1945-10-19 Rochester, New York, USA
John Arthur Lithgow (born October 19, 1945) is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his diverse work on stage and screen. He has received numerous accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, four Grammy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award. Lithgow won two Tony Awards, his first for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his Broadway debut in The Changing Room (1972) and his second for Best Actor in a Musical for the musical Sweet Smell of Success (2002). He was Tony-nominated for Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985), M. Butterfly (1988), and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005). He has acted in the plays The Columnist (2012), A Delicate Balance (2014), and Hillary and Clinton (2019). He portrayed Roald Dahl in the play Giant on the West End, for which he was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actor. He starred as Dick Solomon in the television sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001), winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. He received further Primetime Emmy Awards for his performances as Arthur Mitchell in the drama Dexter (2009) and as Winston Churchill in the Netflix drama The Crown (2016–2019). He also starred in HBO's Perry Mason (2020) and FX's The Old Man (2022). On film, he has received two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor nominations for his roles as a transsexual ex-football player in The World According to Garp (1982) and a lonely banker in Terms of Endearment (1983). He also acted in All That Jazz (1979), Blow Out (1981), Footloose (1984), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), A Civil Action (1998), Shrek (2001), Kinsey (2004), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Love Is Strange (2014), Interstellar (2014), Late Night (2019), Bombshell (2019), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), and Conclave (2024).
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The Rule of Jenny Pen | Dave Crealy | 2025-03-07 |
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Jimpa | Jimpa | 2025-11-06 |
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Spellbound | Bolinar (voice) | 2024-11-22 |
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Art Happens Here with John Lithgow | Self | 2024-04-26 |
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Conclave | Tremblay | 2024-10-25 |
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Cabrini | Mayor Gould | 2024-03-07 |
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Killers of the Flower Moon | Prosecutor Peter Leaward | 2023-10-18 |
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Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic | Self | 2023-12-21 |
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Sharper | Richard Hobbes | 2023-02-10 |
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Chez Bob | 2022-12-15 | |
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The Bubble | Tom the Studio Chairman | 2022-03-25 |
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Show of Titles | "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer | 2021-06-13 |
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Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes | Philip Drummond | 2021-12-07 |
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Myths and Hymns | 2021-01-13 | |
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Emily @ the Edge of Chaos | Sir Isaac Newton (voice) | 2021-05-07 |
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Give My Regards to Broadway | Self | 2020-07-16 |
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Pet Sematary | Jud Crandall | 2019-04-04 |
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Late Night | Walter Lovell | 2019-01-25 |
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The Tomorrow Man | Ed Hemsler | 2019-05-22 |
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On Broadway | Self | 2019-10-12 |
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The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts | President Donald J. Trump | 2019-06-24 |
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Bombshell | Roger Ailes | 2019-12-13 |
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Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman | Jud Crandall | 2018-11-13 |
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Mister Rogers: It's You I Like | Self | 2018-03-06 |
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The Pulitzer At 100 | Self | 2017-07-21 |
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Broadway: The Next Generation | Self | 2017-11-16 |
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They All Saw a Cat | 2017-01-01 | |
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Daddy's Home 2 | Don | 2017-11-09 |
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Beatriz at Dinner | Doug Strutt | 2017-06-09 |
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Hickory Dickory Doc | Himself | 2017-01-30 |
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Pitch Perfect 3 | Fergus | 2017-12-20 |
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Miss Sloane | Senator Ronald Sperling | 2016-11-25 |
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The Accountant | Lamar Blackburn | 2016-10-13 |
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Shakespeare Live! From the RSC | Self - Performer | 2016-04-23 |
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Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 | Narrator | 2016-04-05 |
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Inside 'Interstellar' | Self | 2015-03-31 |
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Best of Enemies | Voice of Gore Vidal | 2015-07-31 |
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Projections of America | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2015-02-10 |
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Lord John | 2015-07-20 | |
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The Homesman | Reverend Alfred Dowd | 2014-05-18 |
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Love Is Strange | Ben | 2014-08-22 |
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Les As de la Jungle 2 : Le Trésor du Vieux Jim | Maurice (voice) | 2014-08-27 |
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Interstellar | Donald | 2014-11-05 |
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National Theatre Live: The Magistrate | Posket | 2013-01-17 |
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Shrek Stories | Lord Farquaad (voice) | 2013-10-01 |
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Timms Valley | Ol' Gregory Timms | 2013-12-31 |
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Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love | Self | 2013-10-12 |
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This Is 40 | Oliver | 2012-12-20 |
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The Campaign | Glen Motch | 2012-08-09 |
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Casting By | Self | 2012-11-01 |
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Shrek: Once Upon a Time | Self | 2011-12-30 |
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Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Charles Rodman | 2011-08-03 |
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New Year's Eve | Jonathan Cox (uncredited) | 2011-12-08 |
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Leap Year | Jack Brady | 2010-01-08 |
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Confessions of a Shopaholic | Edgar West | 2009-02-05 |
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Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn | Narrator | 2009-10-10 |
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The Macabre World of Lavender Williams | God | 2009-05-31 |
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Car of the Future | Narrator | 2008-04-22 |
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ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway | Self | 2007-04-19 |
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Dreamgirls | Jerry Harris | 2006-12-25 |
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The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge | Narrator | 2006-03-28 |
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Sangre | Cafe chef and owner | 2006-01-01 |
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The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays | René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly") | 2006-05-02 |
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Einstein's Big Idea | Narrator (voice) U.S. edition | 2005-10-11 |
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Dogs and More Dogs | Narrator | 2004-02-03 |
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The Life and Death of Peter Sellers | Blake Edwards | 2004-10-01 |
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Kinsey | Alfred Seguine Kinsey | 2004-09-04 |
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The Ghost of Lord Farquaad | Ghost of Farquaad (voice) | 2003-05-23 |
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Bark, George | 2003-01-01 | |
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Buckaroo Banzai Declassified | Self | 2002-01-04 |
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Orange County | Bud Brumder | 2002-01-11 |
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Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party | Lord Farquaad (singing voice) | 2001-11-02 |
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Shrek | Lord Farquaad (voice) | 2001-05-18 |
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Don Quixote | Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano | 2000-04-09 |
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Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | Jean-Claude (voice) | 2000-11-17 |
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95 Worlds and Counting | Narrator | 2000-01-01 |
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Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection | Dr. Oscar Charles | 1999-09-07 |
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Homegrown | Malcolm / Robert Stockman | 1998-04-17 |
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Johnny Skidmarks | Sergeant Larry Skovik | 1998-01-18 |
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A Civil Action | Judge Walter J. Skinner | 1998-12-25 |
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Officer Buckle and Gloria | Narrator (voice) | 1997-01-01 |
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Special Effects: Anything Can Happen | Narrator | 1996-07-04 |
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Hollow Point | Thomas Livingston | 1996-10-21 |
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Redwood Curtain | Laird Riordan | 1995-04-23 |
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My Brother's Keeper | Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley | 1995-03-19 |
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The Tuskegee Airmen | Senator Conyers | 1995-08-25 |
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Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects | Self | 1994-05-22 |
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A Good Man in Africa | Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner | 1994-07-14 |
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Princess Caraboo | Professor Wilkinson | 1994-09-16 |
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Silent Fall | Dr. Rene Harlinger | 1994-10-28 |
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Love, Cheat & Steal | Paul Harrington | 1993-12-05 |
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Cliffhanger | Eric Qualen | 1993-05-28 |
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The Pelican Brief | Smith Keen | 1993-09-17 |
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Sylvester and the Magic Pebble | Narrator | 1993-01-01 |
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The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale | Alexander (voice) | 1993-12-08 |
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The Wrong Man | Phillip Mills | 1993-09-05 |
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Raising Cain | Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo | 1992-08-07 |
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The Boys | Artie Margulies | 1991-04-15 |
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At Play in the Fields of the Lord | Leslie Huben | 1991-12-06 |
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Ricochet | Earl Talbott Blake | 1991-10-04 |
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Ivory Hunters | Robert Carter | 1990-08-20 |
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Memphis Belle | Bruce Derringer | 1990-09-07 |
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Amazing Stories: The Movie II | John Walters (archive footage) | 1990-11-25 |
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Night of 100 Stars III | Self | 1990-05-21 |
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John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert | 1990-06-01 | |
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Out Cold | Dave | 1989-03-03 |
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Traveling Man | Ben Cluett | 1989-06-25 |
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Distant Thunder | Mark Lambert | 1988-11-11 |
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The Amazing Bone | Narrator | 1987-06-01 |
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Baby Girl Scott | Neil Scott | 1987-01-01 |
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Harry and the Hendersons | George Henderson | 1987-06-05 |
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The Manhattan Project | John Mathewson | 1986-06-13 |
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Resting Place | Maj. Kendall Laird | 1986-04-27 |
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Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie | Self | 1985-12-01 |
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Santa Claus: The Movie | B.Z. | 1985-10-29 |
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Mesmerized | Oliver Thompson | 1985-11-18 |
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The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension | Lord John Whorfin | 1984-08-10 |
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2010 : The Odyssey Continues | Himself | 1984-01-01 |
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The Glitter Dome | Sgt. Marty Wellborn | 1984-11-18 |
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears | Goldilocks' Father | 1984-01-09 |
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Footloose | Rev. Shaw Moore | 1984-02-17 |
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2010 | Dr. Walter Curnow | 1984-12-06 |
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Twilight Zone: The Movie | Valentine | 1983-06-24 |
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The Day After | Joe Huxley | 1983-12-10 |
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Terms of Endearment | Sam Burns | 1983-11-20 |
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The World According to Garp | Roberta Muldoon | 1982-07-23 |
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I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can | Mr. Brunner | 1982-03-05 |
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Not in Front of the Children | Richard Carruthers | 1982-10-26 |
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Blow Out | Burke | 1981-07-24 |
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Big Blonde | Herbie Morse | 1980-12-01 |
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Mom, the Wolfman and Me | Wally | 1980-10-20 |
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The Oldest Living Graduate | Clarence | 1980-04-07 |
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Rich Kids | Paul Philips | 1979-08-17 |
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All That Jazz | Lucas Sergeant | 1979-12-16 |
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The Big Fix | Sam Sebastian | 1978-10-06 |
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Secret Service | Capt. Thorne | 1977-01-12 |
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Obsession | Robert Lasalle | 1976-08-01 |
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The Country Girl | Paul Unger | 1974-02-05 |
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Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues | John | 1972-02-25 |
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Sequestered - Inside Conclave | Self |
