William Atherton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Atherton
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Atherton in 2009
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| Born |
William Atherton Knight
July 30, 1947 Orange, Connecticut, U.S.
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| Education | Carnegie Mellon University (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Bobbi Goldin
(m. 1980) |
William Atherton (born July 30, 1947) is an American actor. He is well-known for his roles in popular movies like Ghostbusters and Die Hard. He also starred in films such as The Sugarland Express (1974) and The Hindenburg (1975).
Contents
Early life and acting start
William Atherton was born on July 30, 1947, in Orange, Connecticut. He loved acting and studied it at Carnegie Mellon University. He graduated in 1969.
After college, William Atherton quickly became successful on the New York stage. He worked with many famous writers and won awards for his theater work.
Movie and TV career
William Atherton got his first big movie role in The Sugarland Express (1974). This was the first major film directed by Steven Spielberg. Atherton played a character named Clovis Poplin.
He then appeared in other movies like The Day of the Locust (1975) and the disaster film The Hindenburg (1975). He also sang the main song for the movie The Great Gatsby.
In 1978, he starred as cowboy Jim Lloyd in the TV miniseries Centennial.
Famous movie roles
William Atherton is perhaps most famous for playing two characters that many people remember.
- In the comedy Ghostbusters (1984), he played Walter Peck. Peck was a serious government agent who caused trouble for the Ghostbusters team. He later returned to voice Walter Peck in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009) and appeared as the character again in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024).
- He also played reporter Richard "Dick" Thornburg in the action movie Die Hard (1988). He played the same role in the sequel Die Hard 2 (1990).
Other projects
William Atherton has been in many other films and TV shows. Some of his movies include Real Genius (1985), The Pelican Brief (1993), and The Last Samurai (2003).
He has also made guest appearances on popular TV series. These include Murder, She Wrote, Law & Order, Desperate Housewives, and Monk. He also lent his voice to the character of Dr. Destiny in the animated series Justice League.
In 2010, he appeared in the final season of the TV show Lost. He also had a recurring role in the Syfy series Defiance in 2014. More recently, he was in the 2017 Netflix thriller Clinical. He has also appeared in documentaries about his famous films.
Personal life
William Atherton has been married to writer Bobbi Goldin since 1980.
He enjoys singing and has performed in various shows. In 2011, he sang a song from the musical Gigi at a charity event. He also participated in reading events for the Los Angeles Public Library.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | The New Centurions | Johnson | |
| 1973 | Class of '44 | Fraternity President | |
| 1974 | The Great Gatsby | Singing voice for "What'll I Do" | |
| The Sugarland Express | Clovis Michael Poplin | ||
| 1975 | The Day of the Locust | Tod Hackett | |
| The Hindenburg | Karl Boerth | ||
| 1976 | Independence | Benjamin Rush | |
| 1977 | Looking for Mr. Goodbar | James | |
| 1984 | Ghostbusters | Walter Peck | |
| 1985 | Real Genius | Professor Jerry Hathaway | |
| 1986 | No Mercy | Allan Deveneux | |
| 1988 | Die Hard | Richard Thornburg | |
| 1990 | Die Hard 2 | Richard Thornburg | |
| Grim Prairie Tales: Hit the Trail... to Terror | Arthur | ||
| 1991 | Oscar | Overton | |
| 1993 | The Pelican Brief | Bob Gminski | |
| 1994 | Saints and Sinners | Terence McCone | |
| Frank & Jesse | Allan Pinkerton | ||
| 1996 | Bio-Dome | Dr. Noah Faulkner | |
| 1997 | Hoodlum | Thomas Dewey | |
| Mad City | Malt Dohlen | ||
| 1998 | Michael Kael vs. the World News Company | James Denit | |
| 1999 | The Stranger | Arthur | |
| 2000 | The Crow: Salvation | Nathan Randall | |
| Bread and Roses | Himself – Party Guest | Uncredited | |
| 2001 | Burning Down the House | Arthur Kranston | |
| Race to Space | Ralph Stanton | ||
| 2003 | The Last Samurai | Winchester Rep | |
| Who's Your Daddy? | Uncle Duncan "Duncay" Mack | ||
| 2005 | Into the Sun | Agent Block | |
| Headspace | Dr. Ira Gold | ||
| 2007 | Kush | King | |
| Hacia la oscuridad | John | ||
| Totally Baked | Mr. Lyle Funonion | Segment: "FunOnion Boardroom" | |
| The Girl Next Door | Adult David Moran | ||
| 2008 | Black Crescent Moon | Jo Dexton | |
| 2010 | The Kane Files: Life of Trial | Daniel Morgan | |
| 2012 | Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie | Earle Swinter | |
| Jersey Shore Shark Attack | Dolan | ||
| The Citizen | Winston | ||
| 2013 | Getting Back to Zero | ||
| 2014 | Jinn | Father Westhoff | |
| 2017 | Clinical | Terry Drummond | |
| Lowlifes | |||
| 2018 | Bad Company | ||
| 2019 | Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters | Himself | Documentary film |
| 2024 | Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire | Mayor Walter Peck | |
| TBD | Where Did the Adults Go? | The Father |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978–1979 | Centennial | Jim Lloyd | 9 episodes Miniseries |
| 1981 | The House of Mirth | Lawrence Selden | Television film |
| 1983 | Malibu | Stan Harvey | Television film |
| 1985, 1987 | The Twilight Zone | Mr. Dundee/Brian Wolfe | 2 episodes |
| 1985, 1987, 1991 | Murder, She Wrote | Larry Holleran/Greg Dalton/Andy Henley | 3 episodes |
| 1987, 1989 | The Equalizer | Martin "Alpha" Loeber/Gideon | 3 episodes |
| 1990 | Buried Alive | Cortland "Cort" van Owen | Television film |
| 1991 | Tales from the Crypt | Malcolm Mayflower | Episode: "Easel Kill Ya" |
| 1992 | Diagnosis: Murder – Diagnosis of Murder | Eric Walker | Television film |
| 1995 | Virus | Dr. Reginald Holloway | Television film |
| 1996 | Nash Bridges | Dr. Linus Mills | Episode: "Key Witness" |
| 1997, 1999 | The Practice | D.A. Keith Pratt | 3 episodes |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits | Franklin Murdoch | Episode: "To Tell the Truth" |
| 1999 | Introducing Dorothy Dandridge | Darryl Zanuck | Television film |
| 2001 | Night Visions | William Price | Episode: "Hate Puppet/Darkness" Segment: "Hate Puppet" |
| 2002, 2004 | Law & Order | Don Snyder/Dan Jensen | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Justice League | John Dee / Doctor Destiny | 2 episodes Voice |
| 2005 | Boston Legal | A.D.A. Howard Zale | Episode: "It Girls and Beyond" |
| 2006 | Stargate SG-1 | Varta | Episode: "Collateral Damage" |
| Desperate Housewives | Dr. Barr | 2 episodes | |
| 2007 | Numb3rs | Warren Pierce | Episode: "Tabu" |
| 2008 | Monk | Commander Nathan Whitaker | Episode: “Mr. Monk Is Underwater” |
| 2008–2009 | Life | Mickey Rayborn | 8 episodes |
| 2010 | Lost | Principal Donald Reynolds | Episode: "Dr. Linus" |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Ned Bogden | Episode: "Bedtime" | |
| 2011 | Castle | Dr. Ari Weiss | Episode: "Head Case" |
| 2012 | Workaholics | Thor Holmvik | Episode: "The Meat Jerking Beef Boys" |
| 2013 | Defiance | Viceroy Berto Mercado | 5 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Ghostbusters: The Video Game | Walter Peck | Voice |
| 2019 | Planet Coaster | Walter Peck | Voice |
| Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered | Walter Peck | Voice |
See also
In Spanish: William Atherton para niños
