F. Murray Abraham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
F. Murray Abraham
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Abraham in 2024
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| Born |
Murray Abraham
October 24, 1939 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Education | University of Texas at El Paso University of Texas at Austin |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Kate Hannan
(m. 1962; died 2022) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
F. Murray Abraham (born Murray Abraham; October 24, 1939) is an American actor. He is well-known for his many roles in plays and movies. He has won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. He was also nominated for other big awards like the BAFTA Award, Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. He became very famous for playing Antonio Salieri in the movie Amadeus (1984). For this role, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Abraham first appeared on Broadway in 1968 in a play called The Man in the Glass Booth. He won an Obie Award for his great acting in Uncle Vanya (1984) and The Merchant of Venice (2011). He returned to Broadway in 2014 in the comedy It's Only a Play.
He has acted in many movies, playing both main and supporting characters. Some of these films include All the President's Men (1976), Scarface (1983), The Name of the Rose (1986), Last Action Hero (1993), Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), Finding Forrester (2000), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018), and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019).
On TV, he was a regular actor on the Showtime series Homeland (2012–2018). This role earned him two Emmy nominations. He also appeared in Louie (2011–2014), Mythic Quest (2020–2021), Moon Knight (2022), and The White Lotus (2022). For The White Lotus, he received nominations for the Golden Globe Award and the Primetime Emmy Award.
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Early Life and Education
Abraham was born Murray Abraham on October 24, 1939, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father, Fahrid "Fred" Abraham, was an automotive mechanic. His mother, Josephine Stello, was Italian American. His father's family came from a small village in Ottoman Syria. His paternal grandfather was a priest. His mother's father worked in coal mines. Abraham had two younger brothers who passed away in separate car accidents.
He grew up in El Paso, Texas. He and his brothers were altar boys at the St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church. He went to Vilas Grammar School and graduated from El Paso High School in 1958. As a teenager, he was involved in a group of young people. Before becoming an actor, Abraham worked in a clothing factory in El Paso.
He attended Texas Western College (now University of Texas at El Paso). There, he won a best actor award for his role in Comanche Eagle. He also studied at the University of Texas at Austin. Later, he learned acting from Uta Hagen in New York City. He worked several jobs behind the scenes before starting his acting career.
Abraham added "F." to his stage name to honor his father, Fahrid. He felt that "Murray Abraham" sounded too plain.
Acting Career Highlights
Starting Out in the 1960s and 70s
Abraham began his acting career on stage in 1965 in Los Angeles. His Broadway debut was in 1968 in The Man in the Glass Booth. He first appeared in a movie in 1971 as an usher in They Might Be Giants. He also had small roles as a police officer in Serpico (1973) and All the President's Men (1976). He also acted in comedies like The Ritz (1976).
In the mid-1970s, he also worked in commercials and voice-overs. He was known for playing "the leaf" in commercials for Fruit of the Loom underwear. In 1978, he stopped doing this work. He wanted more serious acting roles. His wife, Kate Hannan, started working, and Abraham became a "house husband." He said this time was "the best thing that ever happened to me."
Becoming Famous: The 1980s
Abraham became more widely known after appearing as Omar Suárez in the movie Scarface (1983). Then, in 1984, he played the jealous composer Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. This movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Abraham won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role. His co-star, Tom Hulce, who played Mozart, was also nominated. Abraham also won a Golden Globe Award. His role in Amadeus is still his most famous.
Some people in Hollywood joked about actors who win an Oscar early in their career and then don't have as many big roles. They called this the "F. Murray Abraham syndrome." But Abraham disagreed. He said, "The Oscar is the single most important event of my career." He added that he could still ride the subway in New York and not be recognized, which he found "refreshing."
After Amadeus, he focused on classical theater. He starred in many Shakespearean plays like Othello and Richard III. He also played the lead in Uncle Vanya, winning an Obie Award. His next movie role was in The Name of the Rose (1986). In this film, he played Bernardo Gui, who was against Sean Connery's character. The movie was very successful.
Established Actor: 1989–1998
After The Name of the Rose, Abraham wanted to play fewer villain roles and return to comedy. In 1991, he played King Lear in a play called King Lear. In 1994, Abraham played Roy Cohn in the Broadway play Angels in America.
Over the next ten years, Abraham had fewer main roles. However, he had important supporting roles in movies like An Innocent Man (1989), Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Finding Forrester (2000). He also narrated the stories of Wagner's Ring Cycle operas for a PBS broadcast in 1990.
In the 1997-1998 Broadway season, he starred in a musical called Triumph of Love. He also taught theater at Brooklyn College.
Later Career: 2000–Present
In 2001, Abraham played Cyrus Kriticos in the horror movie Thirteen Ghosts. In 2009, he appeared on the TV show Saving Grace. This started a new busy period for his screen acting. He also appeared on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Louie, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He had a recurring role on The Good Wife from 2011 to 2014. From 2007 to 2010, Abraham was the main narrator for the PBS series Nature.
Abraham's most famous TV role was as Dar Adal on Showtime's Homeland. This role earned him his first Emmy Award nomination in 2015 and another in 2018.
He continued to focus on stage work. He gave notable performances in Waiting for Godot and Twelfth Night. He also played Shylock in The Merchant of Venice in 2007 and again in 2011.
In the 2010s, he was in two highly praised movies. He played Bud Grossman in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) and Mr. Moustafa in The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). For The Grand Budapest Hotel, he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award with the rest of the cast. In 2014, he returned to Broadway in the play It's Only a Play. He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his performance. In 2016, he played the main role in Nathan the Wise.
He worked with Wes Anderson again, voicing a character in the animated film Isle of Dogs (2018). He also voiced Grimmel in How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) and Tony in the 2019 live-action Lady and the Tramp. From 2020 to 2021, he acted in the Apple TV+ comedy series Mythic Quest. He left the show due to a disagreement. In February 2022, it was announced that Abraham would voice Khonshu in the superhero series Moon Knight. He also starred in the 2022 movie The Magic Flute. That same year, he played Dr. Carl Withers in the Netflix series Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities. In 2023, he played Judge John Sirica in the HBO series White House Plumbers.
Abraham also acted in the HBO series The White Lotus: Sicily (2022). He played Bert Di Grasso, a charming widower. For this role, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2023, he acted in the film Mother, Couch. In 2024, it was announced that Abraham would return to the stage in the musical The Queen of Versailles.
Personal Life
Family Life
Abraham was married to Kate Hannan for 60 years, from 1962 until she passed away on November 19, 2022. They had two children and one grandchild.
Other Events
In 1993, while filming a movie, Abraham was in a car accident. He was injured, and another driver passed away. In January 2010, Abraham had an incident with a thief in a dressing room in New York City.
Religious Views
Abraham has spoken about his faith. He grew up as an Orthodox Christian and was an altar boy. He has attended different churches, including Quaker meetings for many years. In 2008, he was attending the First Presbyterian Church of New York. He described it as a very giving church that helps many people. He believes religion is very important in his life.
Awards and Recognitions
Abraham won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his acting in Amadeus (1984). In his acceptance speech, he praised his co-star Tom Hulce. Abraham was also nominated for a BAFTA Award.
He has also received a Grammy Award and two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He earned three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations with the casts of Homeland and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). He won two Obie Awards for his theater work in Uncle Vanya (1984) and The Merchant of Venice (2011).
In July 2004, he received the "Premio per gli Italiani nel Mondo" award in Rome. This award is given to Italian immigrants and their families who have done great things abroad.
In 2009, he was honored by the Alumni Association of the City College of New York. In 2010, Abraham received The Gielgud Award for theater. In 2015, Abraham was added to the American Theater Hall of Fame.
He was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2023. Abraham also has an honorary degree from Rider University.
See also
In Spanish: F. Murray Abraham para niños
