Anthony Zerbe

Anthony Zerbe
Anthony Zerbe in trailer for The Laughing Policeman (1973)
Born	Anthony Jared Zerbe (1936-05-20) May 20, 1936 Long Beach, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1963–present
Spouse	Arnette Jens ​ (m. 1962)​
Children	2

Anthony Jared Zerbe (born May 20, 1936) is an American stage, film and Emmy-winning television actor. Notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in The Omega Man, a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend; as a corrupt gambler in Farewell, My Lovely; as Abner Devereaux in Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park; as villain Milton Krest in the James Bond film Licence to Kill; Rosie in The Turning Point, Admiral Dougherty in Star Trek: Insurrection and Councillor Hamann in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

Life and career

Zerbe was born in Long Beach, California, the son of Catherine (née Scurlock) and Arthur Lee Van Zerbe. He attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, graduating in 1958. His parents were also alumni of Pomona College.

Zerbe served in the United States Air Force from 1959-61. Zerbe studied at the Stella Adler Studio in New York City. On television, he has played guest roles on such series as Naked City, The Virginian, The Big Valley, Route 66, The Wild Wild West, Twelve O'Clock High, Bonanza, Mission: Impossible, Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, Mannix, It Takes a Thief, The Chisholms, Ironside, The F.B.I., The Rookies, and Columbo, among others. He held a starring role in The Young Riders and co-starred on Harry O in that series' second and final seasons. Zerbe was also seen as Pontius Pilate in the miniseries A.D. and as General Grant in North and South: Book II. He was also in many episodes of the mini-series Centennial, in 1978. His latest appearance is in the criminal comedy-drama American Hustle.

Zerbe is the former artistic director of Reflections, A New Plays Festival at the Geva Theatre in Rochester, New York, which has toured the United States in Behind the Broken Words, a performance of contemporary poetry, comedy and dramatic works with fellow actor Roscoe Lee Browne. In 1976, Zerbe won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Lieutenant K.C. Trench in the private detective series Harry O. In 1981, he played eldest brother Benjamin Hubbard in a Broadway revival of The Little Foxes.

Personal life

Zerbe has been married to Arnette Jens (sister of actress Salome Jens), since October 7, 1962; the couple has two children.

Selected filmography

• Cool Hand Luke (1967)
• Will Penny (1967)
• The Molly Maguires (1970)
• They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970)
• The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)
• The Omega Man (1971)
• The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
• The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie (1972)
• The Hound of the Baskervilles (1972, TV movie)
• She Lives! (1973, TV movie)
• Papillon (1973)
• The Laughing Policeman (1973)
• The Parallax View (1974)
• Rooster Cogburn (1975)
• Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
• The Turning Point (1977)
• Child of Glass (1978, TV movie)
• Who'll Stop the Rain (1978)
• Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)
• Attica (1980, TV movie)
• The First Deadly Sin (1980)
• Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1983)
• The Dead Zone (1983)
• Off Beat (1986)
• Steel Dawn (1987)
• P.I. Private Investigations (1987)
• Listen to Me (1989)
• See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)
• Licence to Kill (1989)
• Touch (1997)
• Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
• True Crime (1999)
• The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
• The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
• Veritas, Prince of Truth (2007)
• American Hustle (2013)
• Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2014)

Television

• Naked City (TV series) (1963)
• The Wild Wild West (1967)
• The Virginian (1968)
• Gunsmoke (3 episodes, 1968-1973)
• Mission: Impossible: The Photographer (1967)
• Mission: Impossible: The Amnesiac (1969)
• Mission: Impossible: Live Bait (1969)
• Mission: Impossible: The Amateur (1970)
• Mission: Impossible: The Connection (1971)
• The Streets of San Francisco (1972)
• Kung Fu (1973 and 1974)
• Once an Eagle (1976)
• The Red Hand Gang (1977)
• Centennial (1978)
• How the West Was Won (1978-1979)
• George Washington (1984)
• A.D. (miniseries) (1985)
• Dream West (1986)
• North and South, Book II (1986)
• The Equalizer: Memories of Manon (1987)
• Baja Oklahoma (1988)
• Onassis: The Richest Man in the World (1988)
• Columbo: Columbo Goes to the Guillotine (1989)
• The Young Riders (1989–1992)
• Murder, She Wrote: Murder of the Month Club (1994)
• Asteroid (1997)
• Judging Amy: Accountability" (2004)

External links

• Anthony Zerbe at IMDb
• Anthony Zerbe at the TCM Movie Database
• Anthony Zerbe at AllMovie