Ray Wise Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Ray Wise
Wise in 2011
Born	Raymond Herbert Wise (1947-08-29) August 29, 1947 (age 77) Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1969–present
Spouse(s)	Juliet Burr (m. 1974; div. 1977) Kass McClaskey (m. 1978)
Children	2

Raymond Herbert Wise, born on August 29, 1947, is an American actor. He is well-known for his role as Leland Palmer in the TV show Twin Peaks (1990–1991, 2017). He also starred in the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992).

Wise has appeared in many other films. These include Swamp Thing (1982), RoboCop (1987), and X-Men: First Class (2011). On television, he played Vice President Hal Gardner in 24 (2006). He was also The Devil in Reaper (2007–2009). Kids might also know him as Marvin from Fresh Off the Boat (2015–2020).

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About Ray Wise's Early Life

Ray Wise was born in Akron, Ohio, on August 29, 1947. He finished Garfield High School in 1965. After high school, he went to Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. His family background includes Romanian heritage from his mother's side. He grew up in a religious family.

Ray Wise's Acting Career

Ray Wise has had a long and busy acting career. He has worked in television, movies, and even video games.

Television Roles

Wise at the 2014 Fan Expo Canada

In the late 1960s and 1970s, Wise played a lawyer named Jamie Rollins. This was in the soap opera Love of Life for seven years. He appeared in almost 950 episodes of that show.

In 1987, Wise played Tom Gunther in the TV series Beauty and the Beast. But he is most famous for being Leland Palmer in Twin Peaks.

Wise has also appeared in many science fiction shows. He played Liko in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Later, he was Arturis in Star Trek: Voyager.

He also appeared in three episodes of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. In this show, he played Grill Vogel. This character was a presenter in a funny video series called "Business Hugs."

In 1995, Wise worked again with his Twin Peaks co-star Sherilyn Fenn. This was for the TV movie Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story. He also played the Devil in the TV series Reaper.

Wise has been in several TV shows about politics. He was California Governor Gabriel Tillman in The West Wing. He also played Vice President Hal Gardner in 24 in 2006.

In 2010, Wise was a guest star on the TV series Castle. He played a sports agent named Bobby Fox. He also appeared in Dollhouse.

Wise was cast as Robin Scherbatsky's father on How I Met Your Mother. He appeared in 6 episodes of that popular show. In 2012, he appeared in Rizzoli & Isles as a judge. He also played John Nelson in an episode of Criminal Minds.

From 2014 to 2016, and again in 2024-2025, he played Ian Ward on the soap opera The Young and the Restless. He also had a regular role as Marvin in Fresh Off the Boat from 2015 to 2020. In 2016, Wise appeared in the Netflix series Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. He played Jack Smith, a friend of Richard Gilmore.

In 2017, he was a guest star in the TV series Fargo. He played Paul Marrane in two episodes.

Movie Appearances

Ray Wise played Dr. Alec Holland in the 1982 film Swamp Thing. This movie was directed by Wes Craven. Dr. Holland is the person who becomes Swamp Thing.

In 1985, Wise played Sol Gann in the Disney film The Journey of Natty Gann. He then appeared as Leon C. Nash in RoboCop (1987). He also had roles in Bob Roberts (1992) and Rising Sun (1993).

He played Dalton Voss in The Chase (1994). He was Dr. Stripler in Powder (1995). In 2003, he played Jack Taggart in the horror film Jeepers Creepers 2. He also played Frank Harrington in the horror film Dead End.

In 2005, he appeared as newscaster Don Hollenbeck in Good Night, and Good Luck. This film was directed by George Clooney. In 2011, Wise played the United States Secretary of State in X-Men: First Class. He also appeared in Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie.

In 2014, Wise was in the documentary horror film Digging Up the Marrow. In 2016, Wise starred as attorney Peter Kane in the film God's Not Dead 2.

Voice Acting Work

As a voice actor, Wise has lent his voice to animated characters. He played Perry White in the movie Superman: Doomsday. He also voiced Commissioner Gordon in the animated film The Killing Joke. He also voiced different characters in the podcast Batman: The Audio Adventures.

Video Game Roles

Wise is also known for playing Michael Dugan. This character was the President of the United States in the video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. He also played this role in its expansion, Yuri's Revenge.

Web Series Appearances

In 2014, Wise starred in a web series called Farmed and Dangerous. He played Buck Marshall in this funny show. In 2018, Wise was a guest in a horror RPG web series called 10 Candles. He explained mysteries of a town called Kolob.

Ray Wise's Personal Life

Ray Wise has been married to film producer Kass McClaskey since 1978. They have two children together. Their son, Gannon McClaskey Wise, was born in 1985 and is an actor and writer. Their daughter, Kyna Wise, was born in 1987 and is also an actress and singer. Before this marriage, Wise was married to actress Juliet Burr from 1974 to 1977.