Austin Pendleton

American actor (born 1940)

Austin Pendleton

Pendleton in 2006

Born|

Austin Campbell Pendleton[1]

(1940-03-27) March 27, 1940 (age 84)

Warren, Ohio, U.S.

Alma mater| Yale University, 1961
Occupations|

* Actor
* playwright
* theatre director

Years active| 1962-present
Spouse|

Katina Commings

(m. 1970)​

Children| 1

Austin Campbell Pendleton (born March 27, 1940) [2] is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor.

Pendleton is known as a prolific character actor on the stage and screen, whose six-decade career has included roles in films including Catch-22 (1970); What's Up, Doc? (1972); The Front Page (1974); The Muppet Movie (1979), Short Circuit (1986); Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990); My Cousin Vinny (1992); Guarding Tess (1994); Amistad (1997); A Beautiful Mind (2001), which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture nomination; and Finding Nemo (2003).

Pendleton received a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play for the Broadway revival of The Little Foxes in 1981 starring Elizabeth Taylor. He received Obie and Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Performance in The Last Sweet Days of Issac in 1970, and an additional Special Drama Desk Award for being a "Renaissance Man of the American Theatre" in 2007. He received an additional Obie Award for directing the Off-Broadway revival of Three Sisters in 2011.

Pendleton's recent Broadway credits include acting in Choir Boy in 2016 and The Minutes in 2022, and directing Between Riverside and Crazy, also in 2022.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Pendleton was born in Warren, Ohio, the son of Thorn Pendleton, who ran a tool company, and Frances (née Manchester) Pendleton, a professional actress. He graduated from the University School, a private all-boys school in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in 1957. Roger Ailes, who became the CEO of Fox News, was a childhood acquaintance of Pendleton in Warren, Ohio. Ailes took acting classes taught by Pendleton's mother.[3][4]

Pendleton became interested in the theater through his mother, whose performances he watched when he was young. In junior high school, he put on his own performances in the basement of the family home. He participated in theater while attending Yale University, from which he graduated in 1961.[5][6] He was a member of the Yale Dramatic Association, and in 1958 collaborated with lyricist Peter Bergman on two musical plays that starred Philip Proctor: Tom Jones and Booth Is Back In Town. Proctor and Bergman later formed half of The Firesign Theatre comedy group.[7][8]

## Career

[edit]

After Yale, Pendleton moved to New York City and studied at HB Studio. He broke into the theater performing in the 1962 off-Broadway production of Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad, directed by Jerome Robbins.[5]

Robbins directed Fiddler on the Roof when it came to Broadway in 1964, and brought Pendleton into the opening-night cast, performing the role of Motel the tailor.[5] Pendleton went on to appear in The Last Sweet Days of Isaac (for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance and an Obie Award), The Diary of Anne Frank, Goodtime Charley, and Up from Paradise, and many other plays. In August 2006, he played the Chaplain in the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater production of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children directed by George C. Wolfe at the Delacorte Theater. In 2007, he appeared as Friar Lawrence in The Public Theater's production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at the Delacorte.[9]

Pendleton wrote the plays Uncle Bob, Booth, and Orson's Shadow, all of which were staged off-Broadway. Uncle Bob had its off-Broadway premiere in 2001 at The SoHo Playhouse, starring George Morfogen—for whom the role of Bob was written—and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, making his New York theatre debut. The critically acclaimed production was directed by Courtney Moorehead and produced by Steven Sendor.[10] As a director, Pendleton has worked extensively on and off Broadway.[11][12] His direction of Elizabeth Taylor and Maureen Stapleton in Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes garnered him a Tony Award nomination in 1981. Additional directing credits include The Runner Stumbles by Milan Stitt (1977),[13] Spoils of War by Michael Weller (1988),[13] and The Size of the World by Charles Evered (1996).[14]

Pendleton is also a member of The Mirror Theater Ltd's Mirror Repertory Company, directing the company's 1984 production of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, starring Geraldine Page, Sabra Jones, and Victor Slezak.[15] His play H6R3, a compilation of Henry VI and Richard III intended to make the story line clearer and strengthen the women's parts, became a benefit production of The Mirror Theater Ltd at the then Promenade Theater in New York. Pendleton played Richard in this performance, Sabra Jones performed Elizabeth, Lynn Redgrave played Mad Margaret, Charles McAteer was Lord Rutland, Geraint Wyn Davies played Henry VI, Daniel Gerroll played Buckingham, and Lisa Pelikan played Lady Anne.[16]

In 2009, Pendleton directed Uncle Vanya, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, at the Classic Stage Company. The same year he directed Tennessee Williams's Vieux Carré at The Pearl Theatre Company.[17] In 2010, Pendleton directed two plays, Bus Stop at the Olney Theater and Golden Age at the Philadelphia Theatre Company. His 2011 directing of Three Sisters won him an Obie Award.[18] In 2012, he directed a production of Detroit at the National Theatre in London.[19]

Pendleton served as artistic director of the Circle Repertory Company with associate artistic director Lynne Thigpen. The company closed in 1996.[20] He has taught acting at HB Studio since 1969,[21] and teaches directing at The New School.[21] Pendleton has been involved with Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre since directing Ralph Pape's Say Goodnight, Gracie for the 1979–80 season, and is an ensemble member there.[22] His acting credits at Steppenwolf include Uncle Vanya, Valparaiso, and Educating Rita.[23]

In 2022, Pendleton reminisced that he was initially reluctant to join Steppenwolf, as the name bothered him and he was reluctant to move to Chicago. "But he ended up taking the gig and started auditioning the troupe—twelve relative unknowns. 'For one role, I had to choose between Laurie Metcalf and Joan Allen,' he said. A second role went to a guy named John Malkovich."[24]

Pendleton was the subject of Starring Austin Pendleton, a 2016 documentary in which colleagues including Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Olympia Dukakis, and Ethan Hawke discuss his life and legacy.[25]

As a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Pendleton starred in Tracy Letts's play The Minutes on Broadway.[26]

In the fall of 2022, Pendleton directed a Broadway production of Between Riverside and Crazy, which he directed Off Broadway in 2014.[24]

## Personal life

[edit]

Pendleton has been married to actress Katina Commings since November 1970. They have one child.[24][27]

## Work

[edit]

### Theatre

[edit]

Year  | Stage  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1962  | Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You
in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad | Jonathan  | Off-Broadway
1964  | Fiddler on the Roof | Motel  | Broadway
1966  | Hail Scrawdyke! | Irwin Ingham  | Broadway
1967  | The Little Foxes | Leo Hubbard  | Broadway
1970  | The Last Sweet Days of Isaac | Isaac  | Off-Broadway
1973  | Shelter |  | Director; Broadway
1974  | An American Millionaire | Professor Bobby Rudetsky  | Broadway
1975  | Goodtime Charley | Charley (standby)  | Broadway
1976  | The Sorrows of Frederick | Frederick II of Prussia | Off-Broadway
1976  | The Old Glory |  | Director; off-Broadway
1976  | The Runner Stumbles |  | Director; Broadway
1978  | Say Goodnight Gracie |  | Director; off-Broadway
1979  | The Office Murders | Jack  | Off-Broadway
1980  | John Gabriel Borkman |  | Director; Broadway
1981  | The Little Foxes |  | Director; Broadway
1983  | Up from Paradise | Adam | Off-Broadway
1985  | Doubles | Arnie  | Broadway
1986  | Master Class | Shostakovich | Off-Broadway
1987  | Educating Rita | Frank  | Off-Broadway
1987  | Uncle Vanya | Voitski  | Off-Broadway
1988  | Spoils of War |  | Director; Broadway
1989  | Grand Hotel | Otto Kringelein  | Replacement; Broadway
1991  | The Sorrows of Frederick | Frederick the Great  | Off-Broadway
1991  | What About Luv? | Harry Berlin  | Off-Broadway
1993  | Sophistry | Whitey McCoy  | Off-Broadway
1996  | The Size of the World |  | Director; off-Broadway
1996  | 900 Oneonta |  | Director; off-Broadway
1997  | The Diary of Anne Frank | Mr. Dussel  | Broadway
1998  | The Pussycat and the Expert Plumber Who Was a Man | Mayor  | Off-Broadway
2002  | The Exonerated |  | Off-Broadway
2006  | Mother Courage and Her Children | Chaplain  | Off-Broadway
2006  | an oak tree | Father  | Off-Broadway
2006  | The Sunset Limited | White  | Off-Broadway
2007  | Toys in the Attic |  | Director; off-Broadway
2007  | Romeo and Juliet | Friar Laurence | Off-Broadway
2008  | Fifty Words |  | Director; off-Broadway
2008  | The Black Monk | The Black Monk  | Off-Broadway
2009  | Uncle Vanya |  | Director; off-Broadway
2009  | Vieux Carre |  | Director; off-Broadway
2009  | Order |  | Director;[28] off-Broadway
2009  | Love Drunk | Wilbur  | Off-Broadway
2010  | Rosmersholm | Doctor Kroll  | Off-Broadway
2011  | Three Sisters |  | Director; off-Broadway
2012  | In Masks Outrageous and Austere | Dr. Lester G. Syme  | Off-Broadway
2012  | Detroit |  | Director; off-Broadway
2012  | Ivanov | Lebedev  | Also director; off-Broadway
2013  | Choir Boy | Mr. Pendleton  | Off-Broadway
2014  | Between Riverside and Crazy |  | Director; off-Broadway
2014  | Straight White Men | Ed  | Off-Broadway
2017  | Workshop | Ward Stein  | Off-Broadway
2018  | Wars of the Roses: Henry VI & Richard III | Henry VI | Also director; off-Broadway
2018  | Choir Boy | Mr. Pendleton  | Broadway
2018  | The Magic of Too Late |  | Director; off-Broadway
2019  | Life Sucks. | The Professor  | Off-Broadway
2020  | The Minutes | Mr. Oldfield  | Broadway
2022  | The Minutes | Mr. Oldfield  | Broadway
2022  | Between Riverside and Crazy |  | Director; Broadway

### Filmography

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1968  | Petulia | Intern  |
Skidoo | Fred  |
1970  | Catch-22 | Lieutenant Colonel Moodus  |
1972  | What's Up, Doc? | Frederick Larrabee  |
Every Little Crook and Nanny | Luther  |
1973  | The Thief Who Came to Dinner | Zukovsky  |
1974  | The Front Page | Earl Williams  |
1976  | Diary of the Dead | Dr. Klein  |
1977  | The Great Smokey Roadblock | Guido  |
1979  | The Muppet Movie | Max  |
Starting Over | Paul  |
1980  | Simon | Dr. Carl Becker  |
First Family | Dr. Alexander Grade  |
1984  | Talk to Me | Richard Patterson  |
1985  | My Man Adam | Mr. Greenhut  |
1986  | Off Beat | Gun Shop Salesman  |
Short Circuit | Howard Marner  |
1987  | Hello Again | Junior Lacey  |
1990  | Mr. & Mrs. Bridge | Mr. Gadbury  |
1991  | The Ballad of the Sad Café | Lawyer Taylor  |
True Identity | Othello's Director  |
1992  | My Cousin Vinny | John Gibbons  |
Rain Without Thunder | Catholic Priest  |
Charlie's Ear | Harold Blodgett  |
Do You Like Women? | Unknown  |
1993  | Mr. Nanny | Alex Mason Sr.  |
My Boyfriend's Back | Dr. Bronson  |
Searching for Bobby Fischer | Asa Hoffmann |
1994  | Greedy | Hotel Clerk  |
Guarding Tess | Earl Fowler  |
1995  | Home for the Holidays | Peter Arnold  |
Two Much | Dr. Huffeyer  |
The Fifteen Minute Hamlet | Hamlet  | Short
1996  | Sgt. Bilko | Major Ebersole  |
2 Days in the Valley | Ralph Crupi  |
The Proprietor | Willy Kunst  |
The Associate | Aesop Franklin  |
The Mirror Has Two Faces | Barry  |
1997  | Trial and Error | Judge Paul Z. Graff  |
Sue Lost in Manhattan | Bob  |
Amistad | Professor Gibbs  |
The Fanatics | Eugene Cleft  |
A River Made to Drown In | Billy  |
1998  | Charlie Hoboken | Harry Cedars  |
1999  | Skirty Winner | François Truffaut |
Joe the King | Winston  |
Men of Means | Jerry Trask  |
The 4th Floor | Mr. Collins  |
Brokendown Love Story | 'Lucky'  | Short
2000  | The Acting Class | Bobby Austin  |
Broke Even | Archie  |
Fast Food Fast Women | George  |
The Summer of My Deflowering | Unknown  | Short
Clowns | Dean  |
2001  | Queenie in Love | Alvin  |
A Beautiful Mind | Thomas King  |
Wishcraft | Mr. Turner  |
2002  | Manna from Heaven | Two-Digit Doyle  |
2003  | Finding Nemo | Gurgle  | Voice
Uptown Girls | Mr. McConkey  |
2004  | Christmas with the Kranks | Marty  |
Piccadilly Jim | Peter Pett  |
2005  | The Civilization of Maxwell Bright | Jaurice  |
The Notorious Bettie Page | Teacher  |
2006  | Raising Flagg | Gus Falk  |
2007  | Lovely by Surprise | Jackson  |
2010  | Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps | Dr. Masters  |
2013  | He's Way More Famous Than You | Dad  |
Hair Brained | Dapper Man  |
Black Box | William Peters  |
2014  | She's Funny That Way | Judge Pendergast  |
The Mend | Earl  |
2016  | Starring Austin Pendleton[29] | Himself  | Documentary
Finding Dory | Gurgle  | Voice
2018  | 7 Splinters in Time | Fyodor Wax  |
Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes | Himself  | Documentary
2019  | The Sound of Silence | Robert Feinway  |
2020  | The Mimic | The Driver  |
2022  | 5-25-77 | Herb Lightman  |

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1972  | Love, American Style | Barney Dereemus  | 1 episode
1973  | Love, American Style | Leo  | 1 episode
1974  | Good Times | Donald Hargrove  | 1 episode
Great Performances | Bennie  | 1 episode
1977  | You're Gonna Love It Here | Harry Rogers  | TV movie
1978  | Big City Boys | Harry Buckman  | TV movie
1983  | Great Performances | White Rabbit  | 1 episode
1983–1984  | St. Elsewhere | Mr. Entertainment  | 2 episodes
1985  | Love, Long Distance | Dr. Arthur Ruskin  | TV movie
1986  | Miami Vice | Max Rogo  | 1 episode
1986–1989  | The Equalizer | Jonah  | 3 episodes
1987  | Leg Work | Harold Rodman  | 1 episode
1988  | Spenser: For Hire | The Professor  | 1 episode
1989  | The Cosby Show | Mr. Kensington  | 1 episode
B.L. Stryker | Danny Lennox  | 1 episode
Anything But Love | Max Templeton  | 1 episode
One Life to Live | Mr. Dubuis  | TV series
1990  | American Dreamer | Unknown  | 1 episode
21 Jump Street | Mr. Trysla  | 1 episode
1991  | Lethal Innocence | Paul Kent  | TV movie
1992  | Murder, She Wrote | Barney Gunderson  | Episode: "Angel of Death"
Four Eyes and Six Guns | Mustached Passenger  | TV movie
1994  | The Cosby Mysteries | Maynard Caldwell  | Episode: "One Day at a Time"
Don't Drink the Water | Chef Oscar  | TV movie
1995  | Tales from the Crypt | Orloff  | Episode: "Doctor of Horror"
New York News | Unknown  | Episode: "Cost of Living"
Long Island Fever | Dr. Motts  | TV movie
1997 | Frasier | Dr. William M. Dorfman | Episode: "Three Days of the Condo"
The Practice | Sam Feldberg | Episode: "Part VI"
Fired Up | Bobby H. | 1 episode
Liberty! | Benjamin Rush | 2 episodes
1998 | Tracey Takes On... | Professor Kenneth Hawkins | Episode: "Age"
1998–1999 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Dr. George Griscom | 11 episodes
1998–2002 | Oz | William Giles | 11 episodes
2000 | The West Wing | Barry Haskell | Episode: "Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics"
Homicide: The Movie | Dr. George Griscom | TV movie
2001 | The Education of Max Bickford | Harry | 1 episode
2001–2002 | 100 Centre Street | Al Cox | 2 episodes
2002 | Touched by an Angel | Mr. Piltdown | Episode: "The Christmas Watch"
2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Horace Gorman | Episode: "Control"
2004 | Strip Search | James Perley | TV movie
Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Dr. John Manotti | Episode: "Inert Dwarf"
2005 | Joan of Arcadia | Dietrich Steinholz | Episode: "Secret Service"
2009 | Life on Mars | Dr. Goldman | Episode: "Revenge of Broken Jaw"
Cupid | Dr. Boyd | Episode: "Pilot"
2011 | Person of Interest | Pilcher | Episode: "Foe"
2012 | Game Change | Senator Joe Lieberman | HBO TV movie
2016 | Billions | Goose Quill | 2 episodes
Difficult People | Director | Episode: "Cedar Grove"
2018 | Alex, Inc. | Wesley Harman | Episode: "The Unfair Advantage"
2019 | A President Show Documentary: The Fall Of Donald Trump | Historian | TV special
2020 | New Amsterdam | Eli Pembroke | Episode: "Hiding Behind My Smile"
2021 | The Good Fight | Dr. Goat | Episode: "And the Violence Spread."

### Audio dramas

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2021–2022  | Around the Sun | Harry  | Voice; 3 episodes

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Government Printing Office. 1963. p. 29.
2. ^ Mayer, John (August 11, 2016). Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago: In Their Own Words. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4742-3947-9.
3. ^ [1] Wilkinson, Alissa. "Roger Ailes was 'not rational': Alexis Bloom on her new film about the Fox News Founder; 'His first loyalty was to the audience, to manufacturing outrage, to weaponizing division.'" Vox. Dec 11, 2018.
4. ^ [2] PBS, American Masters. "Austin Penndleton Interview". July 17, 2006.
5. ^ a b c Condit, Susan (December 5, 2001). "The Pendleton Touch (continuation)". Daily Hampshire Gazette. p. 20. Retrieved January 3, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ Austin Pendelton to Teach "Directing for the Stage" This Spring
7. ^ "Who Am Us, Anyway? Peter Bergman". Firesign Media. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
8. ^ Proctor, Philip. Bride of Firesign. Firesign Media (liner notes). Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
9. ^ Brantley, Ben. "Rash and Unadvis’d in Verona Seeks Same". New York Times. June 25, 2007.
10. ^ [3] "Austin Pendleton Oral History Interview". Harry Ransom Center. University of Texas at Austin.
11. ^ "Austin Pendleton Theatre Credits". Broadway World. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
12. ^ Rothstein, Mervyn (July 3, 2011). "A LIFE IN THE THEATRE: Actor-Writer-Director Austin Pendleton". Playbill.
13. ^ a b "Austin Pendleton: Director Performer". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
14. ^ Brantley, Ben (March 21, 1996). "Theater Review. So Chipper, So Smiley, So Upbeat, but Why?". The New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
15. ^ Bennetts, Leslie (June 26, 1984). "Repertory Company Blossoms". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
16. ^ Simonson, Robert (January 21, 2016). "Mirror Rep Presents HGRS, Pendleton's Bard With a Bonus Conflation". Playbill. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
17. ^ Hetrick, Adam (May 12, 2009). "Pearl's Vieux Carré Begins Previews Off-Broadway May 12". Playbill. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
18. ^ Furlan, Julia (March 17, 2011). "And the Obie Award Goes To..." WNYC. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
19. ^ "Detroit". Time Out London. May 16, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
20. ^ Lefkowitz, David (October 8, 1996). "NY's Circle Rep, Home of Lanford Wilson, Closes After 27 Years". Playbill. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
21. ^ a b "Austin Pendleton". HB Studios. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
22. ^ "Austin Pendleton". Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
23. ^ Steppenwolf on line. Austin Penndleton Biography.
24. ^ a b c Alford, Henry (May 14, 2022). "Austin Pendleton Is Still on Broadway, Still a Babe Magnet". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
25. ^ Gallerano, Gene; Holmes, David H. (June 19, 2016), Starring Austin Pendleton (Documentary, Short, Biography, Comedy, Drama), Emily Althaus, Kevin Anderson, Lyndsey Anderson, Kate Arrington, 4 Hawk, Defendshee Productions, Neboya Collective, retrieved September 26, 2020
26. ^ "The Minutes - Creative". The Minutes. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
27. ^ Bass, Milton R. (July 30, 1981). "The Lively World". The Berkshire Eagle. p. 10. Retrieved January 3, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
28. ^ Rooney, David (June 24, 2010). "Sometimes That Inner Demon Just Needs to Win". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
29. ^ "Starring Austin Pendleton". Tribeca Film Festival. Retrieved January 6, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Austin Pendleton at the Internet Broadway Database
* Austin Pendleton at IMDb
* Austin Pendleton at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
* Austin Pendleton at the TCM Movie Database
* Austin Pendleton Talks about Stuttering and Acting
* "St. Louis Actors' Studio to host class with Austin Pendleton". St. Louis Post Dispatch. August 30, 2013.

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*[m.]: married