotsky (and the show's depiction of one of the first openly gay characters on network television), created instant controversy that attracted 19 million viewers to the series premiere. Shortly thereafter, Sal commenced his professional association with the Bancroft/Brooks combine of talent, first appearing in Anne Bancroft's Fatso (1980), and then in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs (1987),about which he has remarked, "I continue to get more attention from that project than from anything I've ever done!"
Sal has appeared in numerous and varied roles on episodic television, including Family Ties (1982), It's Garry Shandling's Show. (1986), Cagney & Lacey (1981), NYPD Blue (1993), Boston Public (2000), ER (1994), and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) (another part created for him, by executive producer Robert Palm); and in such films as Herbert Ross's Max Dugan Returns (1983) and Noah Baumbach's Kicking and Screaming (1995). He studies with Jeff Perry, a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and has appeared as Richard Roma in the Los Angeles revival of Glengarry Glen Ross. In addition, Sal volunteers with The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company, which mentors at-risk youth by introducing them to cultural resources from which they might otherwise have been disenfranchised. He is appearing onstage in the role of Carr Gomm in The Elephant Man; onscreen, he will feature in the upcoming American Seagull, based on the Chekov classic, and written and directed by acclaimed novelist Michael Guinzburg. - Paul has won 5 Dramalogue awards and an L.A. Weekly award for his acting. Paul played Abbie Hoffman in the award winning production of "The Chicago Conspiracy Trial" in Los Angeles. He portrayed Elia Kazan in "Names" in both the Los Angeles and New York productions. In Los Angeles he played the orthodox Rabbi, Hersh, in "The Quarrel" and the child molesting Priest, Father Grant, in "The Comfortable Truth." On Broadway he played Hitler and Moses among other parts in the celebrated production of "Lenny." He appeared with Julie Harris, Estelle Parsons and Bill Macy in the Broadway production of "And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little." He played the role of Danny in the west coast premiere of "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" and originated the role of Treat, in the world premiere of "Orphans."
Paul's first collection of poetry, "Chemical Tendencies," has just been published by Tebot Bach Press. He created, produces and hosts a radio show in Los Angeles called "Why Poetry" on KPFK. The intention of the show is to de-mystify poetry and then perhaps to mystify it again. - Actor
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Born in 1919 in Jerusalem, Nehemiah Persoff emigrated with his family to America in 1929.
Following schooling at the Hebrew Technical Institute of New York, he found a job as a subway electrician doing signal maintenance until an interest in the theater altered the direction of his life.
He joined amateur groups and subsequently won a scholarship to the Dramatic Workshop in New York. This led to what would have been his Broadway debut in a production of "Eve of St. Mark", but he was fired before the show opened. He made his official New York debut in a production of "The Emperor's New Clothes" in 1940.
WWII interrupted his young career in 1942, when he was inducted into the United Sates Army, returning to the stage after his hitch was over in 1945, three years later. He sought work in stock plays and became an intern of Stella Adler and, as a result, a strong exponent of the Actor's Studio. Discovered by Charles Laughton and cast in his production of "Galileo" in 1947, Persoff made his film debut a year later with an uncredited bit in The Naked City (1948).
Short, dark, chunky-framed and with a distinct talent for dialects, Persoff became known primarily for his ethnic villainy, usually playing authoritative Eastern Europeans.
In a formidable career which had him portraying everything from cab drivers to Joseph Stalin, standout film roles would include Leo in The Harder They Fall (1956) with Humphrey Bogart, Gene Conforti in Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man (1956), Albert in This Angry Age (1958) and gangster Johnny Torrio in Al Capone (1959). That same year he played another gangster, the small role of Little Bonaparte, in Some Like It Hot (1959).
He was a durable performer during TV's "Golden Age" (Gunsmoke (1955), The Twilight Zone (1959)) and well beyond (Chicago Hope (1994), Law & Order (1990)), playing hundreds of intense, volatile and dominating characters.
In later years, his characters grew a bit softer as Barbra Streisand's Jewish father in Yentl (1983) and the voice of Papa Mousekewitz in the An American Tail (1986) will attest. Later stage work included well-received productions of "I'm Not Rappaport" and his biographical one-man show "Sholem Aleichem".
After declining health and high blood pressure forced him to slow down, Persoff took up painting in 1985, studying sketching in Los Angeles. Specializing in watercolor, he created more than 100 works of art, many of which have been exhibited up and down the coast of California. He celebrated his 100th birthday in 2019.- James Murtaugh was born on 28 October 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an actor, known for The Howling (1981), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) and Everybody's Fine (2009). He has been married to Alice Heid since 15 May 1971. They have two children.
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Bob Dishy was born on 12 January 1934 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Along Came Polly (2004), The Wackness (2008) and Don Juan DeMarco (1994). He has been married to Judy Graubart since 1986. They have two children.- Actor
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Christopher Lloyd is an American actor with a relatively long career. His better known roles include drug-using taxicab driver Jim Ignatowski in the sitcom Taxi (1978), Klingon Commander Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), inventor Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy (1985-1990), the evil Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and deranged Uncle Fester in The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993).
Lloyd was born on October 22, 1938 in Stamford, Connecticut. His parents were lawyer Samuel R. Lloyd and singer Ruth Lapham (1896-1984). His maternal uncle was politician Roger Lapham, Mayor of San Francisco (1883-1966, term 1944-1948). His maternal grandfather was businessman Lewis Henry Lapham (1858-1934), co-founder of Texaco Oil Company. Lloyd is a distant descendant of indentured servant John Howland (c. 1592-1673), one of the passengers of the ship Mayflower and signers of the Mayflower Compact.
Lloyd was raised in the town Westport, Connecticut, which changed from a community of farmers to a suburban development during the 20th century. Many artists and writers from New York City settled in the town. Lloyd was educated at Staples High School. He was a co-founder of the Staples Players, the school's theatre company. Lloyd was interested in an acting career, and served as an apprentice at summer theaters in Mount Kisco, New York and Hyannis, Massachusetts. In 1957, he started pursuing acting classes in New York City. He took lessons at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, a full-time professional conservatory for actors. His acting teacher was Sanford Meisner (1905-1997), eponymous creator of the Meisner technique.
Lloyd made his New York theatrical debut in a 1961 production of the play "And They Put Handcuffs on the Flowers" by Fernando Arrabal (1932-). He was reportedly a replacement for another actor. He made his Broadway debut in a 1969 performance of Red, White and Maddox (1969). Until the mid-1970s, Lloyd was primarily a theatrical actor. He performed both on Off-Broadway shows and in Broadway. Lloyd made his film debut in the role of psychiatric patient Max Taber in the drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). His first major role in television was drug-using taxicab driver Jim Ignatowski in the sitcom Taxi (1978). His character was an aging hippie, son of an affluent Boston family , and former student of Harvard University. Ignatowski was one of the sitcom's most colorful characters and Lloyd won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Lloyd played most of his most notable film roles. Lloyd was first nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his role as Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in Back to the Future (1985). The award was instead won by rival actor Roddy McDowall (1928-1998). He was nominated for the same award for his role as the evil Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). The award was instead won by rival actor Robert Loggia (1930-2015). Lloyd also performed as a voice actor, voicing the evil sorcerer Merlock in DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990) and historical figure Grigori Rasputin (1869-1916) in Anastasia (1997). Lloyd had another notable television role when cast in the role of villain Sebastian Jackal in the sci-fi series Deadly Games (1995). He also played the character Dr. Jordan Kenneth Lloyd, the despised father of the series' protagonist Dr. Gus Lloyd (played by James Calvert).
Lloyd's last notable film role in the 1990s was playing the Martian Uncle Martin in My Favorite Martian (1999). The film was an adaptation of the classic sitcom My Favorite Martian (1963), and the character was previously played by Ray Walston (1914-2001). The film under-performed at the box office. In the 2000s, Lloyd played the role of recurring character Cletus Poffenberger in the comic sci-fi series Tremors (2003), and recurring character Professor Harold March in the sitcom Stacked (2005). As March, Lloyd played a retired rocket scientist who was a regular customer of the bookstore which served as the series' setting. In the 2010s, Lloyd returned to the role of Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in cameo appearances in A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) and Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie (2016), and as the protagonist of the short film Back to the Future: Doc Brown Saves the World (2015). By 2020, Lloyd has never retired from acting and continues to appear in various roles.- Actor
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Jeffrey Tambor starred in Amazon Studios hit series TRANSPARENT, playing family patriarch "Mort Pfefferman," who over the course of the show becomes the unforgettable "Maura." Tambor's groundbreaking performance earned him two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a SAG Award and a Critics' Choice Award. He's also starred in the Emmy-winning sitcom ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, playing twin brothers "George Bluth" and "Oscar Bluth," and played "Hank Kingsley," the self-centered sidekick on HBO's critically acclaimed THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW.- David Dukes was born on 6 June 1945 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Gods and Monsters (1998), Rawhead Rex (1986) and A Little Romance (1979). He was married to Carol Muske-Dukes and Carolyn Lee McKenzie. He died on 9 October 2000 in Lakewood, Washington, USA.
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Although many fans may not know her name, Marilyn Sokol is a familiar face on television and in films. Perhaps best known for her work on the stage, she has appeared in "Fiddler on the Roof" at St. Louis MUNY, "Candide" at The Goodman Theatre, "Death Trap" at The Papermill Theatre; "The Sisters Rosenweig", "He Looks Good in a Hat", and "Light Up the Sky" at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Off-Broadway credits include "The Beggar's Opera" and "Merry Wives of Windsor". Sokol has appeared in several Broadway productions including "The Great God Brown", "Don Juan", and "Conversations With My Father". An actress of tremendous range, she has been honored with Emmy, Bistro, and Obie Awards.- Actor
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He was a master class in cerebral eloquence and audience command...and although his dominant playing card in the realm of acting was quite serious and stately, nobody cut a more delightfully dry edge in sitcoms than this gentleman, whose calm yet blistering put-downs often eluded his lesser victims.
Acting titan Roscoe Lee Browne was born to a Baptist minister and his wife on May 2, 1922, in Woodbury, New Jersey. He attended Lincoln University, an historically black university in Pennsylvania until 1942, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he served in Italy with the Negro 92nd Infantry Division and organized the Division's track and field team. He graduated from Lincoln University in 1946, and studied French through Middlebury College's summer language program. He received his master's degree from Columbia University, then subsequently returned to Lincoln and taught French and comparative literature, seemingly destined to settle in completely until he heard a different calling.
Roscoe relished his first taste of adulation and admiration as a track star, competing internationally and winning the world championship in the 800-yard dash in 1951. He parlayed that attention into a job as a sales representative for a wine and liquor importer. In 1956, he abruptly decided to become an actor. And he did. With no training but a shrewd, innate sense of self, he boldly auditioned for, and won, the role of the Soothsayer in "Julius Caesar" the very next day at the newly-formed New York Shakespeare Festival. He never looked back and went on to perform with the company in productions of "The Taming of the Shrew", "Titus Andronicus", "Othello", "King Lear" (as the Fool), and "Troilus and Cressida".
Blessed with rich, mellifluous tones and an imposing, cultured air, Roscoe became a rare African-American fixture on the traditionally white classical stage. In 1961 he appeared notably with James Earl Jones in the original off-Broadway cast of Jean Genet's landmark play "The Blacks". Awards soon came his way -- the first in the form of an Obie only a few years later for his portrayal of a rebellious slave in "The Old Glory". Additionally, he received the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award for both "The Dream on Monkey Mountain" (1970) and "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" (1989). Roscoe found less successful ventures on 1960s Broadway, taking his first curtain call in "A Cool World" in 1960, which folded the next day. He graced a number of other short runs including "General Seegar" (1962), "Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright" (1962), "The Ballad of the Sade Cafe" (1964), "Danton's Death" (1965), and "A Hand Is on the Gate: An Evening of Negro Poetry and Folk Music" (1966), which he also wrote and directed. He did not return to Broadway until 1983 with the role of the singing Rev. J.D. Montgomery in Tommy Tune's smash musical "My One and Only" in which his number "Kicking the Clouds Away" proved to be one of many highlights. Roscoe returned only once more to Broadway, earning acclaim and a Tony nomination for his supporting performance in August Wilson's "Two Trains Running" (1992).
Although he made an isolated debut with The Connection (1961), he wouldn't appear regularly in films until the end of the decade with prominent parts in the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton film, The Comedians (1967), Jules Dassin's Uptight (1968), Hitchcock's Topaz (1969) and, his most notable, The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970). Thereafter, he complimented a host of features, both comedic and dramatic, including Super Fly (1972) (and its sequel), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Logan's Run (1976), Legal Eagles (1986), The Mambo Kings (1992) and Dear God (1996)
Elsewhere, Roscoe's disdainful demeanor courted applause on all the top 70s sitcoms including "All in the Family", "Maude," "Sanford and Son", "Good Times" and "Barney Miller" (Emmy-nominated), and he played the splendidly sardonic role of Saunders, the Tate household butler, after replacing Robert Guillaume's popular "Benson" character on Soap (1977). In 1986 he won an Emmy Award for his guest appearance on The Cosby Show (1984). His trademark baritone lent authority and distinction to a number of documentaries, live-action fare, and animated films, as well as the spoken-word arena, with such symphony orchestras as the Boston Pops and the Los Angeles Philharmonic to his credit. A preeminent recitalist, he was known for committing hundreds of poems to memory. For many years he and actor Anthony Zerbe toured the U.S. with their presentation of "Behind the Broken Words", an evening of poetry and dramatic readings.
At the time of his death of cancer on April 11, 2007, the never-married octogenarian was still omnipresent, more heard than seen perhaps. Among his last works was his narrations of a Garfield film feature and the most recent movie spoof Epic Movie (2007).- Actor
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One of modern TV and moviedom's most sturdy and reliable character actors, David Paymer dreamed of being an actor from early childhood. Although he came from a traditional middle-class Jewish family that urged him to become a doctor or lawyer, Paymer felt more at home in the world of the thespian. At 14, he used a fake I.D. to see The Graduate, which starred a young Dustin Hoffman. He grew up in Oceanside, New York, where his father was in the scrap metal business. His mother, a homemaker, had fled Belgium with her family to escape the Nazis. When his father quit the scrap metal business to pursue music, it inspired young Paymer to give his acting dream a try. His aborted big break came when he was cast in the TV series, St. Elsewhere, as "Dr. Wayne Fiscus"- then promptly dumped and replaced by Howie Mandel. Luckily, his real
"That was like getting my passport stamped", said Paymer and he was quickly in demand by directors such as Spielberg ("Amistad"), Redford ("Quiz Show"), Oliver Stone ("Nixon"), David Mamet ("State & Main"), Steven Soderbergh ("Ocean's 13"), and Sam Raimi ("Drag me to Hell"). Chameleon-like in his portrayals, Paymer has since starred in hundreds of roles in film & television, notably "The American President", "Get Shorty", "Payback", "The Hurricane", "In Good Company", Francis Ford Coppola's "Twixt" and Kenneth Branagh's "Jack Ryan: Shadow One".
Paymer received Golden Globe nominations for "Mr. Saturday Night" and for HBO's "Crime of the Century". Paymer became a hyphenate in 2002, directing the acclaimed comedy short "Candor City Hospital" for Showtime. He has since directed over 60 episodes for broadcast television, including such hits as "Grey's Anatomy", "The Mentalist", "Brothers & Sisters", "Medium" & "The Unit". He is also a producer and director on the CW series "Hart of Dixie". Paymer resides in Santa Monica, CA with his wife and two daughters.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Bruce MacVittie was born in Providence, RI in 1956. He began acting in high school, attended Boston University, studied with Jerzy Grotowski in 1976 and moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting in 1979. He began his career at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in 1980 in Edward Allen Baker's "Prairie Avenue", where he worked for many years as a member. He was a founding member of Naked Angels Theater Company. Bruce spent over ten years at the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights' Conference under Lloyd Richards, 10 seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival under Michael Ritchie and Jenny Gersten, and was a member of the Blue Light Theatre Company where he began a collaboration with Joanne Woodward for several years on the plays of Clifford Odets. In 1982, he began as understudy to James Hayden in David Mamet's American Buffalo with Al Pacino and J.J. Johnston at Circle In the Square, eventually replacing Hayden in the subsequent Broadway production, national tour, and West End Productions with Pacino and Johnston. MacVittie, a character actor, had a long tenure playing guest-starring roles in television and film beginning with Barney Miller (1975) in 1981 working on both coasts, but predominantly in New York. In New York, he worked in most off-Broadway theaters including the Public, Playwright's Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature Theatre, and the Cherry Lane. He appeared in over 75 film and television productions over 32 years.