Austin Pendleton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Austin Pendleton
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![]() Pendleton in 2006
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Born |
Austin Campbell Pendleton
March 27, 1940 |
Alma mater | Yale University, 1961 |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1958–present |
Austin Campbell Pendleton (born March 27, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor. He is known as a prolific character actor on the stage and screen who has appeared in various films including Catch 22 (1970), What's Up, Doc? (1972), The Front Page (1974), The Muppet Movie (1979), Short Circuit (1986), Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990), My Cousin Vinny (1992), Amistad (1997), A Beautiful Mind (2001), which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture nomination, and Finding Nemo (2003).
For his work in theatre he has received a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play for the Broadway revival of The Little Foxes in 1981. He has received two Drama Desk Award nominations and the recipient of a Special Drama Desk Award in 2007. He also received a Obie Award for Best Director for the Off-Broadway revival of Three Sisters in 2011. Recent Broadway credits include Choir Boy in 2016 and The Minutes in 2022.
Early life and education
Pendleton was born in Warren, Ohio, the son of Thorn Pendleton, who ran a tool company, and Frances (née Manchester) Pendleton, a professional actress. He attended University School, a private all-boys school in Shaker Heights, Ohio and graduated in the class of 1957. A childhood friend was Roger Ailes, later of Fox News; Pendleton talks about Ailes in the A&E documentary Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes.
Pendleton is a 1961 graduate of Yale University, and as a member of the Yale Dramatic Association, collaborated in 1958 with lyricist Peter Bergman in writing two musical plays which starred Philip Proctor: Tom Jones, and Booth Is Back In Town. Proctor and Bergman later formed half of The Firesign Theatre comedy group.
Career
Pendleton first received critical acclaim in 1964 for his performance as Motel in the original Broadway cast of Fiddler on the Roof. He appeared in The Last Sweet Days of Isaac (for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance and an Obie Award), The Diary of Anne Frank, Goodtime Charley, and Up from Paradise as well as many other plays. In August 2006, Pendleton played the Chaplain in Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater production directed by George C. Wolfe at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. In 2007, he appeared as Friar Lawrence in the Public Theater's production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at the Delacorte Theater.
Pendleton wrote the plays Uncle Bob, Booth, and Orson's Shadow, all of which were staged off-Broadway. Uncle Bob had its off-Broadway premiere in 2001 at The SoHo Playhouse, starring George Morfogen—for whom the role of Bob was written—and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who made his New York theatre debut in the production. The critically acclaimed production was directed by Courtney Moorehead and produced by Steven Sendor.
As a director, Pendleton has worked extensively on and off Broadway. His direction of Elizabeth Taylor and Maureen Stapleton in Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes garnered him a Tony Award nomination in 1981. Additional directing credits include The Runner Stumbles by Milan Stitt (1977), Spoils of War by Michael Weller (1988), and The Size of the World by Charles Evered (1996).
Pendleton is also a member of The Mirror Theater Ltd's Mirror Repertory Company, directing the company's 1984 production of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, starring Geraldine Page, Sabra Jones, and Victor Slezak. His play H6R3, a compilation of Henry VI and Richard III in order to make the storyline clearer and strengthen the women's parts, became a benefit production of The Mirror Theater Ltd at the then Promenade Theater in New York. Pendleton played Richard in this performance, Sabra Jones performed Elizabeth, Lynn Redgrave played Mad Margaret, Charles McAteer was Lord Rutland, Geraint Wyn Davies played Henry VI, Daniel Gerroll played Buckingham, and Lisa Pelikan played Lady Anne.
In 2009, Pendleton directed Uncle Vanya, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, at the Classic Stage Company. The same year he directed Tennessee Williams' autobiographical play Vieux Carré at The Pearl Theatre Company. In January and February 2010, Pendleton directed two plays, Bus Stop at the Olney Theater and Golden Age at the Philadelphia Theatre Company. His 2011 directing of Three Sisters won him an Obie Award. In 2012, he directed a production of Detroit at the National Theatre in London.
Pendleton served as Artistic Director for Circle Repertory Company with associate artistic director Lynne Thigpen. The company closed in 1996.
He currently teaches acting at HB Studio and directing at The New School, both in Greenwich Village. Pendleton has been involved with the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago since directing Ralph Pape's Say Goodnight, Gracie for the 1979-80 season, and is currently an ensemble member there. His acting credits at Steppenwolf include Uncle Vanya, Valparaiso, and Educating Rita.
Pendleton is the subject of Starring Austin Pendleton, a documentary in which colleagues including Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Olympia Dukakis, Ethan Hawke, and more discuss his life and legacy.
As a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company he starred in Tracy Letts' new play The Minutes in Chicago, which has since transferred to Broadway.
Work
Theatre
Year | Stage | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1962 | Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad |
Jonathan | Off-Broadway |
1964 | Fiddler on the Roof | Motel | Broadway |
1966 | Hail Scrawdyke! | Irwin Ingham | Broadway |
1967 | The Little Foxes | Leo Hubbard | Broadway |
1970 | The Last Sweet Days of Isaac | Isaac | Off-Broadway |
1973 | Shelter | Director; Broadway | |
1974 | An American Millionaire | Professor Bobby Rudetsky | Broadway |
1975 | Goodtime Charley | Charley (standby) | Broadway |
1976 | The Sorrows of Frederick | Frederick II of Prussia | Off-Broadway |
1976 | The Old Glory | Director; off-Broadway | |
1976 | The Runner Stumbles | Director; Broadway | |
1978 | Say Goodnight Gracie | Director; off-Broadway | |
1979 | The Office Murders | Jack | Off-Broadway |
1980 | John Gabriel Borkman | Director; Broadway | |
1981 | The Little Foxes | Director; Broadway | |
1983 | Up from Paradise | Adam | Off-Broadway |
1985 | Doubles | Arnie | Broadway |
1986 | Master Class | Shostakovich | Off-Broadway |
1987 | Educating Rita | Frank | Off-Broadway |
1987 | Uncle Vanya | Voitski | Off-Broadway |
1988 | Spoils of War | Director; Broadway | |
1989 | Grand Hotel | Otto Kringelein | Replacement; Broadway |
1991 | The Sorrows of Frederick | Frederick the Great | Off-Broadway |
1991 | What About Luv? | Harry Berlin | Off-Broadway |
1993 | Sophistry | Whitey McCoy | Off-Broadway |
1996 | The Size of the World | Director; off-Broadway | |
1996 | 900 Oneonta | Director; off-Broadway | |
1997 | The Diary of Anne Frank | Mr. Dussel | Broadway |
1998 | The Pussycat and the Expert Plumber Who Was a Man | Mayor | Off-Broadway |
2002 | The Exonerated | Off-Broadway | |
2006 | Mother Courage and Her Children | Chaplain | Off-Broadway |
2006 | an oak tree | Father | Off-Broadway |
2007 | Toys in the Attic | Director; off-Broadway | |
2007 | Romeo and Juliet | Friar Laurence | Off-Broadway |
2008 | Fifty Words | Director; off-Broadway | |
2009 | Uncle Vanya | Director; off-Broadway | |
2009 | Vieux Carre | Director; off-Broadway | |
2009 | Order | Director; off-Broadway | |
2009 | Love ... | Wilbur | Off-Broadway |
2010 | Rosmersholm | Doctor Kroll | Off-Broadway |
2011 | Three Sisters | Director; off-Broadway | |
2012 | In Masks Outrageous and Austere | Dr. Lester G. Syme | Off-Broadway |
2012 | Detroit | Director; off-Broadway | |
2012 | Ivanov | Lebedev | Also director; off-Broadway |
2013 | Choir Boy | Mr. Pendleton | Off-Broadway |
2014 | Between Riverside and Crazy | Director; off-Broadway | |
2014 | Straight White Men | Ed | Off-Broadway |
2017 | Workshop | Ward Stein | Off-Broadway |
2018 | Wars of the Roses: Henry VI & Richard III | Henry VI | Also director; off-Broadway |
2018 | Choir Boy | Mr. Pendleton | Broadway |
2019 | Life Sucks. | The Professor | Off-Broadway |
2020 | The Minutes | Mr. Oldfield | Broadway |
2022 | The Minutes | Mr. Oldfield | Broadway |
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1968 | Petulia | Intern | |
Skidoo | Fred | ||
1970 | Catch-22 | Lieutenant Colonel Moodus | |
1972 | What's Up, Doc? | Frederick Larrabee | |
Every Little Crook and Nanny | Luther | ||
1973 | The Thief Who Came to Dinner | Zukovsky | |
1974 | The Front Page | Earl Williams | |
1976 | Diary of the Dead | Dr. Klein | |
1977 | The Great Smokey Roadblock | Guido | |
1979 | The Muppet Movie | Max | |
Starting Over | Paul | ||
1980 | Simon | Dr. Carl Becker | |
First Family | Dr. Alexander Grade | ||
1984 | Talk to Me | Richard Patterson | |
1985 | My Man Adam | Mr. Greenhut | |
1986 | Off Beat | Gun Shop Salesman | |
Short Circuit | Howard Marner | ||
1987 | Hello Again | Junior Lacey | |
1990 | Mr. and Mrs. Bridge | Mr. Gadbury | |
1991 | The Ballad of the Sad Café | Lawyer Taylor | |
True Identity | Othello's Director | ||
1992 | My Cousin Vinny | John Gibbons | |
Rain Without Thunder | Catholic Priest | ||
Charlie's Ear | Harold Blodgett | ||
Do You Like Women? | Unknown | ||
1993 | Mr. Nanny | Alex Mason Sr. | |
My Boyfriend's Back | Dr. Bronson | ||
Searching for Bobby Fischer | Asa Hoffmann | ||
1994 | Greedy | Hotel Clerk | |
Guarding Tess | Earl Fowler | ||
1995 | Home for the Holidays | Peter Arnold | |
Two Much | Dr. Huffeyer | ||
The Fifteen Minute Hamlet | Hamlet | Short | |
1996 | Sgt. Bilko | Major Ebersole | |
2 Days in the Valley | Ralph Crupi | ||
The Proprietor | Willy Kunst | ||
The Associate | Aesop Franklin | ||
The Mirror Has Two Faces | Barry | ||
1997 | Trial and Error | Judge Paul Z. Graff | |
Sue Lost in Manhattan | Bob | ||
Amistad | Professor Gibbs | ||
The Fanatics | Eugene Cleft | ||
A River Made to Drown In | Billy | ||
1998 | Charlie Hoboken | Harry Cedars | |
1999 | Skirty Winner | François Truffaut | |
Joe the King | Winston | ||
Men of Means | Jerry Trask | ||
The 4th Floor | Mr. Collins | ||
Brokendown Love Story | 'Lucky' | Short | |
2000 | The Acting Class | Bobby Austin | |
Broke Even | Archie | ||
Fast Food Fast Women | George | ||
Clowns | Dean | ||
2001 | Queenie in Love | Alvin | |
A Beautiful Mind | Thomas King | ||
Wishcraft | Mr. Turner | ||
2002 | Manna from Heaven | Two-Digit Doyle | |
2003 | Finding Nemo | Gurgle | Voice |
Uptown Girls | Mr. McConkey | ||
2004 | Christmas with the Kranks | Marty | |
Piccadilly Jim | Peter Pett | ||
2005 | The Civilization of Maxwell Bright | Jaurice | |
The Notorious Bettie Page | Teacher | ||
2006 | Raising Flagg | Gus Falk | |
2007 | Lovely by Surprise | Jackson | |
2010 | Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps | Dr. Masters | |
2013 | He's Way More Famous Than You | Dad | |
Hair Brained | Dapper Man | ||
Black Box | William Peters | ||
2014 | She's Funny That Way | Judge Pendergast | |
The Mend | Earl | ||
2016 | Starring Austin Pendleton | Himself | Documentary |
Finding Dory | Gurgle | Voice | |
2018 | 7 Splinters in Time | Fyodor Wax | |
2019 | The Sound of Silence | Robert Feinway | |
2020 | The Mimic | The Driver | |
2022 | 5-25-77 | Herb Lightman |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | One Life to Live | Mr. Dubuis | TV series |
1972 | Love, American Style | Barney Dereemus | 1 episode |
1973 | Love, American Style | Leo | 1 episode |
1974 | Good Times | Donald Hargrove | 1 episode |
Great Performances | Bennie | 1 episode | |
1977 | You're Gonna Love It Here | Harry Rogers | TV movie |
1978 | Big City Boys | Harry Buckman | TV movie |
1983 | Great Performances | White Rabbit | 1 episode |
St. Elsewhere | Mr. Entertainment | 1 episode | |
1984 | St. Elsewhere | Mr. Entertainment | 1 episode |
1985 | Love, Long Distance | Dr. Arthur Ruskin | TV movie |
1986 | Miami Vice | Max Rogo | 1 episode |
1986–1989 | The Equalizer | Jonah | 3 episodes |
1987 | Leg Work | Harold Rodman | 1 episode |
1988 | Spenser: For Hire | The Professor | 1 episode |
1989 | The Cosby Show | Mr. Kensington | 1 episode |
B.L. Stryker | Danny Lennox | 1 episode | |
Anything But Love | Max Templeton | 1 episode | |
1990 | American Dreamer | Unknown | 1 episode |
21 Jump Street | Mr. Trysla | 1 episode | |
1991 | Lethal Innocence | Paul Kent | TV movie |
1992 | Murder, She Wrote | Barney Gunderson | Episode: "Angel of Death" |
Four Eyes and Six Guns | Mustached Passenger | TV movie | |
1994 | The Cosby Mysteries | Maynard Caldwell | Episode: "One Day at a Time" |
Don't Drink the Water | Chef Oscar | TV movie | |
1995 | Tales from the Crypt | Orloff | Episode: "Doctor of Horror" |
New York News | Unknown | Episode: "Cost of Living" | |
Long Island Fever | Dr. Motts | TV movie | |
1997 | Frasier | Dr. William M. Dorfman | Episode: "Three Days of the Condo" |
The Practice | Sam Feldberg | Episode: "Part VI" | |
Fired Up | Bobby H. | 1 episode | |
Liberty! | Benjamin Rush | 2 episodes | |
1998 | Tracey Takes On... | Professor Kenneth Hawkins | Episode: "Age" |
1998–1999 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Dr. George Griscom | 11 episodes |
1998–2002 | Oz | William Giles | 11 episodes |
2000 | The West Wing | Barry Haskell | Episode: "Lies, ... Lies, and Statistics" |
Homicide: The Movie | Dr. George Griscom | TV movie | |
2001 | The Education of Max Bickford | Harry | 1 episode |
2001–2002 | 100 Centre Street | Al Cox | 2 episodes |
2002 | Touched by an Angel | Mr. Piltdown | Episode: "The Christmas Watch" |
2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Horace Gorman | Episode: "Control" |
2004 | Strip Search | James Perley | TV movie |
Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Dr. John Manotti | Episode: "Inert Dwarf" | |
2005 | Joan of Arcadia | Dietrich Steinholz | Episode: "Secret Service" |
2009 | Life on Mars | Dr. Goldman | Episode: "Revenge of Broken Jaw" |
Cupid | Dr. Boyd | Episode: "Pilot" | |
2011 | Person of Interest | Pilcher | Episode: "Foe" |
2012 | Game Change | Senator Joe Lieberman | HBO TV movie |
2016 | Billions | Goose Quill | 2 episodes |
Difficult People | Director | Episode: "Cedar Grove" | |
2018 | Alex, Inc. | Wesley Harman | Episode: "The Unfair Advantage" |
2019 | A President Show Documentary: The Fall Of Donald Trump | Historian | TV special |
2020 | New Amsterdam | Eli Pembroke | Episode: "Hiding Behind My Smile" |
2021 | The Good Fight | Dr. Goat | Episode: "And the Violence Spread." |
See also
In Spanish: Austin Pendleton para niños