Fritz Weaver
Fritz Weaver | |
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Born | Fritz William Weaver January 19, 1926 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | November 26, 2016 | (aged 90)
Alma mater | Peabody High School |
Occupation(s) | Actor, voice artist |
Years active | 1956–2016 |
Spouse(s) |
Sylvia Short
(m. 1953; div. 1979) |
Awards | Tony Award (1970) |
Fritz William Weaver (January 19, 1926 − November 26, 2016) was an American actor in television, stage, and motion pictures. He portrayed Dr. Josef Weiss in the 1978 epic television drama, Holocaust for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.[1] In cinema, he made his debut in the film Fail Safe (1964) and also appeared in Marathon Man (1976), Creepshow (1982), and The Thomas Crown Affair (1999). Among many television roles, he performed in the movie The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975). He also worked in science fiction and fantasy, especially in television series and movies like The Twilight Zone, 'Way Out, Night Gallery, The X-Files, The Martian Chronicles, and Demon Seed. Weaver also narrated educational TV programs.
Early life
Weaver was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 19, 1926,[2] the son of Elsa W. Weaver (née Stringaro) and John Carson Weaver.[1] His mother was of Italian descent and his father was a social worker from Pittsburgh with deep American roots.[3] His younger sister was art director Mary Dodson.[4]
Weaver attended the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School[5] at the University of Pittsburgh as a child, followed by Peabody High School. He served in the Civilian Public Service as a conscientious objector during World War II.
Career
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2016) |
Following the war, Weaver worked at various jobs before turning to acting in the early 1950s. His first acting role for television came in 1956 for an episode of The United States Steel Hour. Weaver continued to act in television during the next four decades. In 1969, he appeared as Hebron Grant, a Mormon married to two women, on The Big Valley in the episode "A Passage of Saints." He also appeared in several episodes of Mission Impossible.
He also appeared in the made-for-TV movies Holocaust (1978) and The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975) in which he played Andrew Borden. He earned an Emmy nomination for the former; the award went to his co-star Michael Moriarty.
Weaver won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance for the Broadway play Child's Play (1970). His other Broadway credits included The Chalk Garden (Tony nomination and Theatre World Award win), All American, Baker Street, Absurd Person Singular, “The Price,” Love Letters, and The Crucible. He appeared in the off-Broadway play Burnt Piano for the HB Playwrights Theatre, and with Uta Hagen in a television adaptation of Norman Corwin's play The World of Carl Sandburg.
Weaver also acted in motion pictures, generally as a supporting player. He appeared in such movies as Fail-Safe (1964; as a jingoist and increasingly unstable U.S. Air Force colonel, ashamed of his foreign-born and alcoholic parents, whom he refers to as "those people"), Marathon Man (1976; as a professor advising the protagonist, a graduate student), Black Sunday (1977; as the lead FBI agent in an anti-terrorism effort), Creepshow (1982; as a scientist who discovers a monster in a crate), and John McTiernan's remake of The Thomas Crown Affair (1999). He also had roles in The Day of the Dolphin (1973), Demon Seed (1977), The Big Fix (1978), and Sidney Lumet's Power (1986). Beginning in 1995, Weaver worked primarily as a voice actor, providing narration for programs on the History Channel. After making his third guest appearance on Law & Order in 2005,[6] Weaver made a "secret decision to retire."[7]
In 2010, Weaver was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.[8] Shortly thereafter, he came out of retirement to make an uncredited cameo in This Must Be the Place (2011), voicing the deceased father of Sean Penn's protagonist. He went on to give prominent supporting performances in the Emmy-nominated television film Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013) and the theatrically-released We'll Never Have Paris (2014), The Cobbler (2014), and The Congressman (2016).
Personal life and death
His first marriage ended in divorce. Weaver's second marriage was to actress Rochelle Oliver in 1997. He died at his home in New York, New York on November 26, 2016, at the age of 90.[2]
Select filmography
Film
- To Trap a Spy (1964) – Andrew Vulcan (archive footage)
- Fail Safe (1964) – Colonel Cascio
- The Borgia Stick (1967) – Anderson
- The Maltese Bippy (1969) – Mischa Ravenswood
- A Walk in the Spring Rain (1970) – Roger Meredith
- The Day of the Dolphin (1973) – Harold DeMilo
- The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975) – Andrew Borden
- Marathon Man (1976) – Professor Biesenthal
- Black Sunday (1977) – Corley
- Demon Seed (1977) – Alex Harris
- Captains Courageous (1977) – Harvey Cheyne Sr.
- The Big Fix (1978) – Oscar Procari Sr.
- Martian Chronicles (1980) – Father Peregrine
- Nightkill (1980) – Herbert Childs
- Jaws of Satan (1981) – Father Tom Farrow
- Creepshow (1982) – Dexter Stanley (segment "The Crate")
- Power (1986) – Wallace Furman
- The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) – John Reynolds
- This Must Be the Place (2011) – Cheyenne's Father (voice)
- Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013) – Hugo Black
- We'll Never Have Paris (2014) – Phillipe
- The Cobbler (2014) – Mr. Solomon
- The Congressman (2016) – Harlan Lantier (final film role)
Television
- Beyond This Place (1957) – Charlie Castle
- Way Out (1961, Episode: "William and Mary") – Dr. Landy
- The Twilight Zone (1961, Episodes: "Third from the Sun" / "The Obsolete Man") – William Sturka / Chancellor
- The Asphalt Jungle (1961) – Victor Vanda
- Dr. Kildare (1963) – Arthur Hobler
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) – Andrew Vulcan
- Twelve O'Clock High (1964) – Col. Peter Raff
- Rawhide (1964) – Jonathan Damon
- The Fugitive (1966, Season 3 Episode 28 "A Taste of Tomorrow") – Joe Tucker
- Combat! (1966) – Major Chaplain Ernest Miller
- Gunsmoke (1967) – Marshal Burl Masters
- The Invaders (1967, Episode 30 "The Captive") – Deputy Ambassador Peter Borke
- The Big Valley (1967–1969) – Hebron Grant / Burke Jordan
- Cannon (1971) – "The Nowhere Man" - Leo Kern
- Night Gallery (1971) – Dr. Mazi (segment "A Question of Fear")
- Mission: Impossible (1966–1971) – George Berlinger / Emil Skarbeck / Erik Hagar / Imre Rogosh
- Mannix (1968–1973) – William Avery / Dr. Cameron McKenzie
- Kung Fu (1974) – Hillquist
- Great Performances (1974) – Creon (Antigone)
- The New Land (1974, Episode: "The Word is: Giving" – unaired)
- The Streets Of San Francisco (1975) – Ted Whitlock
- The New Adventures of Wonder Woman (1977) – Dr. Solano
- Holocaust (1978) – Dr. Josef Weiss
- Hawaii Five-O (1979) – Dr. Harvey Danworth
- The Martian Chronicles (1980) – Father Peregrine
- Magnum, P.I. (1980) – Captain J. Cooly, USN
- Don't Eat the Pictures (1983) – Osiris
- Tales from the Darkside (Episodes: "Comet Watch" (1986), "Inside the Closet" (1984)) – Sir Edmund Halley / Dr. Fenner
- Murder, She Wrote (1984–1987) – Paris Inspector Hugues Panassié / Edwin Dupont / Judge Lambert
- The Twilight Zone (1985, Episode 13; segment "The Star") – Father Matthew Karsighan
- Dream West (1986) – Sen. Thomas Hart Benton
- I'll Take Manhattan (1987) – Mr. Amberville
- Friday the 13th: The Series (1989, in the two-part episode of the third-season opener named "The Prophecies") – Asteroth
- Matlock (1989) – Pastor James Hubert
- All My Children (1992) – Hugo Marick
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1994, S2:E25 "Tribunal") – Kovat
- The X-Files (1996) – Senator Albert Sorenson
- Frasier (1998) – Sir Trevor Ainsley
- Law & Order (1991–2005) – Nathan Fogg / Larry Weber / Philip Woodleigh
References
- ^ a b "Fritz Weaver Biography". Film Reference Library. 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
- ^ a b "Fritz Weaver, Tony-Winning Character Actor, Dies at 90". The New York Times. November 27, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ^ Jones, Chris (April 22, 2004). "Fritz Weaver tackles a 'Trying' role in Chicago". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Barnes, Mike (February 21, 2016). "Mary Weaver Dodson, Art Director on 'Murder, She Wrote,' Dies at 83". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
- ^ Vitone, Elaine. "Well Schooled". Pitt Magazine. University of Pittsburgh. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
- ^ "Law & Order-Season 15-Episode 20-Tombstone". Archived from the original on 2016-11-30. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
- ^ Lipton, Brian Scott (November 29, 2006). "On the Fritz". TheaterMania. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
- ^ Gans, Andrew; Peter, Thomas. "Theater Hall of Fame Ceremony, Honoring Linda Lavin, Brian Dennehy, Michael Blakemore, Presented Jan. 24". Playbill. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
External links
- Fritz Weaver at IMDb
- Fritz Weaver at the Internet Broadway Database
- Fritz Weaver at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Fritz Weaver (Aveleyman)
- Fritz Weaver at Find a Grave
- 1926 births
- 2016 deaths
- American male stage actors
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- American male musical theatre actors
- Tony Award winners
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- Male actors from Pittsburgh
- American conscientious objectors
- Members of the Civilian Public Service
- American people of Italian descent