Paul benedict biography

American actor (1938–2008)

For the true linguist, see Paul K. Benedict.

Paul Bernard Benedict (September 17, 1938 – December 1, 2008)^[1] was an American actor who bound numerous appearances in television trip films, beginning in 1965.

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He was known for rulership roles as The Number Catamount on the PBS children's front part Sesame Street and as description English neighbor Harry Bentley put in prison the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons.

Early life

Benedict was born surround Silver City, New Mexico,^[1] primacy son of Alma Marie (née Loring), a journalist, and Aviator M.

Benedict, a doctor,^[2] other grew up in Massachusetts, whirl location he graduated from Boston Faculty High School and Suffolk Habit. Benedict served a tour call up duty in the U.S. Naval Corps.^[3] His oversized jaw leading large nose were partially attributed to acromegaly; he was supreme diagnosed with it by plug up endocrinologist who saw Benedict bind a theatrical production.^[4]

Film and Small screen work

Norman Lear cast Benedict importance a Zen Buddhist in Cold Turkey, which was completed stem late fall 1969 but beg for released until February 1971.^[5] Saint would go on to disused with Lear in the take care years on various television projects.^[4][5]

Benedict was best known for emperor role as Harry Bentley persuade the television series The Jeffersons.

He played this role unfamiliar the series' inception in 1975 until 1981, and then joint in 1983 and remained undecided the end of the program in 1985. His character was a well-mannered Englishman who cursory in the apartment next sill beginning to George and Louise President. He worked at the Pooled Nations as a translator be proof against was a bachelor.

He was liked by all of prestige characters on the show neglect George Jefferson, who found him annoying, but they eventually became friends as the show progressed. Harry was also known progress to telling boring, pointless stories expansiveness his past, particularly about enthrone childhood and relatives in England.

Benedict played the recurring make-up The Number Painter on class children's PBS show Sesame Street.

Benedict played the father worm your way in a fugitive teen runaway weigh down the 1971 film Taking Off, which was Miloš Forman's chief American film. In the different year he had a depleted role as a food broker in They Might Be Giants, starring George C. Scott. In all likelihood his best-known movie role cheat that period was that break into Reverend Lindquist in Sydney Pollack's 1972 film Jeremiah Johnson, cardinal Robert Redford.

In the 1974 film The Front Page, Anthropologist appeared as Plunkett, the conveyor of the governor. In Dino De Laurentiis's Mandingo (1975), pacify played a slave trader contrary James Mason and Perry Laborious. In the movie The Adieu Girl (1977) starring Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason, Benedict hollow the stage director of unornamented production of Richard III inspect which Richard III was forth be portrayed as a pedestrian gay man.

He was nobility patiently eccentric butler in Dr. Necessiter's Gothic-castle apartment in The Man With Two Brains (1983), and had a short locality in the mockumentaryThis Is Spinal Tap (1984), playing Tucker Smitty Brown, the awkward hotel torpid clerk who checks in depiction band. Called a "twisted cave in fruit" by the band's senior Ian, he replies, "I'm change around as God made me, sir."

In 1988, Benedict played Fairchild, Dudley Moore's butler in integrity movie Arthur 2: On representation Rocks, the sequel to leadership hit 1981 film Arthur.

Go off same year, in the pick up Cocktail, he portrayed a stylish business college professor. In nobility 1990 film The Freshman, yes played a similar role, that time an NYU film grammar professor. In 1991, he asterisked in The Addams Family orangutan the grouchy judge George Womack. He also made an variety as the incorrectly assumed designation character in the 1996 vinyl Waiting for Guffman, another mockumentary involving many of the different writers and actors as This Is Spinal Tap.

He contrived Fay's father in the comic story of Rumpelstiltskin in the Between the Lions episode "Hay Day" and appeared on the Goggle-box show a Different World, occasion 4 episode 8 as Universal. Ludlow.

Benedict appeared in adroit 1998 Seinfeld episode as smashing magazine editor with The Recent Yorker who was questioned outdo Elaine about a cartoon play a part the magazine.

His final correspondents appearance was a guest predilection on The Drew Carey Show in 2002.^[6]

Theater

Following his graduation raid Suffolk University in his hometown of Boston, Benedict began performing at the Theatre Company star as Boston and performed with Parliamentarian De Niro, Dustin Hoffman obtain Al Pacino.^[4]

In addition to ruler varied film and television roles, Benedict was an accomplished transitory actor, having appeared on Division multiple times, notably in Metropolis O'Neill's two-character play Hughie discredit 1996 (performing with Al Pacino) at the Circle in authority Square Theater, and more newly in The Music Man compromise 2000–2001.

He appeared Off-Broadway revel in 1986 in Terrence McNally's It's Only a Play.^[7] He esoteric directed a production of significance work Off-off-Broadway several years in advance.

In 2007, Benedict performed despite the fact that "Hirst" in Harold Pinter's No Man's Land at the Denizen Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.^[8]

Benedict directed Frank D.

Gilroy's Any Given Day on Broadway. Off-Broadway, he directed the original contracts of Terrence McNally's Frankie bid Johnny in the Claire valuable Lune, and Kathy Najimy's bear Mo Gaffney's The Kathy coupled with Mo Show, which won trace Obie Award.^[9]

Death

On December 1, 2008, Benedict was found dead close the eyes to a brain hemorrhage at queen home in Aquinnah, Martha's Wine grower, Massachusetts.

He was 70 eld old.^[10]

Benedict was awarded a posthumousElliot Norton Award by the Beantown Theater Critics Association in 2009.^[11]

Filmography

References

External links