Michael Moriarty

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Overview (3)

Born	April 5, 1941 in Detroit, Michigan, USA
Birth Name	Michael George Moriarty
Height	6' 3" (1.91 m)

Mini Bio (2)

As one of Hollywood's tallest actors standing at 6' 3", he will always be noticed. Michael Moriarty is one of the great character T.V. actors of all time. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1941. Moriarty was to move to London, England, where he built up a name as a great stage actor. It was also here he attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts as a Fullbright Scholar and as a student of Stella Adler. Michael Moriarty also had early employment selling encyclopedias and tyres. Moriarty from 1971 was to star in a number of successful movies, like Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) and The Last Detail (1973), but his biggest success was to follow when he won a Golden Globe for his performance as the cruel, old, vicious Erik Dorf in Holocaust (1978) (a 1978 mini series), which also stars James Woods.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ian Doyle

Michael Moriarty was born in Detroit, attended the University of Detroit High School and then matriculated from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1963. His parents were Dr. George Moriarty, a Detroit police surgeon, and Eleanor Paul of North Dakota. Both attended the University of Minnesota where they met and married. Mr. Moriarty debuted on Broadway in "The Trial of The Catonsville Nine" in which he portrayed George Mische. Michael's biggest breakthrough was his portrayal on Broadway of Julian Weston in "Find Your Way Home" in 1974. He is, however, most widely acclaimed for his role in Law & Order (1990), Ben Stone.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Michael Moriarty

Family (2)

Spouse	Suzana Cabrita (10 October 1998 - 1999) (divorced) Anne Hamilton Martin (November 1979 - 1997) (divorced) Francoise Martinet (27 May 1966 - 1978) (divorced) (1 child) Margaret Helen Brychka (? - present)
Parents	Elinor Moriarty George Moriarty

Trade Mark (1)

Often plays characters with political or military command

Trivia (22)

Was once on the editorial board for New York Quarterly. He has also published a number of poems in this journal.

Alleges that he was dismissed from his role on Law & Order (1990) because of his threatened lawsuit against Janet Reno, who had been campaigning against violence in the media and cited his show as a major offender. However, according to executive producer Dick Wolf, Moriarty was dismissed due to "erratic behavior" on the set and that the matters between Reno and the producers of the show were settled civilly.

Arrested for assault after slapping his then girlfriend/manager Margaret Helen Brychka after a fight in a Vancouver bar. [November 2000]

In 1971, Michael stunned playgoers at the Alley Theater in Houston by suddenly stopping in the middle of a performance of "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," told the audience he was too tired to continue and walked off the stage. The audience went home, and Moriarty left town.

In the 1990s, attempted to enter Canadian politics by forming his own political party.

While a student at Dartmouth College, he was a roommate of Stephen Macht.

Loves Jerome Kern songs.

Has appeared in two different, completely unrelated productions with Joel Gretsch about mysterious abduction: Taken (2002) and The 4400 (2004).

Won Broadway's 1974 Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for "Find Your Way Home."

His grandfather, George Moriarty, was a major league baseball player and then a MLB umpire.

Frequently cast in Larry Cohen's films.

Starred with Sam Waterston in The Glass Menagerie (1973). Ironically, after his character was written out of Law & Order (1990) in 1995, Waterston was cast as his replacement.

While he has won a number of Emmy Awards, he never won for his role on Law & Order (1990).

Was originally supposed to play the Captain Cutshaw character in William Peter Blatty's The Ninth Configuration (1980), but dropped out at the last minute and was replaced by Scott Wilson.

Irish-American.

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1973" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 25.

Living near Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. [June 2002]

Occasionally plays jazz piano at Rossini's in Vancouver. [July 2005]

Is a talented jazz pianist who has performed in jazz clubs throughout New York City and Canada.

According to Neil Simon, Michael Moriarty played an "effeminate" Richard III in in an awkward performance of the Shakespearean play, which also featured Simon's wife Marsha Mason as Lady Anne. Simon believed the unusual portrayal was the (unnamed) director's choice, not Moriarty's, of whom Simon is a fan. This inspired the central storyline of a similarly odd Richard III in Simon's The Goodbye Girl (1977) that an actor (Richard Dreyfuss) is compelled to perform by a wacky director (Paul Benedict). Mason plays the actor's love interest, who consoles Moriarty's fictional counterpart.

Was at one point considered for the role of Saul Tigh on Battlestar Galactica (2004).

Has one child by his former wife Francoise Martinet, a son named Matthew Moriarty.