Michael Lerner, ( June 22, 1941-April 8, 2023) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Barton Fink. He guest starred on Glee.
Personal life[]
Lerner was born Brooklyn, New York. He has a brother, Ken and a nephew, Sam. Lerner got a BA at City University of New York, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY and a MA at the University of California, Berkeley, CA.[1]
Career[]
Lerner made his television debut on Dr. Kildare in 1963 and his film debut in Alex in Wonderland in 1970. He would guest star on The Brady Bunch, The Good Guys, The Doris Day Show in the late 1960s and That Girl, Ironside, The New Perry Mason, M*A*S*H, Emergency! and The Bob Newhart Show in the early 1970s.
Lerner would guest on The Rockford Files for four episodes in early-late 1970s, Hill Street Blues for four episodes in early-mid 1980s, Courthouse for eleven episodes in 1995, and Clueless for eighteen episodes in late 1990s.
He had a role in Godzilla in 1998 and would reprise it in the animated Godzilla: The Series. Lerner appeared on Suburgatory, The Good Wife, Matumbo Goldberg and was in an X-Men sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past.
He guest starred on Glee for five episodes as Funny Girl producer, Sidney, in 2013 and 2014.
Filmography[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1963 | Dr. Kildare | Dr. Brown | uncredited (The Oracle) |
1964 | The Doris Day Show | Fat Man/Mr. Murray | 1969 - 70 (Singles Only and The Duke Returns) |
The Brady Bunch | Johnny | (Every Boy Does It Once) | |
Three's a Crowd | Sid Bagby | TV Movie | |
The Good Guys | Customer/Arthur | (Two's a Crowd and Claudia Sows a Few) | |
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors | Jack Walton | 1969 - 72 (To Save a Life and Is This Operation Necessary?) | |
1970 | Alex in Wonderland | Leo | |
1971 | What's a Nice Girl Like You...? | Fats Detroit | TV Movie |
The Ski Bum | Rod | ||
Marriage: Year One | Lemberg | TV Movie | |
Thief | Jack Cutter | TV Movie | |
The D.A. | Mark Warren | (The People vs. Saydo) | |
That Girl | Charlie | (Two for the Money) | |
Ironside | Joe Yarby/Adrian Father | 1971 - 72 (The Professionals and Down Two Roads) | |
1972 | The Delphi Bureau | Cy Turrell | (The Top Secret Secret Project) |
The Streets of San Francisco | Lou Watkins | (The Takers) | |
Night Gallery | Dr. Burgess | (segment "You Can Come Up Now, Mrs. Millikan" | |
Magic Carpet | Michael Glassman | TV Movie | |
Banacek | Bartender | (Let's Hear It for a Living Legend) | |
The Candidate | Paul Corliss | ||
1973 | The New Perry Mason | Derek Stocker | (The Case of the Furious Father) |
Love Story | Lou Graham | (Love Came Laughing) | |
Emergency! | Martin Noble | (Honest) | |
The Bob Newhart Show | Mr. Carolla | (The Man with the Golden Wrist) | |
Firehouse | Ernie Bush | TV Movie | |
1974 | The Missiles of October | Pierre Salinger, Whitehouse Press Secretary | TV Movie |
Reflections of Murder | Jerry Steele | TV Movie | |
Hangup | Fred Richards | ||
Newman's Law | Frank Acker | ||
The Odd Couple | Sergeant Chomsky | (New York's Oddest) | |
Busting | Marvin | ||
Chase | Cupid | (Remote Control) | |
M*A*S*H | Captain Futterman | (For Want of a Boot) | |
Love, American Style | Karatz | (segment "Love and the Image Makers") | |
The Rockford Files | Dr. Ruben Seelman/Murray Rosner/Arnold Love | 1974 - 76 (Backlash of the Hunter, Profit and Loss, Profit and Loss, and Piece Work) | |
1975 | F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood | Marvin Margulies | TV Movie |
Rhoda | Ralph Bentley | (Myrna's Story) | |
Starsky and Hutch | Fat Rolly | (Pilot and Texas Longhorn) | |
Grandpa Max | Paul Sherman | TV Movie | |
Lucas Tanner | Artie | (The Noise of a Quiet Weekend) | |
A Cry for Help | Phillip Conover | TV Movie | |
Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic | Dr. Marvin Kittredge | TV Movie | |
The Dream Makers | Mike | TV Movie | |
1976 | Police Woman | Guidera | (Tennis Bum) |
Scott Free | Santini | TV Movie | |
St. Ives | Myron Green | ||
Harry O | Wilt Kane | (Victim) | |
Jigsaw John | (Too Much, Too Soon) | ||
Dark Victory | Manny | TV Movie | |
1977 | Killer on Board | Dr. Berglund | TV Movie |
Outlaw Blues | Hatch | ||
The Other Side of Midnight | Barbet | ||
1978 | Wonder Woman | Ashton Ripley | (My Teenage Idol Is Missing) |
Vega$ | Nate Stephanson | (High Roller) | |
Kojak | Dr. Samuel Fine | (The Halls of Terror) | |
Ruby and Oswald | Jack Ruby | TV Movie | |
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story | Dr. Canlan | TV Movie | |
1979 | Goldengirl | Sternberg | |
Hart to Hart | Poker Player/Arthur Radner | 1979 - 82 (Hart to Hart and Blue and Broken-Harted) | |
1980 | Borderline | Henry Lydell | |
Coast to Coast | Dr. Frederick Froll | ||
Gridlock | Marv | TV Movie | |
This Year's Blonde | Jack Warner | TV Movie | |
The Baltimore Bullet | Paulie | ||
Barnaby Jones | Albert Krueger | (Run to Death) | |
1981 | Threshold | Henry De Vici | |
The Postman Always Rings Twice | Mr. Katz | ||
1982 | Class Reunion | Dr. Robert Young | |
1983 | Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess | Harry Cohn | TV Movie |
Strange Invaders | Willie Collins | ||
Blood Feud | Eddie Cheyfitz (Hoffa's attorney) | TV Movie | |
Hill Street Blues | Meyer Rabinowitz/Rollie Simone | 1983 - 85 (4 episodes) | |
1984 | I Gave at the Office | Larry Brinker | |
1985 | This Child Is Mine | Abe Rosenberg | TV Movie |
The A-Team | Jerry | (Where Is the Monster When You Need Him?) | |
MacGyver | Gantner | (Pilot) | |
Hollywood Beat | Max | (Pilot) | |
Movers & Shakers | Arnie | ||
The Execution | Sidney Ferraro | TV Movie | |
1986 | That Secret Sunday | Mario Pinelli | TV Movie |
1987 | The King of Love | Nat Goldberg | TV Movie |
Hands of a Stranger | Captain Cirillo | TV Movie | |
Anguish | John | ||
Amazing Stories | Mr. Marvin | (The 21-Inch Sun) | |
1988 | Eight Men Out | Arnold Rothstein | |
Vibes | Burt Wilder | ||
The Equalizer | Amar | (No Place Like Home) | |
Great Performances | Oscar Hammerstein | (Melba) | |
1989 | Harlem Nights | Bugsy Calhoune | |
1990 | The Closer | Chester's Doctor | uncredited |
Maniac Cop 2 | Edward Doyle | ||
Framed | Elliot Shane | TV Movie | |
Any Man's Death | Herb Denner | ||
1991 | Omen IV: The Awakening | Earl | TV Movie |
Barton Fink | Jack Lipnick | ||
1992 | The Comrades of Summer | George | TV Movie |
Newsies | Weasel | ||
1993 | Tales from the Crypt | Mr. Byrd | (People Who Live in Brass Hearses) |
Amos & Andrew | Phil Gillman | ||
1994 | The Road to Wellville | Goodloe Bender | |
Radioland Murders | Lieutenant Cross | ||
No Escape | (The Warden) | ||
Blank Check | Biderman | ||
1995 | Courthouse | Judge Myron Winkleman | (11 episodes) |
Girl in the Cadillac | Pal | ||
Picture Windows | The Conductor | (Language of the Heart) | |
No Way Back | Frank Serlano | ||
A Pyromaniac's Love Story | Perry | ||
1996 | Clueless | Mel Horowitz | 1996 - 97 (18 episodes) |
1997 | For Richer or Poorer | Phil Kleinman | |
The Beautician and the Beast | Jerry Miller | ||
1998 | Desperation Boulevard | ||
Celebrity | Dr. Lupus | ||
Safe Men | Big Fat Bernie Gayle | ||
Godzilla | Mayor Ebert | ||
Tale of the Mummy | Professor Marcus | ||
Godzilla: The Series | Mayor Ebert | 1998 - 99, voice (3 episodes) | |
1999 | The Mod Squad | Howard | |
My Favorite Martian | Mr. Channing | ||
2000 | Murder at the Cannes Film Festival | Morrie Borelli | TV Movie |
Attention Shoppers | Khourosh | ||
2001 | Third Watch | Seymour Morgenstern | (Adam 55-3) |
Mockingbird Don't Sing | Dr. Stan York | ||
2002 | 29 Palms | The Judge | |
2003 | Elf | Fulton | |
Nobody Knows Anything! | Uncle Lou | ||
101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure | Producer | voice | |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Morty Berger | 2003 - 06 (Fallacy and Taboo) | |
2004 | Pigeon | Man on Train | short |
Poster Boy | Jack Kray | ||
The Calcium Kid | Artie Cohen | ||
Kingdom Hospital | Sheldon Fleischer | (The West Side of Midnight, Black Noise, and Heartless) | |
Larceny | |||
2005 | When Do We Eat? | Ira Stuckman | |
2006 | The Last Time | Leguzza | |
Love and Other Disasters | Marvin Bernstein | ||
Art School Confidential | Art Dealer | ||
2007 | A Dennis the Menace Christmas | Mr. Souse | |
Flattest | Secretary Gates | short | |
Slipstream | Big Mikey | ||
Entourage | Joe Roberts | (The Resurrection) | |
2008 | Dirty Sexy Money | Martin | (The Star Witness) |
Yonkers Joe | Stanley | ||
2009 | A Serious Man | Solomon Schlutz | |
Life During Wartime | Harvey | ||
Saving Grace | Rebbe Jory Quecksilber | (Moooooooo) | |
2010 | Death by Fungus | Hirsch | short |
Pete Smalls Is Dead | Leonard Proval | ||
Wax On, Fuck Off | Cy Rosenthal | short | |
The Bannen Way | The Mensch | ||
2011 | Matumbo Goldberg | Rabbi | (5 episodes) |
Tumor & Gooch | short | ||
Atlas Shrugged: Part I | Wesley Mouch | ||
2012 | Mirror Mirror | Baron | |
Suburgatory | Aaron Laynberg | (Sex and the Suburbs) | |
The Good Wife | Judge Dwight Sobel | (Bitcoin for Dummies) | |
2013 | Glee | Sidney Greene | 2013 - 14 (Sweet Dreams, New New York, Bash, Opening Night and The Back-Up Plan) |
Dead 2 Kill | Alpohnse Dente | ||
Immigrant | Rabbi Malenkovich | ||
Brahmin Bulls | David | ||
Somebody Marry Me | Phil Rosenberg | ||
2014 | Switching Lanes | David Smith | post-production |
Recorded Lives | Dad | ||
X-Men: Days of Future Past | Senator Brickman | ||
2015 | Ashby | Entwhistle | filming |